Lina worked as a housemaid and yaya of the one-week old son of the spouses John and Joana. When Lina learned that her 70-year old mother was seriously ill, she asked John for a cash advance of P20,000.00, but the latter refused. In anger, Lina gagged the mouth of the child with stockings, placed him in a box, sealed it with masking tape, and placed the box in the attic. Lina then left the house and asked her friend Fely to demand a P20,000.00 ransom for the release of the spouses’ child to be paid within twenty-four hours. The spouses did not pay the ransom. After a couple of days, John discovered the box in the attic with his child already dead. According to the autopsy report, the child died of asphyxiation barely minutes after the box was sealed.
What crime or crimes, if any, did Lina and Fely commit? Explain. (5%)
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Lina committed Murder, while Fely committed no crime. Under Article 248 of the RPC, killing an infant by exploiting his helpless age constitutes Murder qualified by treachery. Kidnapping requires actual deprivation of liberty; if the victim dies immediately,
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Quick check
What element qualifies the killing of a defenseless one-week-old infant to murder under the Revised Penal Code?
Exploiting the absolute helplessness of an infant of tender years constitutes treachery qualifying the crime to murder.
Why is an offender who kills an infant within minutes NOT criminally liable for Kidnapping for Ransom?
Kidnapping requires the actual detention of a living person; immediate death prevents the crime of kidnapping.
What is the criminal liability of a friend who demands ransom believing a child is alive, without having joined in the killing?
Demanding ransom without participation in illegal detention or killing lacks actus reus, resulting in no criminal liability.
Which element is essential to sustain a conviction for Kidnapping for Ransom under Article 267 of the RPC?
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What is the legal effect of a ransom demand communicated after the victim has already died from fatal asphyxiation?
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Learn more about these topics
1. Treachery in Infanticide
Under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, murder is committed when a person kills another with treachery. Treachery exists when the offender employs means, methods, or forms in the execution of the crime that tend directly and specially to ensure its execution without risk to himself arising from the defense which the offended party might make. In crimes committed against infants or children of tender years who are inherently defenseless, taking advantage of the victim's absolute physical helplessness constitutes treachery, qualifying the unlawful killing of an infant to murder.
2. Kidnapping for Ransom
Under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code, kidnapping for ransom requires the actual illegal detention or restraint of liberty of a living victim to extort money. If the victim dies immediately upon the commission of the act and before any demand for ransom is communicated, the crime committed is murder rather than kidnapping for ransom. A subsequent demand for monetary ransom made after the victim has already died does not retroactively convert a completed murder into kidnapping for ransom, because no actual restraint of a living person's liberty exists.
3. Actus Reus Requisite
Under fundamental principles of criminal law, a crime requires the concurrence of both mens rea and actus reus. Criminal intent alone, without an overt illegal act, does not constitute a punishable felony. When a third party demands monetary ransom believing a kidnapped child is alive, but has neither participated in the taking, detention, nor killing of the victim, she cannot be held liable for murder or kidnapping. Demanding ransom without an underlying unlawful detention or conspiracy yields no criminal actus reus, exempting the third party from criminal liability.