People v. Genosa

Marivic Genosa admitted killing her husband, Ben Genosa, on the night of November 15, 1995 in Isabel, Leyte. She was then eight months pregnant. The defense presented evidence of years of beatings, including a doctor's records of six injury episodes, and neighbours who saw Ben choking her that night. By her account, Ben came home drunk, cut the television wire with a bolo, and was about to attack her. Later he dragged her by the neck towards a drawer holding a gun, saying "You might as well be killed so nobody would nag me", and took out a blade cutter. She struck his arm and nape with a pipe and ran into the children's bedroom. She then pried open the drawer, took the gun and shot him. His decomposing body was found in the locked house three days later; the autopsy found a depressed fracture at the back of the head. She had gone to Manila. The Ormoc RTC convicted her of parricide, found treachery as an aggravating circumstance, and imposed death. On automatic review, the Supreme Court remanded the case to receive expert opinion on battered woman syndrome (BWS); a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist testified.

1. 1Whether Genosa acted in self-defense or in defense of her fetus, including under the theory of battered woman syndrome.
2. 2Whether treachery attended the killing.
3. 3What penalty is proper, considering any mitigating circumstances.

The Court affirmed her conviction for parricide (Art. 246, RPC) but reduced the penalty. BWS is marked by a "cycle of violence": tension-building, acute battering, and a tranquil or loving phase. The Court found BWS not proved. She described the tension-building phase only for the fatal night, and the experts did not present the facts on which they based their conclusion. Even proven BWS must still meet the requisites of self-defense (Art. 11(1)). Unlawful aggression, the most important requisite, was absent: she had escaped to the children's bedroom and Ben had apparently ceased his attack and gone to bed, so the danger had ended. Without unlawful aggression there is no complete or incomplete self-defense. BWS self-defense requires proof that (1) each phase of the cycle characterised at least two battering episodes; (2) the final acute episode produced actual fear of imminent harm and an honest belief that force was needed; and (3) at the time of the killing the batterer posed "probable -- not necessarily immediate and actual -- grave harm". Two mitigating circumstances were credited: psychological paralysis from the repeated beatings, analogous to an illness diminishing her will power (Art. 13(9) and (10)); and passion and obfuscation from the acute battering that night. Treachery was unproved: nothing showed Ben's position when shot, the killing followed a quarrel, and she did not consciously choose the method. With two mitigating and no aggravating circumstances, the penalty was lowered one degree (Art. 64(5)). She was sentenced to 6 years and 1 day of prision mayor, as minimum, to 14 years, 8 months and 1 day of reclusion temporal, as maximum. She could be released once found eligible for parole. Costs de oficio.