Case Digest (G.R. No. 172896)
Facts:
Rono Seguritan y Jara, charged by an Information filed on October 1, 1996, was accused of committing homicide on November 25, 1995 in Barangay Paradise, Gonzaga, Cagayan. The Information alleged that petitioner struck his uncle, Lucrecio Seguritan, inflicting head injuries which caused his death. At arraignment petitioner pleaded not guilty and trial followed. The prosecution presented eyewitness testimony, principally that of Melchor Panis, that petitioner punched the victim twice during a drinking session, causing the victim to fall and strike his head on a hollow block used as an improvised stove; the victim lost consciousness, was briefly revived, went home, and died that night. The NBI medico-legal officer, Dr. Antonio Vertido, exhumed the body and testified that autopsy revealed hematomas in the right parietal and left occipital areas, a linear fracture in the right middle fossa, and subdural hemorrhages, and that the cause of death was traumatic head injury. Petitioner de...Case Digest (G.R. No. 172896)
Facts:
Petitioner Rono Seguritan y Jara was charged on October 1, 1996 for the killing of his uncle, Lucrecio Seguritan, allegedly occurring on November 25, 1995 in Gonzaga, Cagayan; the Regional Trial Court of Aparri convicted him of homicide and sentenced him on February 5, 2001. The Court of Appeals affirmed with modification on February 24, 2006, and this petition for review followed, culminating in the Supreme Court decision of April 19, 2010.The prosecution relied on eyewitness testimony and an NBI autopsy by Dr. Antonio Vertido establishing traumatic head injuries as cause of death; the defense denied the blows caused death and relied on a death certificate and testimony asserting cardiac cause and challenged the delayed autopsy and embalming.
Issues:
- Did the Court of Appeals err in affirming the trial court's judgment of conviction?
- Did the Court of Appeals err in convicting the accused of the crime of homicide rather than a lesser offense?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)