Case Summary (G.R. No. 130612)
Key Places and Physical Evidence
Location of incident and discovery: bamboo grove of Amparo Domantay, barangay Guilig, Malasiqui, Pangasinan.
Instrument purportedly used: bayonet recovered from a tricycle of Elsa and Jorge Casingal following accused’s disclosure. Photographs of the scene and body were introduced by prosecution (Exhibits A–E).
Key Dates
Crime scene discovery and disappearance: October 17, 1996 (body found that afternoon; victim missing since lunchtime).
Police arrest/pickup: evening of October 17, 1996.
Initial local post‑mortem: October 18, 1996 (Dr. Macaranas; recommended NBI autopsy).
NBI autopsy: October 25, 1996 (Dr. Ronald Bandonill).
Criminal complaint initially filed for murder (October 21, 1996) and subsequently amended to rape with homicide following NBI findings.
Applicable Law and Constitutional Provision
Constitutional reference: 1987 Constitution — Article III, Section 12(1) and (3) (rights of persons under custodial investigation; requirement that waiver of rights be in writing and in presence of counsel; inadmissibility of confessions obtained in violation).
Statutory and evidentiary rules referenced: R.A. No. 7438 (extension of custodial protections to “invited” persons), Rule 133 of the Revised Rules on Evidence (requirements and limitation on extrajudicial confession as sole ground for conviction), and pertinent provisions of the Revised Penal Code and Civil Code (Art. 335 on rape; Art. 249 on homicide; Arts. 2199, 2230 on damages). Relevant jurisprudence cited in the decision is also applied.
Factual Summary
On October 17, 1996, six‑year‑old Jennifer was found dead with multiple stab wounds in a bamboo grove. Initial local medical exam noted numerous stab wounds and possible acts of lasciviousness; NBI autopsy established complete laceration of the right side of the hymen, signs of inflammation, and 38 stab wounds averaging six inches deep, with contusions on forehead, neck, and sternum. Witnesses reported seeing accused with the victim walking toward the grove and later standing near the grove. Accused was picked up at the market that evening and, according to police testimony, confessed to killing the child and disclosed the location of the bayonet; a radio reporter also testified that accused admitted to committing the crime during a jail interview.
Procedural History and Trial Court Disposition
The Municipal Trial Court received an initial complaint for murder; it was amended to rape with homicide after the NBI autopsy. At trial, prosecution presented seven witnesses and medical testimony; defense presented the accused as sole witness who denied the charges and denied making confessions. The Regional Trial Court convicted the accused of rape with homicide, imposed the death penalty (as augmented by RA No. 7659 then in effect), ordered indemnity to heirs totaling P480,000, and costs. The accused appealed.
Issues on Appeal
- Whether the extrajudicial confessions (to SPO1 Espinoza and to radio reporter Celso Manuel) were admissible under Article III, Section 12(1) of the Constitution and related authorities.
- Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt both elements of rape with homicide (i.e., carnal knowledge and homicide) or, alternatively, whether evidence only sustained a conviction for homicide.
Legal Analysis — Admissibility of the Police Confession and Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
The Court applied the 1987 Constitution (Art. III, Sec. 12(1) and (3)) and controlling jurisprudence requiring that an extrajudicial confession be voluntary, made with assistance of competent and independent counsel, express, and in writing. At the time of interrogation at the police station the accused was already the focused suspect and thus under custodial investigation; the constitutional protections applied. Although the investigator testified that he orally informed the accused of his rights and that the accused agreed to cooperate, the waiver was neither reduced to writing nor made in the presence of counsel. Consequently, the waiver was invalid and the alleged confession to SPO1 Espinoza was inadmissible. The bayonet seized thereafter, on the basis of that inadmissible confession, was also excluded as the “fruit of the poisonous tree” because it was obtained directly as a result of the unconstitutional confession; the Court relied on the doctrine that evidence derived from an unlawfully obtained primary source is tainted and inadmissible.
Legal Analysis — Admissibility of the Confession to Private Media
The Court distinguished the confession allegedly made to radio reporter Celso Manuel from the police confession. Constitutional protections against compelled self‑incrimination and requirements for counsel govern State action and custodial interrogation by public agents; they do not regulate purely private communications between individuals. The Court found that the jail interview with Manuel, conducted several days after the police interrogation, involved a private actor and lacked evidence that the reporter acted as an instrument or agent of the police. The accused voluntarily agreed to the interview and answered questions without apparent coercion; although police were physically present nearby in the facility, the Court concluded their presence did not render the interview a custodial interrogation for purposes of Article III, Sec. 12. Accordingly, the extrajudicial admission to the reporter was admissible.
Corroboration, Corpus Delicti, and Sufficiency of Evidence for Homicide
An extrajudicial confession alone cannot convict unless corroborated by evidence of corpus delicti and other circumstances. The Court found that corpus delicti (the fact of Jennifer’s death by criminal violence) was established by the forensic evidence (NBI autopsy) and the circumstantial testimony showing the accused’s presence with the victim near the scene and his nervous behavior thereafter. The testimony of child and adult witnesses placing accused with the child toward the bamboo grove, the discovery of the body, and medical evidence of fatal stab wounds together sufficiently corroborated the extrajudicial admission (as given to the reporter) to sustain conviction for homicide beyond reasonable doubt. The Court therefore affirmed guilt for the killing, but evaluated the applicable aggravating circumstances and degree.
