Lucky pleads ‘not guilty’ in ma’s slay; plea deal eyed | Inquirer News

Lucky pleads ‘not guilty’ in ma’s slay; plea deal eyed

“Not guilty.”

Nursing student Christian Lucky Dalangin, 25, entered his plea of innocence in yesterday’s court arraignment on a charge of parricide.

Earlier efforts to strike a plea bargain for a lesser offense of homicide, and consequently a lower penalty,  did not prosper.

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Lawyer Leah Cruz of the Public Attorney’s Office said his family has not reached an agreement yet about it.

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“We might as well go to trial.  As counsel of the accused, I won’t allow him to admit the offense  with a penalty of capital punishment,”  Cruz told Cebu Daily News.

The youngest son of murder victim  Rubirosa Tenchavez had earlier  executed an extra-judicial confession where he admitted to cutting his mother’s throat on Aug. 23  and burying her remains in a newly dug hole  in their residence in Mambaling, Cebu City.

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Cruz said his “not guilty” plea isn’t necessarily a recantation of his previous admission and that a plea bargain may still happen while the trial gets under way.

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The main private complainant in the case is the victim’s husband, Virgilio, father of Christian.

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The lawyer said Virgilio and Rubirosa’s marriage hasn’t been annulled contrary to previous media reports.

Virgilio was present in court yesterday  but declined to issue any statement to the media.

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“The father wants a plea bargain. He pities his son. Eventually, I know the aunties of the accused will also pity him,” Cruz said.

Cruz said she has not received any feedback yet from the victim’s sisters about the proposal to have  a plea bargaining agreement.

“Let’s have the trial for now,” she said.

The parties will appear before Regional Trial Court Judge Gilbert Moises of Branch 18 for the pre-trial conference on Oct. 17.

In a separate interview, Assistant City Prosecutor Ricky Jones Macabaya said  the prosecution rejected the plea bargaining agreement presented by the defense.

“It’s just that the family didn’t have a common ground about the issue,” Macabaya said.

Dalangin’s father Virgilio wanted the charges against the accused downgraded from parricide to homicide.

In a plea bargaining agreement,  the accused  may agree to enter a guilty plea.

In return, the prosecutor agrees to dismiss the charges or recommend favorable penalty to the court.

If convicted of parricide, Dalangin faces a penalty of reclusion perpetua or 20 to 40 years of imprisonment.

Homicide would draw a term of 15 years.

Dalangin earlier admitted killing his mother Rubirosa after she scolded him when he returned home past midnight after a drinking session with friends.

She allegedly berated him  over broken floor tiles and a damaged computer.

Dalangin said he got a knife and slashed his mother’s neck twice then called two friends to help dig a hole in a stockroom where he placed her remains and paved it over with concrete.

The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas said it is opposed to a plea bargain agreement for Dalangin.

“It’s a heinous crime. It’s a parricide case,” said NBI-7 Agent Bernard de la Cruz.

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He said they have testimonies from witnesses and Dalangin’s confession to bolster their case against him.

TAGS: Crime, parricide

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