People v. ZZZ
G.R. No. 228828
July 24, 2019
FACTS:
The RTC
and CA convicted ZZZ for the crime of rape with homicide. BBB, AAA and ZZZ’s
uncle said that at around 7:00p.m. on May 16, 1996, he was on his way to the
store to buy cigarettes when he saw ZZZ dragging AAA by the wrist toward the
school. Though it was dark and he was about 1 0 meters away, he was able to see
them using a flashlight he was carrying. Still, he said he presumed nothing was
off, thinking they were relatives. He had merely reprimanded them before he
went on to buy his cigarette and returned home, where he had a drinking spree
with his nephews. According to the findings of the Doctors, AAA might have been
sexually assaulted. He added that AAA's death could have been caused by the
traumatic cerebral contusion.
ISSUE:
Whether
or not ZZZ is guilty of rape with homicide.
HELD:
Yes. In
People v. Villarino, the elements of
special complex crime of rape with homicide are the following: (1) the appellant had carnal knowledge of a
woman; (2) carnal knowledge of a woman was achieved by means of force, threat
or intimidation; and (3) by reason or on occasion of such carnal knowledge by
means of force, threat or intimidation, the appellant killed a woman. The
Court of Appeals ruled that although BBB did not actually see ZZZ raping AAA,
circumstantial evidence led to the reasonable conclusion that ZZZ perpetrated
the crime: (1) BBB positively identified ZZZ as the person last seen with the
victim immediately before the incident; and (2) ZZZ hid from authorities and
adopted an alias. The Court of Appeals concluded that these pieces of
circumstantial evidence operated against ZZZ.
