Specialized Crime Investigation I With Legal Medicine
Specialized Crime Investigation I With Legal Medicine
Specialized Crime Investigation I With Legal Medicine
Medical Jurist/ Medical Examiner/ Medico- 1) The Provincial and City Fiscals.
Legal Officer/ Medico- Legal Expert 2) Judge of the Courts of the First Instance
A physician who specializes or is ( now Regional Trial Courts )
involved primarily with medico- legal 3) Justice of the Peace ( now Municipal Trial
duties. To be involved in medico- legal Court )
duties, a physician must possess 4) The Director of the National Bureau of
sufficient knowledge of pathology, Investigation – Rep. Act. 157 ( An act
anthropology, toxicology and such other creating the National Bureau of
branches of medicine germane to the issues Investigation )
involved. 5) The Chief of Police of the City Stations
6) Solicitor General
Ordinary Physician vs Medical Jurists
ORDINARY PHYSICIAN A.TITLE EIGHT: CRIMES AGAINST
The purpose is to arrive at a definite PERSON (Destruction of Life)
diagnosis so that appropriate treatment can
be instituted. ARTICLE 246 - PARRICIDE
Minor or trivial injuries are usually Parricide is committed when:
ignored a. A person is killed
MEDICAL JURISTS b. The deceased is killed by the accused
The purpose is to include bodily lesions in c. The deceased is the father, mother, or
his reports and testify before the court or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate; a
before an investigative body, thus legitimate other ascendant or descendant;
giving justice to whom it is due. or legitimate spouse of the accused.
Must record all bodily injuries even if they (People v. Malabago, G.R. No. 115686,
are small or minor, because these injuries December 2, 1992)
may be proofs to qualify the crime or to
justify the act. Parricide is based on the relationship of the
offender and the offended party. The
A. HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION relationship must be: (LDB)
It is the official inquiry made by the police • Legitimate except in case of parent and
on the facts and circumstances surrounding the child where relationship may either be
death of the person which is expected to be legitimate or illegitimate.
criminal or unlawful • In the Direct line or between ascendants and
descendants. There is no parricide in the
Homicide Investigation has three bridges which killing of brothers and sisters because the
shall not be crossed; otherwise it will compromise relationship is collateral.
the investigation and these are the following; (MEC • By Blood except for spouse. Thus, there is
RULE) no parricide in the killing between adopter
• The first bridge is the body has been and adopted, or between step-parent and step
moved. child because the relationship is not by
blood.
NOTE: Note:
1. Article does not define or penalize a felony.
A. The child should not be less than 3 days old. 2. Not necessary that the parent be legitimate
Otherwise, the offense is infanticide 3. Article applies only when the daughter is
* That the mother killed her child in order to single
conceal her dishonor is not mitigating. This * If the offender surprised a couple in sexual
is immaterial to the crime of parricide, intercourse, and believing the woman to be his wife,
unlike in the case of infanticide. If the child killed them, this article may be applied if the
is less than three days old when killed, the mistake of facts is proved.
crime is infanticide and intent to conceal her
dishonor is considered mitigating. 4. Sexual intercourse does not include
preparatory acts
B. Relationship must be alleged. 5. IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER: means
* In killing a spouse, there must be a valid that the discovery, escape, pursuit and the
subsisting marriage at the time of the killing. killing must all form parts of one continuous
Also, the information should allege the fact act.
of such valid marriage between the accused 6. No criminal liability is incurred when less
and the victim. serious or slight physical injuries are
inflicted. The principle that one is liable
* In a ruling by the Supreme Court, it was for the consequences of his felonious act is
held that if the information did not allege not applicable because he is not committing
that the accused was legally married to the a felony
victim, he could not be convicted of
parricide even if the marriage was * A person who acts under Article 247 is not
established during the trial. In such committing a crime. Since this is merely an
cases, relationship shall be appreciated as exempting circumstance, the accused must first
generic aggravating circumstance. be charged with:
(1) Parricide – if the spouse is killed;
C. A stranger who cooperates in committing
(2) Murder or homicide – depending on how the
parricide is liable for murder or homicide.
killing was done insofar as the paramour or
* Since parricide is a crime of relationship, if a the mistress is concerned;
stranger conspired in the commission of the (3) Homicide – through simple negligence,
crime, he cannot be held liable for parricide. if a third party is killed;
His participation would make him liable for (4) Physical injuries – through reckless
murder or for homicide, as the case may be. imprudence, if a third party is injured.
The rule of conspiracy that the act of one is
the act of all does not apply here because of ARTICLE 248 – MURDER
the personal relationship of the offender to
the offended party. Murder is the killing of another attended by a
qualifying circumstances
D. Even if the offender did not know that the
person he had killed is his son, he is still liable A.) That the killing was attended by any of the
for parricide because the law does not require following qualifying circumstances
knowledge of the relationship.
