G.R. No. L-49430 - People vs. Lora y Vequizo

Belinda Lora y Vequizo alias Lorena Sumilew was charged with serious illegal detention with murder under Articles 267, 248, and 48 of the Revised Penal Code.
The charge stated that on or about May 28, 1975, in Davao City, Belinda Lora unlawfully detained the three-year-old child Oliver Yap, intending to extort ransom from the child's parents, Ricardo and Myrna Yap.
The accused gagged the child, placed him inside a cigarette box covered with sacks in the storage room (bodega) of the Yaps' house, causing death by asphyxia due to suffocation.
The offense was alleged to have aggravating circumstances including superior strength, disregard for the victim’s age, commission inside the victim's dwelling, abuse of confidence, use of craft, and cruelty.

Belinda Lora applied to be a housemaid at the Yap residence on May 26, 1975, and reported for work on May 27, 1975. Her duties included washing clothes and taking care of Oliver Yap.
On May 28, 1975, Oliver and Belinda were missing; a ransom note was found demanding P3,000. The note claimed the child was to be sold and money was needed for the accused’s mother’s hospitalization.
The Yap family searched for Oliver and Belinda in Davao City and nearby towns, where the accused's alias appeared on a residence certificate and the ransom letter referred to the accused’s sick mother.
They received two ransom calls instructing Ricardo Yap to leave money at a designated spot without police accompaniment. Ricardo Yap followed instructions but found no child and the money was taken.
The following day, Mrs. Yap received a second ransom call demanding another P3,000 and was able to catch the accused boarding a bus. They proceeded to various places as the accused gave false leads about the child's whereabouts.
Police arrested Belinda Lora onboard the bus headed for Surigao; marked ransom money was recovered from her possession.
On May 30, 1975, Oliver’s body was found inside a cigarette box in the bodega of the Yaps’ house, gagged and suffocated to death.

Belinda Lora pleaded guilty in Visayan dialect and presented evidence only to prove mitigating circumstances.
She expressed repentance and requested life imprisonment instead of death, denying intent to kill but conceding to the acts leading to the child’s suffocation.
The prosecution presented eight witnesses, including the parents, police officers, and the forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy confirming death by asphyxia approximately three days prior.

The trial court convicted the accused of complex crime of serious illegal detention with murder and imposed the death penalty with costs de oficio.

Whether the accused committed the crime of serious illegal detention with murder or a different crime.
Whether the accused's acts constituted kidnapping or merely murder qualified by other circumstances.
The applicability of aggravating and mitigating circumstances and consequent determination of appropriate penalty.
Whether the accused’s plea of guilty and alleged lack of intent to kill should mitigate the penalty.