G.R. No. 1532 : February 23, 1904
THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellee, vs. CASIMIRO GASAL, defendant-appellant.

FACTS:
On the night of May 16, 1903, in Nangca, Consolacion, Cebu, a group of men were gambling. A quarrel between two players, Pio Limabug and Bernardo Vacunador, caused a disturbance. The deceased, Andres Tiro, then demanded from the accused, Casimiro Gasal, the payment of four pennies he had won from him. Enraged, Gasal blew out a candle, picked up a stone, and threw it at Tiro, hitting him on the forehead and felling him to the ground. As Tiro attempted to rise, Gasal threw another stone at close range, striking him above the left ear. Tiro fell unconscious and died three days later without regaining consciousness. The incident was witnessed by several individuals. The accused was charged with the crime of homicide.

ISSUE:
Whether the accused, Casimiro Gasal, is guilty of the crime of homicide.

RULING:
Yes, the accused is guilty of homicide. The Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. The evidence sufficiently established that Gasal was the sole author of the crime, having inflicted fatal injuries upon the deceased by throwing stones at him. The crime constituted homicide under Article 404 of the Penal Code, as none of the qualifying circumstances for murder under Article 403 were present. The Court found only one mitigating circumstance: that the accused was intoxicated at the time of the crime, which was not habitual (paragraph 6, Article 9). The aggravating and other mitigating circumstances considered by the trial court were rejected. With one mitigating circumstance and no aggravating circumstances, the penalty of reclusion temporal in its medium period was properly applied. The Supreme Court affirmed the sentence of twelve years and one day of reclusion temporal, with the accessories provided by law, but eliminated the condemnation to hard labor and the subsidiary imprisonment.