G.R. No. FIRST DIVISION January 16, 2019 PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee vs. ALEX CASEMIRO and JOSE CATALAN, JR., Accused-Appellants
FACTS

Accused-appellants Alex Casemiro and Jose Catalan, Jr. were charged with Murder for the stabbing death of Jeffrey Hermo on April 16, 2010, in Gandara, Samar. The prosecution’s primary witness, the victim’s wife Mary Ann Hermo, testified that she saw the incident from about 15 meters away under a streetlight. She stated that Casemiro, who was drunk, initially invited her husband to butcher a duck. Later, she witnessed Casemiro stab the victim five times in the chest while Catalan held the victim’s arms. After the victim fell, Catalan proceeded to stab him eight times in the back with an ice pick. The police recovered an ice pick and a pair of slippers at the scene. The autopsy confirmed the victim sustained 13 stab wounds.
The defense interposed alibi and denial. Catalan claimed he was at his aunt’s house watching television in a different barangay and had no conflict with the victim. Casemiro asserted he was asleep at his nearby house and voluntarily went to the police station to clear his name when implicated. Both denied knowing each other prior to the incident and claimed the eyewitness testimony was fabricated.

ISSUE

Whether the guilt of the accused-appellants for the crime of Murder was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The Court upheld the credibility of the eyewitness, Mary Ann Hermo. Her testimony was found clear, consistent, and credible. She had no ill motive to falsely testify against the appellants, who were her cousin and a neighbor, and her account was corroborated by physical evidence. The defense of alibi was correctly rejected as it was not physically impossible for the appellants to have been at the crime scene, given the proximity of their locations. The Court affirmed the presence of treachery, qualifying the killing to Murder. The attack was sudden and employed means that deprived the unarmed victim of any opportunity to defend himself, as one assailant held him while the other stabbed him. The Court sustained the penalty of reclusion perpetua and the awarded damages for civil indemnity, moral damages, and temperate damages, all with legal interest. The appeal was dismissed for lack of merit.