Aggravating Circumstances and Cruelty
The Court held that the killing was committed with the aggravating circumstance of abuse of superior strength: the victim was a six‑year‑old child of small stature and the accused was an adult male with a weapon, and the wounds were numerous and severe. However, the Court found insufficient proof to sustain a finding of cruelty as an aggravating circumstance. The test for cruelty requires evidence that the accused deliberately and sadistically prolonged the victim’s suffering prior to death; mere number of wounds is not dispositive. Medical testimony indicated some wounds could have caused instantaneous fatality and there was no proof of sadistic prolongation, so cruelty as an aggravating circumstance was not established.
Analysis on Rape Element — Sufficiency and Corroboration
For rape involving a victim under 12 years of age, only carnal knowledge need be proven. Medical evidence (complete laceration of the right side of the hymen and inflammation) suggested trauma but, standing alone, does not definitively establish penile penetration or that the male organ caused the laceration. The NBI medico‑legal witness expressly testified that hymenal laceration may result from non‑sexual causes or from insertion of a blunt instrument or fingers; laceration is not conclusive proof of sexual intercourse. The Court emphasized that corroborative circumstantial indicators commonly surrounding rape convictions (e.g., disordered or blood‑stained undergarments consistent with forced exposure/penetration, semen found, accused observed adjusting clothing immediately after assault) were absent here. Moreover, the location and pattern of injuries (predominantly posterior stab wounds) and the presence of intact clothing with a large bloodstain on the back of the shorts were inconsistent with the typical pattern of injuries in a sexual assault and raised doubts whether intercourse occurred. The accused did not confess to rape. Given these fa
...continue readingCase Syllabus (G.R. No. 130612)
Procedural Posture
- Appeal to the Supreme Court from the decision of the Regional Trial Court of Dagupan City (Branch 57) which found accused-appellant Bernardino Domantay guilty of rape with homicide, sentenced him to death by lethal injection, ordered indemnity of P480,000.00 to the heirs of the victim, and imposed costs.
- The appeal raises two principal assignments of error: (I) alleged erroneous appreciation of the extrajudicial confession(s) made by the accused-appellant; and (II) alleged conviction despite failure of the prosecution to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
- The decision under review was rendered by Judge Bienvenido R. Estrada at the trial court level; the Supreme Court decision was penned by Justice Mendoza with concurrence from most members of the Court, two Justices taking no part.
Facts — Overview
- Date and time of discovery: October 17, 1996, around 4:00 PM—body of six-year-old Jennifer Domantay found sprawled in a bamboo grove in Guilig, Malasiqui, Pangasinan.
- Victim status: Jennifer Domantay, six years old, small build, 46 inches in height; had been missing since lunchtime on October 17, 1996.
- Condition at discovery: body bore multiple stab wounds; subsequent examinations and autopsy indicated multiple penetrating injuries and trauma.
Medical and Forensic Findings
- Initial local medical examination (Dr. Ma. Fe Leticia Macaranas, rural health physician of Malasiqui): concluded death due to multiple organ failure and hypovolemic shock secondary to 38 stab wounds in the back; no lacerations or signs of inflammation of the outer and inner labia and the vaginal walls were observed by Dr. Macaranas, though the vaginal canal admitted the little finger with minimal resistance; Dr. Macaranas recommended NBI medico-legal autopsy because of possible acts of lasciviousness.
- NBI autopsy (Dr. Ronald Bandonill, October 25, 1996, on embalmed body):
- Cause of death: numerous stab wounds to the back; average depth of wounds recorded at six inches.
- Weapon characterization: wounds probably caused by a "pointed sharp-edged instrument."
- Additional injuries: contusions on the forehead, neck, and breast bone.
- Genital findings: complete laceration of the right side of the hymen; surrounding genital area showed signs of inflammation; laceration opined to have been inflicted within 24 hours of death; Dr. Bandonill noted probability of penetration by a hard, rigid instrument, but expressly testified that hymenal laceration by itself neither proves nor disproves sexual intercourse and may be caused by blunt instruments or other non-sexual causes; he acknowledged that a fully erect male organ could cause such laceration but also that blunt objects or fingers could produce similar findings.
- Location of stab wounds: predominantly on posterior body—from back shoulder down to lower back, left to right; majority of wounds located on the back (except a minor cut on the lower left leg).
- Clothing and scene evidence: deceased was fully clothed (blue shorts and white shirt) when returned to parents’ home; a large bloodstain was present on back portion of shorts suggesting bleeding while clothed.
Police Investigation and Confiscation of the Bayonet
- Suspect identification: investigation by Malasiqui police identified Bernardino Domantay (a cousin of the victim's grandfather) as lone suspect.
