People v Genosa,
GR No. 135981
Facts:
Appellant Marivic Genosa shot her husband, which led to his death. RTC found her guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of parricide. Marivic appealed to SC arguing that she acted in self-defence because she suffered severe and repeated beatings at the hands of her husband and that her relationship with him had afflicted her with the “battered woman syndrome.” Marivic who was then eight months pregnant, claimed that she and her husband argued during that night. Fearful that her husband would hurt her and her unborn child, she admitted using a pistol to kill the victim, who was then sleeping at that time. Experts believed that Marivic matched the profile of a battered woman, and her mental state at that time made her re-experience the trauma, which prompted her to kill her husband.
Issue:
Whether Genosa validly invoke the “battered woman syndrome” as constituting self defense.
Held:
NO. The defense fell short of proving all three phases of the “cycle of violence” supposedly characterizing the relationship of Ben and Marivic Genosa. No doubt there were acute battering incidents but appellant failed to prove that in at least another battering episode in the past, she had gone through a similar pattern. Neither did appellant proffer sufficient evidence in regard to the third phase of the cycle.
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