GR 13818; (September, 1918) (Digest)
G.R. No. 13818 ; September 26, 1918
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. VICTORIANO MENDOZA, defendant-appellant.
FACTS:
The defendant, Victoriano Mendoza, was convicted by the Court of First Instance of Tarlac for the crime of frustrated homicide and sentenced to ten years and one day of prision mayor. The conviction stemmed from an incident on the evening of December 23, 1917, wherein Mendoza, bearing a grudge against Gasper W. Creason for the latter’s refusal to testify in a case involving Mendoza’s daughter, entered Creason’s house, insulted him, and then stabbed him in the abdomen with a pocket knife. Creason, who was ill at the time, struggled with Mendoza and called for help from his father-in-law. During the struggle, Mendoza fled, leaving the weapon behind. Creason was incapacitated for 22 days, incurred medical expenses of P15, and lost daily earnings of one peso.
ISSUE:
Whether the facts proven constitute the crime of frustrated homicide or the lesser crime of lesiones menos graves (slight physical injuries).
RULING:
The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the lower court. It held that the facts did not constitute frustrated homicide, as there was no proof beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant had the specific intent to kill the victim. The Court emphasized that for criminal liability to be based on an unexecuted intent, the facts must exclude all contrary suppositions. The circumstancesspecifically, Mendoza’s act of fleeing and abandoning his weapon during the struggle, even though the victim was only wounded and the arrival of help was not imminentdid not conclusively demonstrate an intent to kill. Rather, they indicated the contrary. Therefore, the defendant was guilty only of the crime of lesiones under Article 418 of the Penal Code. Considering the aggravating circumstances of dwelling and nighttime, the Court sentenced Mendoza to six months of arresto mayor, ordered him to indemnify Creason in the sum of P37 (or suffer subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency), and to pay the costs.