G.R. No. 66614 - Leveriza vs. Intermediate Appellate Court

On April 29, 1964, at about 7:00 p.m., Pablo Fernandez, a 48-year-old barrio captain, was performing routine work in front of his small store at Carosucan Sur, Asingan, Pangasinan.
While fixing ropes for hauling his carabao’s yoke, he was struck by a shotgun blast that resulted in severe injuries.
He was rushed to Tayug Emergency Hospital, where he later expired.

Doctor Melquiades A. Bravo’s examination of the cadaver revealed that Pablo Fernandez died due to “irreversible shock because of massive internal and external hemorrhage.”
Approximately 2,000 cubic centimeters of blood were found accumulated in the abdominal cavity, caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
The victim sustained five entry wounds on his back, with corresponding exit wounds on his right thorax, and suffered fractures on the lumbar vertebrae and right forearm.
Two shotgun pellets were recovered from inside the abdominal cavity, and a diagram (Exh. B-2 and B-1) provided a graphical record of the wounds and fracture locations.

Policeman Emilio Calibo, alerted by local police after hearing the gunshot, accompanied Police Sergeant Osmundo de la Cruz and Constabulary Sergeant Ernesto Liberato to the scene.
Local information quickly pointed to Artemio Turalba, a 20-year-old resident, as the suspect, with testimony provided by Bernabe Turalba, his father, who handed over a recently fired shotgun (Exh. E).
On April 30, 1964, Police Sergeant M. G. Gayangos took sworn statements from Pablo Fernandez’s son, Ernesto, and brother, Nemesio, which directly implicated Turalba.
Additional corroboration came from other witnesses, including Guerrero Castillo and rural policeman Juanito Par, who identified Turalba as the fleeing gunman.

Artemio Turalba denied involvement, claiming that at the time of the shooting he was conversing with Narcisa Obello, Celestino Serafica, Benigno Obello, and his father, in front of Narcisa Obello’s store.
He asserted that he did not hear anything unusual until after the conversation was interrupted by a gunshot and that he immediately went home after being told to close the store.
The alibi was weakened by the fact that his house was only about 300 meters from the crime scene—a distance that could be traversed within minutes—and by the lack of corroborative testimony from those he claimed to be with.

A paraffin test on casts made from Turalba’s and co-suspect Gregorio Manipon’s hands (Exh. 3) yielded a negative result for gunpowder residue; however, this was not deemed conclusive since the use of gloves or delay in timing could affect the results.
There was an indication of an underlying motive stemming from a personal family grievance: during a wedding party in 1962, Pablo Fernandez had struck Bernabe Turalba, causing lasting humiliation and a desire for revenge within the Turalba family.
Evidence of the shooting’s execution—involving treachery, premeditation, and nocturnity—was supported by the nature and pattern of the wounds, suggesting an ambush from behind.

A complaint for murder was filed based on the statements of the victim’s relatives and other eyewitnesses.
The preliminary investigation, conducted by the municipal judge of Asingan, resulted in the elevation of the case to the Court of First Instance through formal information filed by the fiscal.
Despite Turalba’s eventual submission of a bail bond—and his voluntary surrender in Villasis on May 11, 1964—the investigation continued, with issues raised regarding the timing and credibility of his surrender and subsequent testimony.

Whether the testimonies provided by various eyewitnesses sufficiently established that Artemio Turalba was the one who shot Pablo Fernandez.
How discrepancies in the witnesses’ minor details affected the overall credibility of their identification of Turalba as the killer.

Whether the negative paraffin test on Turalba’s hands conclusively proved his non-involvement in the shooting.
The implications of the unpresented recovery of the pellets and the inability to compare them directly with the shotgun in Exhibit E.

Whether Turalba’s claim of being at a neighbor’s store, engaged in conversation at the time of the crime, is sufficiently supported by corroborative testimony.
Whether the relatively short distance between his residence and the crime scene undermined his alibi.

Whether the historical grudge stemming from the 1962 incident between Pablo Fernandez and the Turalba family established a valid motive for murder.

Whether Turalba’s voluntary surrender and subsequent posting of bail should be considered a mitigating circumstance capable of reducing the severity of his sentence.
The legal implications of surrendering after the issuance of an order for arrest, yet still meeting the requirements for mitigation as per established case law.