Woman, lover get life for killing foster mom

MANILA, Philippines – For setting a car on fire while her foster mother was inside, a woman and her boyfriend have been found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

In a decision promulgated on Wednesday, Judge Lily Villareal Biton of the San Mateo, Rizal Regional Trial Court Branch 77 said the prosecution established beyond reasonable doubt that Princess Rose Ann Golez, 23, conspired with Melvin de Leon to burn Antonia Golez, 58, in a Nissan Altima on Sept. 9, 2009 along Don Mariano Marcos Avenue in Rodriguez, Rizal.

The court said the victim, who died of asphyxia, was charred beyond recognition.    

One of the witnesses, vendor Necy del Pilar, testified  that she heard the accused quarreling with the victim in the car and saw a plastic bottle containing suspected gasoline drop before Rose Ann came out.    

Rose Ann denied the accusation, saying her foster mother killed herself.

“This court finds it highly improbable for the victim to have killed herself by fire as she was even asking for help while inside the car,” Biton’s ruling stated.

“The killing…by means of fire was attended with treachery as it was done swiftly, unexpectedly, and without warning, affording the victim no chance to resist or escape the attack by means of fire. A sudden attack against an unarmed victim constitutes treachery,” the court said.

The court said De Leon took advantage of Rose Ann’s young age, who was only 18 at the time, and “misguided adoration” of him to commit the heinous crime.

The court also ordered the couple to pay P175,000 in civil indemnity as well as moral and temperate damages.