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People of The Philippines vs. Ruby Mariano

Ruth Mariano killed her maid, Michelle. She repeatedly assaulted Michelle using her superior size and strength. Ruth loaded Michelle's dead body into a car owned by her sister, Ruby Mariano. Ruby drove the car when they were apprehended by police with Michelle's body in the trunk. [END SUMMARY]

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145 views3 pages

People of The Philippines vs. Ruby Mariano

Ruth Mariano killed her maid, Michelle. She repeatedly assaulted Michelle using her superior size and strength. Ruth loaded Michelle's dead body into a car owned by her sister, Ruby Mariano. Ruby drove the car when they were apprehended by police with Michelle's body in the trunk. [END SUMMARY]

Uploaded by

Grey Gap TV
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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G.R. No.

134847               December 6, 2000

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff- appellee, 


vs.
RUBY MARIANO y LARA and RUTH MARIANO y
LARA, accused-appellants.

PER CURIAM:

FACTS: Ruby Mariano and Ruth Mariano are sisters.


Michelle was their maid. Ruth killed Michelle. Ruby owns the
car to which the dead body of Michelle was loaded in
preparation for its disposal. Ruby was also the one driving
the vehicle (where the dead body of Michelle was found)
when the two were apprehended by the police.

QUESTION: What crime was committed by Ruth, the


confessed killer?

ANSWER: Murder qualified by cruelty. The circumstance of


abuse of superior strength aggravated the killing of the
victim.1There was gross physical disparity between the age,
built and strength of Ruth Mariano viz-a-viz the victim
Michelle. The former is a big and burly matured woman in
her thirties, several inches taller than the victim, and "who
could subdue her [victim] even without a weapon. While the
latter was merely a teenager, five (5) feet tall, slim and
poorly nourished and weighed less than 100 pounds. The
records also show that accused Ruth Mariano pulled the
victim's hair, banged her head, and repeatedly doused
boiling water on her. On those occasions, the victim was not
shown to be equipped with reasonable means of defense.
Abuse of superior strength depends upon the age, size and
strength of the parties. To take advantage of superior
strength is to purposely use excessive force out of proportion
to the means of defense available to the person attacked.

ISSUE: Whether or not Ruth’s sister (Ruby) should be liable


as well for murder?

DECISION: She should be acquitted. Here are the reasons.

1. There is no solid evidence on record effectively linking


Ruby Mariano to the gruesome killing of Michelle. There

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is no showing that she ever laid hands on the deceased
nor was she ever seen helping her sister Ruth on those
occasions when Ruth reportedly manhandled Michelle,
nor was there any positive act of assent or cooperation
on her part with Ruth ever satisfactorily established or
proved by the prosecution.
2. All that can be gathered from evidence are: (a) Ruth
and Ruby were staying with Michelle in the same
apartment, together with their 74-year old mother and
Ruby's children; (b) the victim had been dead for two (2) to
three (3) days when placed in the car; and, (c) Ruby owns the
vehicle where the body of the victim was concealed and was in
fact driving the vehicle when the police intercepted them and
found the body of Michelle in the trunk of their vehicle.

3. While these circumstances strongly indicate that Ruby had


knowledge of what her sister Ruth did to Michelle, they are too
insufficient to support a finding that Ruby had something to do
with the crime so that she should likewise be answerable. With
her nominal role, we cannot conscientiously declare that Ruby
was a principal or even an accomplice in the crime. The
presumption of innocence in her favor has not been overcome
by proof beyond reasonable doubt.

QUESTION: Is the act of Ruby in driving the car where the corpse of
Michelle was hidden, her resistance to stop the car when chased by
the police and to immediately open the luggage compartment as
requested by the police, her act of lying to the police by claiming that
the box in the compartment contained only dirty clothes, and her
refusal to open said box sufficiently indicate knowledge of the crime
and assistance to Ruth Mariano in concealing the corpus delicti to
prevent its discovery, thus making her an accessory?

HELD: No. REASON: Ruby Mariano is the sister of Ruth Mariano. As


such, their relationship exempts appellant Ruby Mariano from
criminal liability under Art. 20 of The Revised Penal Code -

Art. 20. Accessories who are exempt from criminal liability. - The
penalties prescribed for accessories shall not be imposed upon those
who are such with respect to their spouses, ascendants,
descendants, legitimate, natural and adopted brothers and sisters, or
relatives by affinity within the same degrees, with the single exception
of accessories falling within the provisions of paragraph 1 of the
preceding article (underscoring supplied).
The reason for exemption is obvious; it is based on ties of blood and the preservation of the cleanliness of
one's name, which compels one to conceal crimes committed by relatives so near as those mentioned in the
above-quoted article.

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