Criminal Law, 2016 Bar — Question XVIII

ESSAY

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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