This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2000-10-04 |
YNARES-SANTIAGO, J. |
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| This Court has held that where all indicia tend to support the conclusion that the attack was sudden and unexpected but there are no precise data on this point, treachery cannot be taken into account. Treachery cannot be established from mere suppositions drawn from the circumstances prior to the moment of the aggression that the accused perpetrated the killing with treachery.[4] When the witnesses did not see how the attack was carried out and cannot testify on how it began, the trial court cannot presume from the circumstances of the case that there was treachery. Circumstances which qualify criminal responsibility cannot rest on mere conjectures, no matter how reasonable or probable, but must be based on facts of unquestionable existence. Mere probabilities cannot substitute for proof required to establish each element necessary to convict. Treachery must be proved by clear and convincing evidence, or as conclusively as the killing itself.[5] | |||||
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2000-07-03 |
GONZAGA-REYES, J. |
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| Considering that the participation of the accused-appellant in the killing of Leo Latoja has been proven beyond reasonable doubt and considering further that the convictions of his co-accused, SILVA and GULANE, have been sustained by this Court in People vs. Silva,[18] we adopt the finding in said case that homicide was committed as well as the imposition of penalty therein. The Court's ratiocination regarding the absence of treachery and evident premeditation is in point as follows:"The trial court reasoned that the killing was attended by treachery because the suddenness of the attack caught Leo offguard thus preventing him from putting up any defense. We ruled in a litany of cases that treachery cannot be presumed; it must be proved by clear and convincing evidence or as conclusively as the killing itself. The same degree of proof to dispel any reasonable doubt is required before treachery may be considered either as an aggravating or qualifying circumstance. Further, treachery must be based on some positive conclusive proof and not only upon hypothetical facts or on mere suppositions or presumptions. | |||||