CASE DIGEST

PHILIPPINES V. MURRAY

This is an appeal from the judgement of COFI Rizal.

FACTS:

• The appellant Ester Del Rosario Murray was married to the deceased George Murrag on May 9,
1946
• Ester Murray was a widow with 4 children at the time of their marriage while George Murray
was a retired officer of the US Army.
• They lived in a 2-storey house in San Juan Rizal, with 1 maid, Marial Naral and 1 driver, Jose
Tagle.
• The spouses seemd to have a lived quietly until May 1949, when George Murray met Carolina
Trinida aka Carol Varga a young cinema actress.
• On August 13, 1949, George Murray came home aound 4AM, after few minutes, Ester Murray
entered the room of her daughters and maid and left her younger son in there. Not long after she
left the heard 4 shots coming from the room of the spouses.
• Jose Tagle was also awakened by the shots and went to the driveway stairs leading to the house
and saw Ester Murray opened the balcony doors above the stairs, he also saw her throwing
something away near the place where the dogs are kept.
• Ester Murray ordered her daughter to call a doctor and fetch a policeman together with the maid
and the driver.
• When the Maria Naral went to the bedroom of the spouses after fetching the policeman she
noticed the clothes were scattered around when it was not in that state when they left the house.

ISSUE:

1. Whether or not the COFI of Rizal erred in finding the appellant guilty of parricide for the death
of her husband George Murray.

HELD:

1. No. The evidence of the plaintiff-appellee which is all circumstancial and therefore less
susceptible to fabrication constitues an unbroken chain of natural and rational circumstances
corroborating each other and certainly cannot be overcome by the very inconcrete and doubtful
evidence submitted by the defendant-appellant which the Sec 98 of Rules of Court provides.

The judgement appealed from is hereby affirmed, with modifications as to the indemnity. With cost
against Appellant.