G.R. No. 170136 January 18,
2008
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. ROBERT BRODETT y PAJARO, appellant.
Criminal Case
Digest
Digested Cases
Criminal Law
Facts:
Herein appellant Robert Brodett was charged for the murder of
Dr. April Duque, his live-in partner, whose body was found burning on the
spillway of Laoac Alacala. The sole witness to the killing was Giobert, their
five year old son, who testified in court that he saw his father hit his mother
with a hammer and thereafter stab her. Appellant was found guilty and the
aggravating circumstances of superior strength, dwelling, disrespect on account
of sex, cruelty, and scoffing at the corpse, were considered to have attended
the killing of the victim, thus the court sentenced him to death by lethal
injection.
Issue:
Whether the aggravating circumstances of superior strength,
dwelling, disrespect on account of sex, cruelty, and scoffing at the corpse
should be considered to have attended the killing of Dr. April Duque
Ruling:
The court ruled that the killing of April was attended with
treachery, because the injuries suffered by April clearly show that she did not
have any chance to defend herself. The aggravating circumstance of abuse of superior
strength was also appreciated but is already absorbed in treachery. Furthermore
the court appreciated the aggravating circumstance of outraging or scoffing at
the victim’s corpse because it was burned and left on the spillway in order to
conceal the crime. The Court however did not appreciate dwelling and disrespect
on account of sex because appellant and April resided in the same house and
appellant did not deliberately intend to insult or disrespect April’s
womanhood.
