This appeal has  been brought  to reverse a judgment of the Court of First Instance of the Province of Cagayan, finding the appellants, Ramon, Mariano, and Victoriano, of the surname Bumanglag, and Fausto Siazon, guilty of the offense of murder, and sentencing  them to undergo  life imprisonment (cadena perpetua), with the accessories prescribed by law, requiring them jointly and severally to indemnify the family of the deceased  (Emilio Almazan)  in the amount of P1,000, and requiring them to pay the costs of prosecution.   The appellant Ramon Bumanglag, indifferently referred to as Santiago Bumanglag in the transcript, has died since this cause was  submitted upon appeal, as appears  in  a certificate from  the  Bureau of  Prisons, and nothing  remains to be done by us  in his case except to declare the prosecution abated.

As regards the other three appellants, the facts are briefly these:

The three brothers in this case named Bumanglag and their brother-in-law, Fausto Siazon, are part of a numerous connection, residents of the barrio of Cumao, in the municipality of Gattaran, Province of Cagayan.   Prior to  Setember, 1929, the entire lot had become incensed at their neighbor  Emilio Almazan, by reason of the fact that he had been chiefly concerned in prosecuting Mariano Bumanglag for various  offenses.  Ks a result of the expenses incurred in defending himself successfully or unsuccessfully in these cases Mariano had become reduced to poverty.  The ill will engendered in him on account of said proceedings was shared by his  kinsmen;  and  a  conspiracy was formed among them for the destruction of Emilio.  This conspiracy took definite shape at a meeting held on the night of September 1 or 2, 1929, in the house of Elpidio Bumanglag, at- tended by numerous persons of the Bumanglag connection. Upon this occasion  the aged Lorenzo Gamat gave Mariano P200 to  pay the attorneys who had defended him in the previous litigation, and further proposed that a fund should be raised to bear the future expenses incident to the killing of Emilio Almazan according  to  the plan then formed. The incidents of this meeting were revealed by the witness riano meanwhile had planted himself at the head of the bed, using one hand to cover the mouth and the other to close the nostrils of the victim.  The part assumed by Fausto Siazon was to place himself  on the lower extremity of Emilio, holding his feet firmly together.  Emilio of course attempted at once to free himself from constraint, and his body was seen to move convulsively while the bed creaked Under  the pressure.   In a few moments a  quiet resulted which  indicated that he had succumbed.  When convinced that life had departed, the murderers relaxed  their hold, arranged the corpse in position, and placed a  folded quilt over the body.  They then departed through the same door by which they had entered.  Terrorized with fear, Tomasa Pinson and Guillermo Martinez  remained until morning upon the floor.  Tomasa then  arose and, directing herself to the bed  where the  body  of Almazan was lying, she ascertained that the man was dead.  She at once reported this fact to two servants who  were sleeping in a bodega on the premises, and afterwards went out  to  call in the neighbors.   While on this errand, Tomasa encountered Mariano Bumanglag, who inquired why she looked so preoccupied.  She answered that it was because they (meaning Mariano and his companions)  had killed Emilio Almazan. Mariano replied that, if he heard anything of that again from  her,  she would  be killed also.  Actuated  by fear Tomasa and Guillermo did not at once  communicate to anybody the acts to  which they were eyewitnesses on the night of the murder, but  before long, as a result of an examination  which was set afoot by the widow of the deceased, the full details of the occurrence were revealed.

Victoriano Bumanglag was the last of the four to be taken, and he made a confession under oath (Exhibit A), in which he related the manner in which he and his three companions hail accomplished the  death of Emilio Almazan.  Fausto Siazon also confessed and  his  confession  was  reduced to writing,  but he  refused to sign the  same, except  upon condition that he should be used as a  witness against his companions in the crime.  The officials conducting the investigation were of the opinion, however, that they had sufficient proof without the necessity of using Siazon as  a witness, and no indulgence was shown to him.  Mariano and Ramon, the latter now deceased, did not confess, but the case against Mariano is, in our opinion, fully made out by the testimony of Tomasa Pinson and the boy Guillermo Martinez.  In connection with the testimony of these two witnesses,  we note that Guillermo Martinez  was able  to identify only three of the accused by their facial features. The features of the fourth individual he was unable to see well, for the reason that his back was turned, but he recognized the figure and identified this individual at the hearing as Victoriano Bumanglag.   Tomasa Pinson identified the four in the same manner.

The  accused introduced testimony tending to show that on the night when  Emilio  Almazan was killed, they were in other parts.   We consider this proof of alibi on the part of the  accused unworthy of credit, and the trial court committed no error in ignoring it.

The  offense committed was murder, very  clearly  qualified by the element of alevosia.  The aggravating circumstance  of nocturnity is  absorbed in the qualifying circumstance  of alevosia (U. S. vs. Salgado,  11  Phil., 56).  The same is true of  the aggravating circumstance of abuse of superiority (Sentence of Supreme Court of Spain, September 14, 1871).   The aggravating circumstance of evident premeditation is indicated  in the testimony  of the single witness who gave an account of the meeting in the house of Elpidio Bumanglag at which the death of Emilio Almazan was decided upon.   But this witness was evidently a party in the conspiracy, and his testimony should not be accepted without corroboration, of which there is none; for  it is  a well recognized rule that the testimony of one of several conspirators should not be accepted, as against his fellows, without some corroboration.  This is especially applicable in a situation where the facts testified to would, if fully accepted, necessarily result in the imposition of the death penalty.

The aggravating circumstance that the offense was committed in the dwelling of the deceased was also present, but this may be considered arrested by the mitigating circumstance mentioned in article 11 of the Penal Code, the benefit of which the court concedes to the  appellants.  It results that the proper penalty is that which was imposed by the trial court, namely, life imprisonment (cadena perpetua) under article 403 of the Penal Code.

The judgment appealed from will be affirmed with  respect  to the three appellants,  Mariano Bumanglag,  Victoriano Bumanglag,  and Fausto Siazon,  with proportional costs  of this  instance and  one-fourth  the costs  of first instance against each.  As to Ramon Bumanglag the prosecution is declared to have abated, without costs.   So  ordered.

Avanceña, C. J., Johnson, Malcolm, Villamor, Romualdez, Villa-Real, and Imperial, JJ., concur.