GR 110107; (January, 1995) (Digest)
G.R. No. 110107 January 26, 1995
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. DOLORES LORENZO Y CORSINO, accused-appellant.
FACTS
Accused-appellant Dolores Lorenzo, a policewoman, was charged with parricide for the killing of her husband, Agapito Lorenzo, on July 30, 1990. The prosecution’s evidence established that SPO1 Jose Eclipse, responding to a reported stabbing, met Lorenzo on the way to the scene. She surrendered a blood-stained bolo and fan knife to him and stated, “I killed my husband.” At the crime scene in front of a barangay captain’s store, she repeated the confession in the presence of the barangay official. The victim was found sprawled and bloodied. The defense presented a different version, alleging that a neighbor, Robert Santos, was the killer. Lorenzo testified that a struggle occurred between Santos and her husband, during which she picked up a dropped knife, tried to stab Santos, but fainted. She claimed she regained consciousness to find her husband dying and only then picked up the weapons, which she surrendered upon Eclipse’s arrival.
ISSUE
The core issue is whether the trial court correctly convicted the accused-appellant of parricide based on the evidence presented.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The trial court correctly gave credence to the prosecution’s evidence, particularly the credible and unrebutted testimonies of SPO1 Eclipse and the barangay captain. The appellant’s spontaneous confession to Eclipse, made voluntarily when she was not under custodial investigation, was a valid extrajudicial confession admissible in evidence. Her failure to correct Eclipse’s report at the police station further bolstered the confession’s reliability. The Court found the defense’s alternative narrative implausible, noting it was contrived and defied common sense. The claim of fainting during the crucial moment was unconvincing and unsupported. The positive identification of the appellant as the perpetrator, coupled with her own admissions, established her guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The killing of a spouse constitutes parricide under the Revised Penal Code. The penalty of reclusion perpetua and the award of civil indemnity were thus upheld.