G.R. No. 1090. April 29, 1905

The death of Pedro de Asis, which occurred at a time when he had
left the house of the defendant, being sent by the latter to that in
which the act occurred on the same day, facts perfectly proven, raises
serious doubt in deciding the question at issue in the case, viz,
whether it was the result of an illness from which the deceased
suffered, which view is urged by the defense, or whether his death was
caused by the beating and ill treatment which he received from the
defendant, according to the charges presented by Deogracias Balitaan
and urged afterwards by the prosecuting attorney.

These features do not exclude each other. They could have existed
together. The beating and maltreatment might have fallen on a sick
man—seriously ill, as stated by the defense—and have hastened the death
which resulted.

Without offsetting the evidence for the prosecution, all of the
defense was to sustain the fact of the existence of the acute illness,
with the possible result of death occurring on the following day after
its appearance, and this is not sufficient to set aside the
consideration given the evidence by the judge in his judgment if no
error or any departure from the facts established by the evidence is
set up against same. The judge found the facts sufficiently proven
beyond reasonable doubt to constitute the crime of homicide, and that
the defendant is the principal in the commission of the same, so the
judgment appealed from is correct.

The extenuating circumstance provided for in paragraph 3 of article
9 of the Penal Code has been well taken into consideration, but not so
that provided for in paragraph 7, according to the doctrine established
in the judgments of the criminal branch of the court of last resort in
Spain dated March 5, 1878, and October 15, 1879, cited by the
prosecution. However, the extenuating circumstance provided for in
article 11 of the Penal Code should be taken into consideration and
paragraph 5 of article 81 should be applied.

Therefore we affirm the judgment appealed from in all respects with
the further penalty of indemnifying the heirs of the deceased in the
sum of P1,000, Philippine currency, and to pay the costs in this
instance. So ordered.

Torres, Mapa, Johnson, and Carson, JJ., concur.