G.R. No. 8295; September 20, 1913
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. BENIGNO SALAS, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

On the night of January 12, 1912, the body of Chan Que, a Chinaman, was found in his store. An autopsy revealed he died from five wounds inflicted by a sharp-pointed weapon about forty hours earlier. A bloody footprint was found on the brick floor. Suspicion fell on Benigno Salas. An ink impression of his foot matched the bloody footprint in length and breadth. Witnesses testified that on January 10, Salas, with another, proposed to a witness to rob the Chinaman and threatened him if he revealed the plan. Other witnesses saw Salas with two others in the store around 7-8 PM on January 10, later leaving after the lights were extinguished. Another witness heard the Chinaman cry out in distress while being held by Salas around 8 PM. Salas presented an alibi, claiming he was in Angeles, but this was contradicted by witnesses, including the person he claimed to be with, and he gave inconsistent statements about his whereabouts.

ISSUE

Whether the evidence is sufficient to convict Benigno Salas of the crime of homicide.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. While some witness testimony was not wholly satisfactory, the totality of evidencethe proposal to rob the deceased, Salas’s presence in the store at the time of the crime, the matching footprint, and the falsity of his alibileaves no reasonable doubt of his guilt. The crime was properly classified as homicide, not assassination, due to lack of evidence of qualifying circumstances. However, the aggravating circumstance of the crime being committed in the dwelling of the deceased was present. Thus, the penalty should be imposed in the maximum degree. The trial court’s judgment was affirmed with the modification that the penalty is increased to twenty years of reclusion temporal.