EN
BANC
THE UNITED
STATES,
Complainant-Appellee,
G.
R.
No. 1581
March
15, 1904
-versus-
PEDRO GIT,
Defendant-Appellant.
D
E C I S I
O N
TORRES,
J:
On
December 3, 1902, the
Provincial Fiscal of Occidental Negros filed an Information in the
Court
of First Instance of that District charging Pedro Git, Laurencio
Sernal,
Julio Occia, Pedro Mijares, and Laureano Mijares as principals, and
Basilio
Situado, Petronilo Berdaga as accessories after the fact, of the crime
of murder, in that one Saturday, prior to the 11th of November, 1902,
for
the purpose of appropriating to themselves the land of Miguel Pastor
and
preventing him from preventing any claim whatever, Pedro Mijares and
Laureano
Mijares, his brother-in-law, who were working the said lands, proposed
to Pedro Git and Laurencio Sernal, while the latter were in the house
of
the said Laureano, that they kill said Pastor for the sum of 100 Pesos,
instructing them to kill the said Pastor with clubs for the purpose of
avoiding the shedding of blood by which the crime might be revealed and
in order that his death might be attributed to the cholera, which was
then
epidemic; that the said Git and Sernal accepted the proposition and
resolved
to carry it into effect at 12 o'clock on the said 11th day of November
while Miguel Pastor was sound asleep in his house at Bontot in the
township
of Escalante of that district, in which house they were living as
laborers
employed by Pastor; that Pedro Git struck Pastor a blow on the back of
the neck with a club, being then and there aided by Julio Occia, who
was
present with a rope provided by Pedro Mijares for that purpose, with
which
rope, the deceased was bound while attempting to defend himself after
the
blow was struck; that after Pastor was killed, his body was buried in
the
cemetery with the aid of Basilio Situado, Petronilo Berdaga, and
Eugenio
Berdaga, the first of whom was suspected of having sustained illicit
relations
with the wife of the deceased, who, on that account, had discharged him
some days before the occurrence; that the second person above named had
found spots of blood in the said house but failed to make a proper
investigation,
thereby giving occasion for the concealment of the crime. The fiscal
asked
in his Information that the youth, Paulo Sernal, be not prosecuted, as
his participation in the crime was not proven.
The Complaint having
been filed, Paulo Sernal was discharged, and the defense then asked
that
Pedro and Laureano Mijares be given a separate trial, which petition
was
granted. Afterwards the case was dismissed as to the defendant
Petronilo
Berdaga at the request of the prosecuting attorney, and he was
accordingly
discharged.
Mr. G. A. Barber, a
sanitary inspector, having been informed by some of the inhabitants of
the place that early on the morning of November 12, 1902, a man had
been
interred in the cemetery under suspicious circumstances, reported the
case
to the local president of the town of Escalante, who, accompanied by
his
secretary, the said inspector, and the Justice of the Peace, with his
witnesses,
immediately proceeded to make an examination; they went to the grave
where
they observed spots of blood on the ground. The body having been
exhumed,
it was found to be that of Miguel Pastor. When exhumed, the corpse was
wrapped in a mat. An examination of the body showed that a piece of
rope
was wrapped around the neck, one end of it being fastened to the left
arm,
the other free end having been apparently broken. A wound was found on
the back of the neck and the right cheek, right eye and nose were
bruised.
Claro Singson, the
municipal president, and his secretary, Juan Alarcon, stated in their
testimony,
in addition to the facts above related, that Marcelino Gamao, a member
of the municipal council, also stated that he had been informed by the
grave-diggers that spots of blood were found around the grave in which
Miguel Pastor was interred, and consequently, in view of the condition
in which the body was found when exhumed, he directed the arrest of the
men who had buried the body, the result of which being the detention of
Pedro Git, Pedro Mijares, Basilio Situado, and Laurencio Sernal. This
witness
testified further that when exhumed, the body was dressed in an
undershirt
and trousers and that there was a white stocking on one of the feet;
that
the grave was only two or three spans in depth; that after the place
was
inspected and an examination of the body made by Dr. Barber, the corpse
was reinterred; that about 10 o'clock on the morning of the 12th of
November,
Apolonio Quintao, a corporal of the Constabulary force, reported to the
local president and to the Justice of the Peace that he had arrested
Laureano
Mijares, a member of the town council, because Pedro Git and Laurencio
Sernal had stated that they had killed the deceased, Pastor, the night
before, by orders of the said Laurencio, in consideration of the
compensation
of 100 Pesos.
