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People vs. Matignas [DECISION]

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. JEMREICH MATIGNAS y SAN PASCUAL, NOEL DE GUZMAN y CRUZ, ALBERTO BAUTISTA JR. y CAPANZA and RUEL TARRE y GONZALES, accused, / JEMREICH MATIGNAS y SAN PASCUAL and NOEL DE GUZMAN y CRUZ, appellants.

G.R. No. 126146 | 2002-03-12

DECISION
 
PANGANIBAN, J.:
 
The killing of the victim and appellants’ authorship thereof have been proven beyond reasonable doubt by circumstantial evidence.  However, the corpus delicti of the alleged rape has not been established.  Hence, appellants may be convicted only of murder (qualified by abuse of superior strength), not rape with homicide; and sentenced toreclusion perpetua, not death.
 
Statement of the Case

For automatic review by this Court is the October 3, 1995 Decision[1] of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of San Mateo, Rizal (Branch 75), in Criminal Cases Nos. 2596-2600, finding...