Parents killing their Children or vise-versa 1. With treachery, taking advantage of
– Child/parents may be legitimate/illegitimate superior strength, with the aid of armed
Spouse killing the other spouse men, or employing means to weaken the
– Their relationship must always be legitimate defense or of means or persons to insure
Killing of other descendants or ascendants or afford impunity
– their relationship must always be legitimate
There is treachery when the offender
ARTICLE 247. Death or Physical Injuries commits any of the crimes against the
Inflicted under Exceptional Circumstances person employing means, methods or forms
in the execution thereof that tend directly
A legally married person or parent surprises and especially to insure its execution
his spouse or daughter (the latter must be under 18 without risk to himself arising from the
and living with them) in the act of committing defense which the offended party might
sexual intercourse with another person make
• * Killing a person with treachery is murder
He/she kills any or both of them or inflicts even if there is no intent to kill. (People vs.
upon any or both of them any serious physical Cagoco, 58 Phil. 530)
injury in the act or immediately thereafter.
• If the offender may have not intended to kill was not alleged in the information, she also
the victim but he only wanted to commit a should be convicted of murder but the
crime against him in the beginning, he will relationship should be appreciated as
still be liable for murder if in the manner of aggravating.
committing the felony there was treachery • (5) Killing of the victims hit by hand
and as a consequence thereof the victim grenade thrown at them is murder qualified
died. by explosion not by treachery.
• Homicide - Occurs when one human being II. Cessation of Heart and Circulation
causes the death of another human being. Is
another term for the killing of one person by • There must be an entire and continuous
another. cessation of the heart action and flow of
blood in the whole vascular system.
Kinds of Death • As a general rule, if there is no heart action
for a period of five minutes death is
1. Clinical Death or Somatic Death
• there is a complete and continuous
cessation of the vital functions of the
brain, heart, and lungs which regarded as certain.
maintains life and health.
2. Molecular or Cellular Death
• Is the type of death characterized by Methods of Detecting the Cessation of
death of individual cells (one at a heart Action and circulation:
time) after the somatic death. 1. Palpation of the Pulse
3. Apparent Death/ State of Suspended
Animation Pulsation of the peripheral blood vessels
• A transient loss of consciousness may be made at the region of the wrist or at
or temporary cessation of the vital the neck.
function of the body on account of
disease, external stimulus other 2. Auscultation for the Heart Sound at the
forms of influence. Precordial Area
NOTE:
The rhythmic contraction and relaxation of
If the person dies within 24 hours without
suffering from a recognizable cause, such death the heart is audible through the stethoscope.
would be called a sudden death. 3. Fluoroscopic Examination
Fluoroscopic examination of the chest will • The cooling of the body after death at
reveal the shadow of the heart in its approximately 1.5 degrees F/hr. under
rhythmic contraction and relaxation. normal conditions and assuming the body’s
temperature at death is 98.6F (37C)\
4. By the use of Electrocardiograph
The heart beat is accompanied by the
passage of electrical charge through the • The fall of temperature of 15 to 20 degrees
impulse conducting system of the heart Fahrenheit is considered a certain sign of
which may be recorded in an death.
electrocardiograph machine. This is the best
Postmortem Caloricity is the rise of
method of determining heart action but quite
temperature of the body after death due to
impractical.
rapid and early putrefactive changes or some
Methods of Detecting circulation: internal changes. It is usually observed in
the first two hours of death.
1. Magnus’ Test- a ligature is applied around
the base of a finger with moderate tightness. FACTORS AFFECTING RATE OF COOLING
OF THE BODY
2. Opening of small Artery- in the living
blood escapes in jerk and at a distance. A. Factors related with body
Factors Delaying Cooling
3. Icard’s Test- this consists of the injection of
* Acute Pyrexial Diseases
a solution of fluorescein subcutaneously.
* Sudden death in good health Obesity
Fail to produce yellowish-green
* Death from asphyxia
discolouration in a dead body.
* Death of the middle age
4. Pressure on the Fingernails- if pressure is Factors Accelerating Cooling
applied on the fingernails intermittently, * Leanness of the body Extreme age
there will be a zone of paleness at the * Long-standing or lingering illness
site of the application of pressure which
become livid on release. B. Factors related to the surroundings
Factors Delaying Cooling
5. Diaphanous Test- fingers are spread wide * Clothing
and the finger webs are viewed through a * Small room
strong light. * Warm surrounding
6. Application of Heat on the skin- if heated Factors Accelerating Cooling
material is applied on the skin of a dead * Unclothed body
man, it will not produce true blister. There * Large room permitting the
are no sign of congestion, or other vital * dissipation of heat
reactions. * Cooling more rapid in water than in air