Frustrated murder vs. murder: What’s the difference?

A screenshot of the CCTV video that captured the moments Jed Andrew Salera, also known as Range999, reportedly shot a foreigner inside a hotel compound in Cebu City last March 17, 2024. | Contributed

CEBU CITY, Philippines – If a person had the intent to kill another but the victim survived due to “causes independent of the will of the perpetrator,” he may be charged with frustrated murder.

But if the victim dies, the suspect could be held liable for murder, provided that all the elements to quality for murder are met.

This is what differentiates frustrated murder and murder, according to Police Major Romeo Caacoy, chief of Mabolo Police Station.

READ: Rapper Range999 ‘regrets’ shooting foreigner – manager

This is also the reason why Mabolo police said they will now be filing murder charge against Cebu-based rapper Jed Andrew Salera, popularly known as Range999.

Shortly after Salera shot American national Michael George Richey on Sunday, police said that frustrated murder raps will be filed against him.

Richey was still at the hospital then, undergoing treatment for his injuries.

But Richey succumbed late on Tuesday afternoon, which led Caacoy to make the announcement that they will now be filing a murder charge against Range999.

READ: Hotel shooting: Foreigner dies; murder charge to be filed vs Range999

What is murder?

Under the Philippine law, murder is defined as a crime against persons and punishable under the Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code.

The article, as amended by Republic Act No. 7659, states that “Any person who, not falling within the provisions of Article 246 shall kill another, shall be guilty of murder and shall be punished by reclusion perpetua…”

Furthermore, the law states that a crime is classified as a murder if the following circumstances are present:

1. With treachery, taking advantage of superior strength, with the aid of armed men, or employing means to weaken the defense or of means or persons to insure or afford impunity.

2. In consideration of a price, reward, or promise.

3. By means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, shipwreck, stranding of a vessel, derailment or assault upon a street car or locomotive, fall of an airship, by means of motor vehicles, or with the use of any other means involving great waste and ruin.

4. On occasion of any of the calamities enumerated in the preceding paragraph, or of an earthquake, eruption of a volcano, destructive cyclone, epidemic or other public calamity.

5. With evident premeditation.

6. With cruelty, by deliberately and inhumanly augmenting the suffering of the victim, or outraging or scoffing at his person or corpse

General elements of murder

The general elements of a murder are: that a person was killed, that the accused killed the victim, that the killing was attended by any of the qualifying circumstances mentioned in Article 248, and that the killing is not parricide or infanticide.

Parricide refers to a crime committed when an individual kills a relative while infanticide is the killing of any child less than three days of age.

Individuals found guilty of murder will be meted with reclusion perpetua or 20 years and 1 day to 40 years in jail.

Meanwhile, those who are found guilty of frustrated murder will be facing the “penalty next lower in degree than that prescribed by law for the consummated felony” which is reclusion temporal.

Convicted persons will be spending 12 years and 1 day up to 20 years of their lives in jail.