- Arrest and custody: at about 6:30 PM on October 17, 1996, police officers Montemayor, de la Cruz, and de Guzman picked up accused-appellant at Malasiqui public market and brought him to police station; accused-appellant was interrogated by SPO1 Antonio Espinoza that evening.
- Confession to police: SPO1 Espinoza testified accused-appellant admitted to killing Jennifer and disclosed the location of the weapon; Espinoza stated he informed the accused in English (translated to Pangasinense) of right to remain silent and right to counsel, and that the accused agreed to answer questions even without counsel; the waiver was not in writing nor made in presence of counsel.
- Recovery of bayonet: accused-appellant stated he had given the bayonet at around 3:30 PM that afternoon to Elsa and Jorge Casingal in Poblacion Sur, Bayambang; on October 18, SPO1 Espinoza and another policeman recovered the bayonet from a tricycle belonging to the Casingals and executed a receipt evidencing confiscation (Exhibit G).
Charges and Information Filed
- Initial complaint: SPO4 Juan Carpizo filed a criminal complaint for murder on October 21, 1996, based on local post-mortem findings.
- Amendment to rape with homicide: after NBI autopsy (Dr. Bandonill’s findings), the complaint was amended to charge rape with homicide.
- Formal Information (as filed): charged that on October 17, 1996, in Guilig, Malasiqui, Bernardino Domantay, with lewd design and armed with a bayonet, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously had sexual intercourse with Jennifer Domantay, a 6-year-old minor, against her will and consent, and on the same occasion, with intent to kill, wilfully and feloniously stabbed her with a bayonet inflicting multiple stab wounds resulting in death; damage and prejudice to her heirs alleged.
Prosecution’s Evidence and Witnesses
- Total prosecution witnesses presented at trial: seven (Edward Domantay; Jiezl Domantay; Lorenzo Domantay; Joselito Mejia; SPO1 Antonio Espinoza; Celso Manuel; and Dr. Ronald Bandonill).
- Edward Domantay (eye-witness to drinking group, morning of Oct 17):
- Testified accused-appellant and two others drank in front of Daudencio Macasaeb’s house; Edward tended pigeons nearby.
- Stated accused-appellant gave him money to buy additional liquor; said accused-appellant sat between Macasaeb and himself.
- Reported accused-appellant, apparently intoxicated, rolled up his shirt, said there would be a "massacre" in Guilig similar to Antipolo/Lipa, and was seen with a bayonet tucked at left waist without a cover handle; testified accused-appellant habitually carried the knife.
- Jiezl Domantay (10 years old):
- Testified around 2:00 PM on Oct 17 she saw accused-appellant and Jennifer walking toward Amparo Domantay’s bamboo grove; accused-appellant about two meters ahead of Jennifer; bamboo grove about 8–10 meters from her house.
- Lorenzo Domantay (relative):
- Corroborated being seen in the afternoon: saw accused-appellant about 30 meters away standing at spot in the bamboo grove where body later found; described him as restless and worried, repeatedly looking around.
- Joselito Mejia (tricycle driver):
- Testified that on afternoon of Oct 17 accused-appellant asked to be taken to Malasiqui urgently; accused-appellant appeared nervous and afraid; they rode and accused-appellant later alighted near Mormon church, outside town proper.
- SPO1 Antonio Espinoza (investigating officer):
- Testified he apprised accused-appellant of constitutional rights before questioning; accused waived counsel orally and admitted killing Jennifer and revealed location of bayonet; confession not reduced to writing and no counsel assisted during questioning.
- On cross-examination admitted accused-appellant was not assisted by counsel and confession not in writing.
- Celso Manuel (radio reporter, DWPR):
- Testified he interviewed accused-appellant in jail on October 23, 1996; introduced himself, presented I.D., and interviewed with tape recorder; an uncle of the victim was present and policemen were about two to three meters away; no lawyer present.
- Testified accused-appellant answered "yes" when asked if he committed the crime and expressed willingness to accept consequences and to let victim's parents seek justice.
- Testified accused-appellant said his purpose was revenge over a boundary dispute and that he used the little girl in his revenge.
- Testimony was admitted over defense objection.
- Dr. Ronald Bandonill (NBI medico-legal):
- Testified to cause of death, wound depth/character, contusions, hymenal laceration on right side, inflammation, and his opinion regarding possible instruments and timing of wounds (within 24 hours of death for hymenal laceration).
Defense Evidence and Accused’s Testimony
- Accused-appellant Bernardino Domantay testified as sole witness for the defense:
- Denied accusations of rape and murder.
- Stated familial relationship to victim (uncle; he and the victim's grandfather are cousins) and employment as janitor at Malasiqui Municipal Hall.
- Accounted that at about 1:00 PM on Oct 17 he was bathing pigs outside Daudencio Macasaeb’s house; acknowledged Macasaeb was drinking but denied joining; confirmed giving money to Edward to buy liquor, Sprite, cigarettes.
- Denied Edward’s claim that he displayed a bayonet and threatened a "massacre."
- Confirmed he passed the trail by Amparo Domantay’s bamboo grove around 2:00 PM, but claimed he did not know Jennifer was following him.
- Admitted taking a t