The witnesses, Domingo
Sabete, Fabio Dotdot, and Anastacio Cobete, testified that, according
to
information which they had received, Miguel Pastor was killed by Git
and
Sernal, workmen in his employ, by order of Laureano Mijares. The last
witness
testified further that the house of Pedro and Laureano Mijares was
about
200 brazas away from that of Miguel Pastor. Petronilo Berdaga
testified
that on the morning of November 12, Pedro Git came to his house and
told
him that Miguel Pastor had died of cholera and asked him to assist in
the
burial of the body in the cemetery, but that the witness, being ill,
excused
himself and ordered his brother Eugenio Berdaga to go with Git and bury
the body. That at daybreak, he went to the chapel but found that the
body
was no longer there, but met Pedro Git, Laurencio Sernal, Julio Occia
and
his brother Eugenio, and also Basilio Situado, who were coming from the
direction of the cemetery; that as he observed spots of blood on the
floor
of the building, he asked from whence this blood had come, to which Git
replied that they were part of the fecal matter which had come from the
corpse, which statement the witness believed; that after he was
arrested
and taken into the Constabulary barracks, he heard Pedro Git, Laurencio
Sernal, and Julio Occia state to the Constabulary corporal that Git was
the man who killed Pastor with the aid of Sernal and Occia, by order of
Laureano and Pedro Mijares; that Git owed the deceased a certain sum of
money which he had refused to pay; that after Git's arrest, a pair of
trousers
, an undershirt, and a shirt of the deceased were found in his
possession,
which garments the witness recognized, he also being a laborer employed
by Pastor.
Laurencio Sernal
testified
that he lived in the house of the deceased with his brother and Paulo
Sernal,
and that while asleep on the night of the occurrence he was aroused by
a loud cry from Pastor, who called for assistance; that he immediately
arose for that purpose and, there being no light, he crawled along the
floor on his hands and knees; that just at this time Pedro Git, who was
also in the house, lit a light and then witness saw the corpse of
Miguel
Pastor lying on the floor, face upward, with a rope fastened to one of
the arms and wrapped several times around the neck; this witness
further
testified that Git was not in the house before the witness went to bed
and that he had not seen him up to the time that the light was lit and
that he believes that Git was the man who killed the deceased and
struck
the blows, the noise of which he heard immediately after the cry; that
the said Git immediately left the house and shortly after returned with
Pedro Mijares, who was desirous of determining for himself whether
Pastor
was dead or not, and that upon being convinced that he was, he said: "Pardon
me, brother Miguel, for the harm which I have done thee;" that Git
and Pedro Mijares they went away and shortly after returned bringing
some
pieces of split cane with which they made up a sort of crate in which
they
placed the body after wrapping it in the mat; that thereupon Pedro Git,
Basilio Situado, Eugenio Berdaga, and Julio Occia took the corpse to
the
cemetery; that Pedro Mijares also saw the rope wrapped around the neck
of the corpse; that Situado and Berdaga were called by the said Git and
Mijares to help carry the body; that about 4 o'clock on the afternoon
of
the same day while passing along in front of the house of Laureano
Mijares,
Pedro Mijares invited the witness to come in, and upon his entering,
the
said Pedro, in the presence of Laureano, told him that if anything
happened
that night in the house of Miguel Pastor that he was to keep quite
about
it; the witness replied that he did not understand what they meant;
that
when the light was lit and he saw Pastor there dead he also saw Julio
Occia
squatting near the body; that Paulo Sernal, who also slept in the
house,
did not awake at that time.
Paulo Sernal testified
that on the night of the 11th of November, he went to bed beside Miguel
Pastor and did not observe that the latter arose from the bed to go to
sleep on th floor; that when he awoke on the following morning, he
missed
Pastor, and shortly after he was arrested, together with his brother
Laurencio;
that he then heard that Pastor had been beaten to death, and that when
Pedro Git, his brother Laurencio, and Julio Occia testified before the
justice of the peace the witness heard that the latter were the persons
who had been guilty of the crime; this witness further testified that
he
and the persons last named lived in Pastor's house.
Upon this testimony
the Judge below, considering the crime of murder proven, as also the
guilt
of Pedro Git as principal and also that of Laurencio Sernal and Julio
Occia
as accessories after the fact, condemned Pedro Git to death and
Laurencio
Sernal and Julio Occia to the penalty of ten years of presidio mayor
each, with the accessory penalties, and all three of them to the
payment
to the heirs of the deceased of the sum of 1,000 Pesos each and to the
payment of three-fifths of the costs. Basilio Situado and Eugenio
Berdaga
were acquitted, and two-fifths of the costs were declared de oficio.
Against this Decision,
there was no appeal by the provincial fiscal or the defendants Sernal
and
Occia, and accordingly, with respect to them, the judgment of the Court
below is final and the case is before Us solely with respect to the
conviction
of Pedro Git, who was condemned to suffer the death penalty.
