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    People vs. Villacorta

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    Rain Co
    Villacorta was found guilty of murdering Danilo Salvador Cruz after stabbing him with a sharpened bamboo stick on January 23, 2002. An eyewitness, Cristina Mendeja, saw the stabbing and identified Villacorta as the attacker. Dr. Domingo Belandres determined the cause of death was tetanus infection from the stab wound. The Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict, finding Mendeja credible and Villacorta's denial self-serving. However, they ruled Villacorta could only be liable for slight physical injuries since tetanus infection, not the stab wound, was the proximate cause of death over three weeks later.

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    People vs. Villacorta

    Uploaded by

    Rain Co
    47 views2 pages
    Villacorta was found guilty of murdering Danilo Salvador Cruz after stabbing him with a sharpened bamboo stick on January 23, 2002. An eyewitness, Cristina Mendeja, saw the stabbing and identified Villacorta as the attacker. Dr. Domingo Belandres determined the cause of death was tetanus infection from the stab wound. The Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict, finding Mendeja credible and Villacorta's denial self-serving. However, they ruled Villacorta could only be liable for slight physical injuries since tetanus infection, not the stab wound, was the proximate cause of death over three weeks later.

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    Villacorta was found guilty of murdering Danilo Salvador Cruz after stabbing him with a sharpened bamboo stick on January 23, 2002. An eyewitness, Cristina Mendeja, saw the stabbing and identified Villacorta as the attacker. Dr. Domingo Belandres determined the cause of death was tetanus infection from the stab wound. The Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict, finding Mendeja credible and Villacorta's denial self-serving. However, they ruled Villacorta could only be liable for slight physical injuries since tetanus infection, not the stab wound, was the proximate cause of death over three weeks later.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    47 views2 pages

    People vs. Villacorta

    Uploaded by

    Rain Co
    Villacorta was found guilty of murdering Danilo Salvador Cruz after stabbing him with a sharpened bamboo stick on January 23, 2002. An eyewitness, Cristina Mendeja, saw the stabbing and identified Villacorta as the attacker. Dr. Domingo Belandres determined the cause of death was tetanus infection from the stab wound. The Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict, finding Mendeja credible and Villacorta's denial self-serving. However, they ruled Villacorta could only be liable for slight physical injuries since tetanus infection, not the stab wound, was the proximate cause of death over three weeks later.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    GR no.

    186412 | September 7, 2011

    People of the Philippines (plaintiff appellee) vs. Orlito Villacorta (accused-appellant)

    Facts:
    ● Villacorta was found guilty of murdering Danilo Salvador Cruz
    ○ 23 Jan 2002: Villacorta willfully stabbed Cruz with a sharpened bamboo stick
    ● Witnesses: Cristina Mendeja and Dr. Domingo Belandres
    ○ Mendeja’s account:
    ■ Cruz was ordering bread at her store at around 2pm when Villacorta
    suddenly appeared and stabbed Cruz using a sharpened bamboo stick.
    ■ The bamboo stick broke and was left in Cruz’s body.
    ■ Villacorta fled the scene. Mendeja tried to chase him but was not able to
    catch him.
    ■ When she returned to her store, she saw her neighbor Aron removing the
    broken bamboo stick from Cruz’s body.
    ○ Dr. Belandres’ account
    ■ Cruz was taken to Tondo Medical Center when he sustained the wound
    and was only brought to San Lazaro Hosp. on 14 Feb 2002 where he
    died the following day.
    ■ He died of tetanus infection secondary to stab wound.
    ● Villacorta denied stabbing Cruz
    ○ Acc. to him, he was on his way home from work at 2am of 21 jan 2002.
    ○ Upon arriving home, he drank coffee and went outside to buy cigarettes at a
    nearby store. As he was about to leave the store, Cruz put his arm around
    Villacorta’s shoulder, which prompted him to box Cruz. After which, he went
    home.
    ○ He did not notice that Cruz got hurt and was not aware of his death until he was
    arrested.

    Issue Petitioner’s Held Ratio


    Contention/
    Defense

    WoN Mendeja Mendeja’s Not - Trial courts had the first had opportunity to
    was a credible statements persuaded observe the demeanor of the witnesses under
    witness were grilling examination. Both the RTC and CA
    inconsistent gave full faith and credence to the testimony of
    and Mendeja
    incredulous - Villacorta was not able to present any reason
    for Medeja to fabricate such a lie and falsely
    accuse him
    - Denial is self-serving negative evidence at the
    face of a positive identification

    WoN Villacorta The proximate Yes Art 266: Slight physical injuries and maltreatment
    can be held cause1 of - Shall be punished by arresto menor when
    liable only for death is the offender has inflicted physical injuries
    slight physical infection, and which shall incapacitate the offended party
    injuries for the not the stab from labor from 1-9 days or shall require
    stab wound he wound medical assistance during the same period
    inflicted upon
    Cruz

    WoN Villacorta Set aside - If Cruz acquired severe tetanus infection from
    was guilty the stabbing, then the symptoms would have
    beyond appeared a lot sooner than 22 days later
    reasonable - He cannot be held criminally liable for
    doubt of frustrated murder because the intent to kill
    murdering Cruz was not established

    1 Definition of proximate cause:


    - That cause, which, in natural and continuous sequence, unbroken by any efficient
    intervening cause, produces the injury, and without which the result would not have
    occured.

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