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Bernardo
"Narding" ANZURES
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: The
exact motives for the murder were never fully determined
Number of victims: 2
Date of murder: June 26, 1948
Date of arrest:
Next day
Date of birth: 1928
Victim profile:
Lialian Velez, 24 (Filipino
film actress and singer) and her housemaid
Method of murder: Stabbing with knife
Location: Quezon
City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Status: Pleaded guilty to two murders on July 19, 1949.
Sentenced to two sentences of life imprisonment. Died of
tuberculosis two months after his release
Bernardo "Narding" Anzures,
a former child actor, was the leading man of Lilian Velez in
several films. Anzures found out that Lilian was going to have
another leading man, Jaime de la Rosa.
On the night of June 26, 1948, he broke into
Velez’s house and stabbed her and her housemaid to death. The only
surviving witness was Velez’s four-year-old daughter.
Anzures was tried and convicted of murder, and
later died in prison of tuberculosis.
Lilian Velez
(March 3, 1924 — June 26, 1948) was a Filipino film actress and
singer. Her 1948 murder by a fellow actor scandalized post-war
Philippines.
Career
Born in Cebu to a composer, Velez first came
into the limelight when she won an amateur radio singing contest
in the mid-1930s. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, her
singing career thrived, and she popularized one of her father's
songs, Sa Kabukiran. Velez also won the heart of Jose
Climaco, the manager of the radio station which had sponsored the
contest which won her fame. They were married in 1942 and had one
daughter.
Velez's film career began upon the resumption
of Filipino film production after the end of the war. She joined
LVN Pictures, and with her husband as director, starred in such
films as Binibiro Lamang Kita, Ang Estudyante, and
Sa Kabukiran, inspired by the song that had earlier earned
her fame. Her leading man in these films was Bernardo "Narding"
Anzures, a former child actor.
Personal life
Velez had a brother, Theodoro, a craftsman, and
a daughter, Vivian Velez. Vivian made an appearance at the end of
Velez's 1995 film biography.
Murder
After the
success of Sa Kabukiran, LVN Pictures decided to cast Jaime
de la Rosa as Velez's leading man in her next film. The decision
caused distress on the part of Anzures, who had seemingly become
obsessed with the married Velez.
On the night of June 26, 1948, Anzures paid an
unexpected visit to the Quezon City home of Velez. Upon his
arrival, he stabbed Velez to death and a housemaid who had come to
her mistress's assistance. The crime was committed within view of
Velez's toddler-daughter Vivian, who was unharmed during the
incident.
Anzures was promptly arrested, tried and
convicted for the murders. The crime and the subsequent trial was
cause celebre in Manila. Anzures later died in jail from
tuberculosis; his exact motives for the murder were never fully
determined.
1995 film
biography
In 1995, the murder of Lilian Velez was the
subject of a high-profile film directed by Carlo J. Caparas.
Starring Sharon Cuneta as Velez and Cesar Montano as Anzures, the
film was one in a string of "true-crime" films churned out by
Caparas in the early 1990s.