The facts above stated
show that the crime which was committed is murder. The evidence in the
case shows that on the night of the 11th of October, 1902, while Miguel
Pastor was sound asleep on the floor of his house, he was struck on the
back of the neck with a piece of hard wood and a rope immediately
wrapped
around his neck, one end of which was fastened to his left arm; that
the
deceased, being for this reason unable to defend himself or to arise,
was
strangled to death. The post mortem examination shows that his
death
was caused by the blow on the neck back of the right ear about two
inches
from the petrous part of the temporal bone, and also by asphyxia, he
having
been strangled to death with the said cord; that the wound was
inflicted
with a sharp, pointed instrument which penetrated to the brain.
It is therefore evident
that Miguel Pastor was killed under circumstances constituting
alevosia,
the crime having been perpetrated while he was asleep, and consequently
the assailant without any risk whatever to himself succeeded in
treacherously
committing the crime.
The defendant Pedro
Git pleaded not guilty, but in his testimony as a witness for the
defense
said that he killed his master, Miguel Pastor, on the night in question
in obedience to orders received from Pedro and Laureano Mijares,
brothers-in-law
of the deceased; that he struck the deceased on the neck with a piece
of
guayaba wood, used for an axed handle, which was about as thick as a
man's
arm and while the deceased was sound asleep in his house; that the
Mijares
brothers, having met the witness in the house of Laureano to which he
had
been invited by Pedro, after giving him several drinks of wine,
proposed
to him that he kill Pastor; that although he refused to accede to this
proposition at first, he consented after they offered him a reward of
100
Pesos; that they then encouraged him, telling him not to be afraid
because
one of them was a member of the town council and that it would be easy
to attribute the death to the cholera, which was then epidemic in the
town;
that after he was drunk, Laureano gave him a rope with which to tie the
victim in case of resistance, and a box of matches with which to make a
light for the purpose of finding the place where Pastor was lying; that
accordingly, at midnight, he went to Pastor's house, and having found
the
place where he was lying, struck him a blow on the neck with the club
he
was carrying; that Pastor cried out for help, whereupon the witness
immediately
tied the cord he was carrying to one of the hands of the deceased and
then
wrapped it several times around his neck and strangled him; that by
this
means he killed Pastor and while committing the crime called for
Laurencio
Sernal and Julio Occia, who came to his assistance, holding the
deceased
by the feet and hands; that after Pastor was dead, he reported the fact
to Laureano and Pedro Mijares and the latter provided the bamboo with
which
the body was crated and prepared for burial; that they then called for
Basilio Situado and Eugenio Berdaga, who, together with the witness and
the said Occia and Sernal, carried the body out to the cemetery and
buried
it.
The defendant Pedro
Git has been unquestionably the material executor, the conscious
instrument
of the crime planned by the Mijares brothers, he having committed it in
consideration of the sum of 100 Pesos which they promised to pay him,
believing
that because of the prevalence of the cholera, he could commit the
crime
with impunity by attributing to that disease the sudden death,
disappearance,
and burial of his victim.
The guilt of the
defendant
Git is unquestionable, and is fully proven not only by his own
confession
but also by the testimony of his co-defendants and that of several
witnesses
who heard his statements before he testified in Court. The contention
that
he acted in proper obedience to orders is untenable, because the order
which he received was plainly and manifestly unlawful. The guilt of the
Mijares brothers will be determined in a separate case which is being
prosecuted
against them.
No mitigating
circumstances
can be considered to have been present in the perpetration of the
crime.
The mitigating circumstance of drunkenness cannot be considered, both
because
it does not appear that the vice of drunkenness was not habitual to the
defendant, and also because it appears from the evidence that a
considerable
quantity of wine was given to Git purposely, which he voluntarily
accepted
before deciding to commit the crime. Against the defendant, We must
consider
aggravating circumstances Nos. 3, 7, 15, and 20 of Article 10 of the
Penal
Code; the crime having been committed in consideration of the promised
remuneration of 100 Pesos, with evident premeditation, and in the
darkness
and silence of the night and in the dwelling of the deceased.
Consequently
the judgment of the Court below is supported by the evidence and is in
accordance with the law, and, therefore, for the reasons stated, We are
of the opinion that the judgment must be affirmed with respect of Pedro
Git, with one-fifth part of the costs, the death penalty to be executed
in accordance with the provisions of Act No. 451 of the Civil
Commission,
September 2, 1902.
Judgment will be
entered
accordingly and the case remanded to the trial court with a certified
copy
of this Decision for execution. So ordered.
Arellano, C.J.,
Cooper, Willard, Mapa, McDonough, and Johnson, JJ., concur. |