Title
People vs. Marquez
Case
G.R. No. 31268
Decision Date
Jul 31, 1929
Defendant admitted killing wife, claimed adultery but failed to prove it. Mitigating circumstances reduced penalty to 12 years, 1 day.
A

Case Digest (G.R. No. 31268)

Facts:

People of the Philippine Islands v. Guardiano Marquez, G.R. No. 31268, July 31, 1929, the Supreme Court En Banc, Romualdez, J., writing for the Court.

The prosecution (the People of the Philippine Islands, plaintiff-appellee) charged Guardiano Marquez (defendant-appellant) with parricide for killing his wife, Oliva Sumampong. At trial Marquez admitted the killing but asserted he had surprised his wife "in the act of adultery" and therefore relied on the justification contained in Article 423 of the Penal Code. At the preliminary investigation before the justice of the peace, Marquez had given a statement (Exhibit B) recounting that he had been fishing, returned at midnight, knocked, his wife opened the door, and a man jumped out of the window; when his wife denied the presence of a man and would not tell the truth he killed her.

The trial court found Marquez guilty of parricide and sentenced him to life imprisonment, the accessory penalties of law, P1,000 indemnity to the heirs of the deceased, and costs. Marquez appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court reviewed the record on certiorari (regular appeal from criminal conviction) and considered whether the fac...(Subscriber-Only)

Issues:

  • Did the appellant prove he surprised his wife in the act of adultery so as to invoke the justification of Article 423 of the Penal Code?
  • Were there mitigating circumstances (immediate provocation and passion/obfuscation) that warranted reducing the penalty for parricide, and if so, what pena...(Subscriber-Only)

Ruling:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Ratio:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Doctrine:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

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