In the quiet, close-knit community of Barangay Managok in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, the Andohon family was the picture of simple, hardworking virtue. Giovanni, 50, and his wife Evangeline, 48, had spent over two decades building a life together. Their home, though modest, was filled with the kind of warmth that comes from unity and shared dreams. They ran a landscaping business, and on days without clients, Evangeline poured her love into her garden, a passion her children shared. They were known by all as kind, respectful, and peaceful, a family that had never had so much as a harsh word with a neighbor.

This life, built on hard work and togetherness, was all for their four children: John Kyler, Ivan, and their two younger daughters. Like many Filipino parents, Giovanni and Evangeline held one dream above all others: to give their children the education they themselves had not received. They believed it was the only true inheritance they could provide, a path away from the hardships they had known.

And in their eldest son, John Kyler, 23, that dream seemed to be reaching its brilliant conclusion. He was their pride, a promising BS Criminology student. His parents were so overjoyed, so immensely proud, that they frequently boasted to friends and family about his upcoming graduation. It was to be the family’s first college graduate, the living proof of their sacrifice. They were already planning the celebration, a joyous feast to honor the culmination of their hard work and their son’s bright future as a lawman.

This beautiful, hopeful image was, however, a carefully constructed fabrication. It was a secret, hidden for two long years, that would not only shatter the family’s dreams but would end their very lives in a storm of unimaginable violence.

On the night of May 21, 2025, a familiar quiet settled over the Andohon home. The family—Giovanni, Evangeline, 24-year-old Ivan, and the two young daughters—finished their dinner and retired to their bedroom to sleep. John Kyler was not yet home, supposedly busy with school projects for his approaching graduation. As they always did, his parents left the front door unlocked for him. It was a simple act of trust, a gesture of welcome for their beloved son.

In the dead of night, that trust was broken. A figure slipped through the unlocked door, his silhouette moving with purpose in the darkness. He carried a sledgehammer and a steel pipe. He entered the bedroom where his entire family lay sleeping.

What happened next was an act of brutal, incomprehensible violence. The attacker, without hesitation, rained down heavy blows on his sleeping father, Giovanni. The commotion woke Evangeline, who managed a single, terrified scream for help before she, too, was targeted. The son, Ivan, was attacked next, and in a matter of minutes, three lives were extinguished.

But in the midst of the carnage, a small miracle occurred. As the attacker swung the heavy sledgehammer, he struck the thin plywood wall of the bedroom. The force of the blow caused the wall to collapse, sending debris, boxes, and clothing tumbling down onto the two youngest daughters, who were huddled in their blankets. This accidental avalanche completely concealed them from view.

Terrified, the two girls, ages 22 and 20, remained frozen. They instinctively understood that their lives depended on their silence. They did not move, they did not cry, they barely breathed, pretending to be as lifeless as the family members they had just lost. Through the gaps in the debris, and in the faint light filtering in from outside, they could make out the attacker’s shape. To their horror, he did not flee. He calmly sat down in the chaos, as if nothing had happened, and, according to their account, began playing on his cellphone.

For what must have felt like an eternity, the girls remained in their terrifying cocoon. They waited, listening to the silence of the house, too afraid to move until the first light of morning finally broke. When they were certain the sun was up, they crawled from the wreckage, only to be met with a scene of utter devastation. Traumatized and crying, they ran from the house, screaming for help.

The community was stunned. Neighbors who found the girls were thrust into a real-life nightmare. When police and forensic teams arrived, they were met with a baffling and heartbreaking scene. The house was filled with pictures of a happy, smiling family. But the bedroom told a different story. The motive was not robbery; no money or valuables were taken. The sheer violence suggested a deep, personal rage, yet everyone insisted the Andohons had no enemies.

Then, John Kyler arrived. The “grieving son” gave a devastatingly emotional performance for the media. Tears streamed down his face as he spoke of his profound regret, his voice breaking as he lamented that he wasn’t there. He wasn’t there to “defend” his parents, to protect his brother. His anguish was palpable, and he instantly became the object of national sympathy, the tragic survivor who had lost almost everything.

But as the police investigation deepened, that pristine image began to crack. Whispers started in the community. Relatives and neighbors noted John Kyler’s “strange” behavior, a demeanor that didn’t quite fit the profile of a grieving son. There were rumors of vices, of possible drug use.

The detectives, following these threads, decided to do a background check on the star criminology student. What they found was the key that unlocked the entire case. John Kyler Andohon was not weeks away from graduation. In fact, he was not a student at all. He had stopped attending school in 2023, two full years prior.

The entire story of his education was a lie. For two years, he had continued to accept tuition and allowance money from his hardworking parents. He had lied to them every day, watching them toil in their landscaping business, knowing the money they were proudly giving him was being funneled into his vices and social life.

The pressure of this deception had been building. With his supposed “graduation” just weeks away, his parents’ proud preparations for a party had become a ticking time bomb. His exposure was imminent. According to investigators, this immense fear, coupled with the potential influence of illicit substances, created a desperate, volatile state of mind. He saw only one way to prevent his secret from being revealed.

With this horrifying motive now clear, the police focused on the only witnesses: the two surviving sisters. After emerging from their initial state of shock and receiving counseling, the girls were able to process the traumatic memories from that night. They revisited the image of the man in the darkness, his shape, his movements. And with chilling certainty, they finally confirmed the investigators’ darkest suspicion. The man they saw sitting calmly among the victims, the man who had taken their family, was their own brother, John Kyler.

The revelation sent him into hiding. He was declared the primary suspect, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. For four months, he was a ghost, the most wanted man in Northern Mindanao. The hunt finally ended on September 12, 2025, when authorities, acting on a tip, cornered him at a former boarding house in another barangay.

He was taken into custody, facing charges of double parricide and murder. No bail was recommended. But even in the face of the evidence and his sisters’ testimony, John Kyler continues to deny everything.

The tragedy has left a permanent scar on the community, a horrific testament to the destructive power of a single lie. Giovanni and Evangeline Andohon perished as victims of their own best intentions, their boundless love and trust for their son used against them. They dreamed of giving him a better future, but they were instead consumed by the dark present he had secretly built.