G.R. No. 530 : April 16, 1902
THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellee, vs. BERNABE SANTOS, defendant-appellant.
FACTS:
On the night of August 15, 1900, the defendant, Bernabe Santos, together with three other armed men, broke into the house of Lorenzo Laopoco in Tondo. They tied up Laopoco and his son-in-law, Norberto Anacleto, committed acts of violence against Anacleto’s wife and others in the house, and stole jewelry and money. The robbers then left the house, taking Laopoco with them. Norberto Anacleto and his wife heard Laopoco cry for help, saying the robbers were going to kill him. Upon looking out, they saw Laopoco lying on the ground, with the defendant and his companions (including others who had not entered the house) around him or leaving the scene. Laopoco was brought back into the house, covered with dagger wounds from which he died approximately three weeks later. The defendant was convicted of murder by the Court of First Instance of Manila and sentenced to death.
ISSUE:
Whether the crime committed by the defendant is murder, qualified by alevosia (treachery), or simple homicide.
RULING:
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction for murder. The Court held that the circumstance of alevosia was sufficiently established. Although no one directly witnessed the infliction of the fatal wounds, the evidence showed that the deceased was bound when taken from the house. The Court found that, according to the ordinary and natural course of events, the only reasonable conclusion was that he remained bound when attacked, as there was no conceivable reason for his captors to release him in the short interval before the killing. This manner of attack, ensuring the victim’s defenselessness, constitutes alevosia under Article 10, No. 2 of the Penal Code. The aggravating circumstance of the crime being committed by a band (Article 10, No. 15) was also present. No mitigating circumstances were found to exist. Accordingly, the judgment of the lower court imposing the death penalty was affirmed.
