G.R. No. 157057 , June 26, 2007
LEONIDAS EPIFANIO Y LAZARO, Petitioner, vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.

FACTS

Petitioner Leonidas Epifanio y Lazaro was convicted of Frustrated Murder for stabbing Crisaldo Alberto on the evening of August 15, 1990. The prosecution established that while Crisaldo and his cousin were walking home along a narrow pathway, petitioner suddenly stabbed Crisaldo in the back. Crisaldo turned and identified petitioner, who then attempted a second stab which hit Crisaldo’s arm. The victim’s cousin intervened, causing petitioner to flee. Crisaldo was hospitalized for three weeks, with medical findings including a stab wound in the scapular area and fractures to his 7th and 8th ribs.
Petitioner denied the accusation, presenting an alibi that he was harvesting coconuts and later asleep at the time of the incident, and that he only assisted in bringing the victim to the hospital after being awakened. Both the Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals found his defense unconvincing and affirmed his conviction for Frustrated Murder.

ISSUE

Whether the crime committed was Frustrated Murder or merely Attempted Murder.

RULING

The Supreme Court modified the conviction from Frustrated Murder to Attempted Murder. The legal logic hinges on the distinction between attempted and frustrated felonies under Article 6 of the Revised Penal Code. For a felony to be frustrated, the offender must have performed all acts of execution necessary to produce the crime, but the crime itself is not produced due to causes independent of the offender’s will. For murder, this requires evidence that the victim’s death was the natural consequence of the injuries inflicted and was only prevented by timely medical intervention.
Here, the prosecution failed to prove that the injuries were fatal or would have caused death without medical aid. The medical certificate only stated the healing period and noted fractures; it contained no finding that any wound was mortal or life-threatening. The physician was not presented to testify on the nature of the wounds. Consequently, there was insufficient evidence to conclude that petitioner performed all acts of execution that would have resulted in death. The crime did not progress beyond the attempted stage, as the acts of execution (the stabbing) commenced but were not completed in a manner that would have consummated the killing. Thus, petitioner is guilty only of Attempted Murder. The penalty was accordingly reduced to an indeterminate sentence of four (4) years and two (2) months of prision correccional, as minimum, to eight (8) years and one (1) day of prision mayor, as maximum.