Case Digest: People vs. Lagman, G.R. No. 197807, April 16, 2012
Murder | Criminal Law
Facts:
On February 24, 2002, Donna Maniego was in front of her banana cue store. She was seated alongside her mother, Violeta Sicor, inside the sidecar of a motorcycle. Without warning, the accused Cecilia Lagman approached her and punched her face several times. The accused turned on Sicor, grabbed her and stabbed her in the middle of her buttocks with a small knife.
Maniego got out of the sidecar and ran to the barangay hall for help. Upon finding that the barangay chairman was not around, Maniego went to check on her common-law spouse, Jondel Santiago. On her way there, she saw the accused stab Santiago four (4) times from a distance of five (5) to six (6) meters
Maniego then saw the accused flee the scene of the crime carrying a knife. Seeing that Santiago was mortally hurt, Maniego rushed Santiago to Gat Andres Bonifacio Hospital but he later expired. While Maniego was at the hospital, she saw the accused, who was being treated after an angry crowd mauled her. Maniego informed the policeman who was escorting the accused that it was the latter who had stabbed and killed Santiago. Maniego testified that she had known the accused for almost ten years and had a close relationship with her. She stated that the accused got angry with her when she eloped with Santiago.
PO3 Ricardo Alateit testified at the time of her arrest, a sharp object fell from the woman’s waist.
Defense:
The accused claimed that she confronted Maniego and asked her if it was true that she had been spreading the rumor that the accused was insane. Maniego answered in the affirmative. Angered, the accused slapped Maniego and left, leaving Santiago, Sicor, and Maniego in pursuit. Santiago then hit her with a lead pipe. Since she needed medical treatment after the attack, she was brought to Gat Andres Bonifacio Medical Hospital by her mother and a barangay kagawad.
At the police station, the accused denied killing Santiago. She averred that nothing was found on her body when she was frisked. She said that the knife recovered by PO3 Alateit was not hers and that there were other people in the area where it was found. She added that she had an argument only with Maniego, not with Sicor or Santiago.
Appellate Court: Guilty of murder and less serious physical injuries.
Issues:
I. WoN the CA erred in finding accused-appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
II. WoN the CA erred in giving credence to the testimony of the prosecution’s witness despite patent inconsistencies.
III. WoN the CA erred in finding that the killing of the victim was attended by treachery.
IV. WoN the elements of less serious physical injuries were established.
Held:
Guilty of Murder and SLIGHT PHYSICAL INJURIES.
I. Elements of Murder Established:
The prosecution was able to clearly establish that Santiago was killed and that it was accused-appellant who killed him as there was an eyewitness to the crime.
II. Credibility of Prosecution Witnesses:
Accused-appellant failed to show why Maniego and her mother would falsely accuse her of committing a terrible crime. Maniego was the common-law spouse of the victim and she would naturally want to seek justice for his death as well as the injury sustained by her mother. An examination of the records shows that there is no truth to the allegation of accused-appellant that Maniego did not witness the stabbing of Santiago. She clearly testified that accused-appellant first stabbed Santiago on the chest, then on the side of his neck, then twice on his back.
On the other allegation of accused-appellant, We have earlier held that the fact that the judge who rendered judgment was not the one who heard the witnesses does not adversely affect the validity of conviction. That the trial judge who rendered judgment was not the one who had the occasion to observe the demeanor of the witnesses during trial but merely relied on the records of the case does not render the judgment erroneous, especially where the evidence on record is sufficient to support its conclusion.
III. Treachery:
Santiago’s killing was attended by the qualifying circumstance of treachery as testified to by the prosecution eyewitness, Maniego.
In the case at bar, the victim was caught off guard when appellant, without warning, stabbed him four times successively leaving the latter no chance at all to evade the knife thrusts and defend himself from appellant’s onslaught. Thus, there is no denying that appellant’s act of suddenly stabbing the victim leaving the latter no room for defense is a clear case of treachery.
IV. Elements of Less Serious Physical Injuries Not Established
Nothing in the records supports the finding that Sicor was incapacitated for labor for ten (10) days or more or that she required medical attention for the same period. After the wound on her buttocks was treated, Sicor was released two hours after she was admitted to the hospital. She later returned to the hospital for the removal of the suture on her wound. Sicor, however, testified that she lost two (2) days of work on account of the injury she sustained. The prosecution was unable to establish that the injury sustained by Sicor falls under less serious physical injuries absent the requirement that her injury required medical attention for 10 days or incapacitated her for the same period. The Court can, thus, only convict accused-appellant of slight physical injuries.
Crime Committed by the Appellant:
Art. 248. Murder. – Any person who, not falling within the provisions of Article 246 shall kill another, shall be guilty of murder and shall be punished by reclusion temporal in its maximum period to death, if committed with any of the following attendant circumstances:
1. With treachery, taking advantage of superior strength, with the aid of armed men, or employing means to weaken the defense or of means or persons to insure or afford impunity.
