Following an epidemic of violence unleashed against women by men over the past two years, another shocking incident is making news. Luis Enrique Alcantara (alias Bebe Gas) beat his two-month-old baby to death against a tree, and seriously injured his three-year-old son, who was rescued by his grandmother. Alcantara fled after committing the crimes and was found hours later after hanging from a tree. Alcantara was seeking revenge against his 23-year-old spouse, Isabel Valenzuela Mateo, who refused to move back in with him, according to a report in El Caribe newspaper. The events occurred in Las Matas de Farfan, in the southwestern province of San Juan de la Maguana.
The death of the two-month-old baby adds to the list of 31 deaths from intra-family violence registered by the police so far this year. Statistics show there is an epidemic of violence agaisnt women under way, but cases of infanticides are less common. Last year, 107 women were murdered by their spouses, of which about 20 later committed suicide.