Antonio L. Antone was the patriarch of a sprawling and complex family, a self-made business tycoon who had built an empire from the ground up to provide for his 18 children from five different families. A former labor activist, he was known as a strict but loving father whose greatest ambition was to see his children succeed.

He placed his highest hopes on his eldest son, Nelson, whom he personally mentored to one day take over his vast business interests. But this story of a father’s dream for his favored son would end in a devastating betrayal and a decade-long fight for justice.

Antonio appointed Nelson as the president of his companies, trusting him implicitly with the empire he had painstakingly built. However, the immense responsibility proved to be a temptation rather than an opportunity. In 2008, Antonio made a heartbreaking discovery: Nelson had been embezzling millions from the family companies to fund a lavish lifestyle and a severe gambling addiction for himself and his wife.

In an act of fatherly compassion, Antonio chose not to press criminal charges. He simply removed Nelson from his position but continued to support his son’s family with a generous monthly allowance. But the mercy he showed was not returned.

The relationship between father and son soured completely, devolving into bitter resentment and even physical altercations. Nelson grew increasingly hostile, threatening his half-siblings and claiming he would one day control the entire family inheritance.

The simmering conflict reached a terrifying boiling point. On September 9, 2013, armed men attempted to enter the family’s heavily secured home in BF Homes, Parañaque. Antonio managed to scare them off with his own firearm.

His other children suspected it was an inside job, noting that one of the masked assailants bore a striking resemblance to Nelson. Still, Antonio refused to believe his own son could be capable of such a thing.

Just two days later, on September 11, 2013, the unthinkable happened. Nelson visited his father’s home. He walked into his father’s office, and in a final, tragic confrontation, ended the patriarch’s life with six gunshots. Before Antonio passed away at the hospital, he reportedly identified his attacker to his other children: it was Nelson.

Later that day, Nelson surrendered to the police, and the case seemed open-and-shut. But what followed was a series of shocking failures in the justice system. Due to a jurisdictional error between the Las Piñas and Parañaque police departments, the case was mishandled. Sixteen days after his surrender, a prosecutor was forced to order Nelson’s release on a technicality.

Before a new, proper case could be filed and a hold departure order issued, Nelson fled the Philippines, disappearing abroad.

For five long years, he was a fugitive. The Antone family, though divided—with Nelson’s mother and full siblings refusing to press charges—never gave up. Antonio’s other children, led by his son Vladimir, offered a reward and used social media to keep the case in the public eye. Their persistence finally paid off in 2018.

An overseas Filipino worker in Dubai spotted Nelson, and acting on an Interpol notice, local police arrested him. He was extradited back to the Philippines to finally face the consequences of his actions.

The legal process was further delayed by administrative hurdles within the court system. It wasn’t until 2023, a full decade after the tragic event, that a verdict was reached. Judge Regina Paz Ramos Chavez of the Parañaque City RTC found Nelson Antone guilty of parricide. The favored son who had betrayed his father was sentenced to life in prison, bringing a painful, long-awaited closure to one of the most shocking family sagas in recent memory.