2. In consideration of a price, reward, or promise.
3. By means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, shipwreck, stranding of a vessel, derailment or assault upon a street car or locomotive, fall of an airship, by means of motor vehicles, or with the use of any other means involving great waste and ruin.
4. On occasion of any of the calamities enumerated in the preceding paragraph, or of an earthquake, eruption of a volcano, destructive cyclone, epidemic or other public calamity.
5. With evident premeditation.
6. With cruelty, by deliberately and inhumanly augmenting the suffering of the victim, or outraging or scoffing at his person or corpse.
The elements of murder that the prosecution must establish are:
(1) that a person was killed;
(2) that the accused killed him or her;
(3) that the killing was attended by any of the qualifying circumstances mentioned in Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC); and
(4) that the killing is not parricide or infanticide
Treachery. – direct employment of means, methods, or forms in the execution of the crime against persons which tend directly and specially to insure its execution, without risk to the offender arising from the defense which the offended party might make. (Paragraph 16, Art. 14, RPC)
In order for treachery to be properly appreciated, two elements must be present:
(1) at the time of the attack, the victim was not in a position to defend himself; and
(2) the accused consciously and deliberately adopted the particular means, methods, or forms of attack employed by him.
The essence of treachery is that the attack is deliberate and without warning, done in a swift and unexpected way, affording the hapless, unarmed and unsuspecting victim no chance to resist or escape.
Art. 265. Less serious physical injuries. — Any person who shall inflict upon another physical injuries not described in the preceding articles, but which shall incapacitate the offended party for labor for ten days or more, or shall require medical assistance for the same period, shall be guilty of less serious physical injuries and shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor.
Whenever less serious physical injuries shall have been inflicted with the manifest intent to kill or offend the injured person, or under circumstances adding ignominy to the offense in addition to the penalty of arresto mayor, a fine not exceeding 500 pesos shall be imposed.
Any less serious physical injuries inflicted upon the offender's parents, ascendants, guardians, curators, teachers, or persons of rank, or persons in authority, shall be punished by prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, provided that, in the case of persons in authority, the deed does not constitute the crime of assault upon such person.
Art. 266. Slight physical injuries and maltreatment. — The crime of slight physical injuries shall be punished:
1. By arresto menor when the offender has inflicted physical injuries which shall incapacitate the offended party for labor from one to nine days, or shall require medical attendance during the same period. library
2. By arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 20 pesos and censure when the offender has caused physical injuries which do not prevent the offended party from engaging in his habitual work nor require medical assistance.
3. By arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine not exceeding 50 pesos when the offender shall ill-treat another by deed without causing any injury.
Recit Version:Facts:Cecilia Lagman punched Donna Maniego and stabbed Violeta Sicor with a small knife in the middle of her buttocks. Maniego ran to get help, and on the way back, she saw Lagman stab her common-law spouse, Jondel Santiago four times from a distance of 5-6 meters. Santiago later died from the injuries.
Lagman was arrested with a sharp object falling from her waist. The defense claimed that Lagman hit Maniego in response to a rumor about her being insane, and Santiago hit her with a lead pipe. Lagman denied killing Santiago and said the knife recovered by the police officer was not hers.
Appellate Court: Guilty of murder and less serious physical injuries.Issues:I. WoN the CA erred in finding accused-appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt.II. WoN the CA erred in giving credence to the testimony of the prosecution’s witness despite patent inconsistencies.III. WoN the CA erred in finding that the killing of the victim was attended by treachery.IV. WoN the elements of less serious physical injuries were established.Held:Guilty of Murder and SLIGHT PHYSICAL INJURIES.
I. Elements of Murder Established:
The prosecution was able to clearly establish that Santiago was killed and that it was accused-appellant who killed him as there was an eyewitness to the crime.
II. Credibility of Prosecution Witnesses:
Accused-appellant failed to show why Maniego and her mother would falsely accuse her of committing a terrible crime. Maniego was the common-law spouse of the victim and she would naturally want to seek justice for his death as well as the injury sustained by her mother.
III. Treachery:
The victim was caught off guard when appellant, without warning, stabbed him four times successively leaving the latter no chance at all to evade the knife thrusts and defend himself from appellant’s onslaught. Thus, there is no denying that appellant’s act of suddenly stabbing the victim leaving the latter no room for defense is a clear case of treachery.
IV. Elements of Less Serious Physical Injuries Not Established
Nothing in the records supports the finding that Sicor was incapacitated for labor for ten (10) days or more or that she required medical attention for the same period. After the wound on her buttocks was treated, Sicor was released two hours after she was admitted to the hospital. The Court can, thus, only convict accused-appellant of slight physical injuries.