Exequiel Senoja v. People

Summary

Exequiel Senoja was charged with homicide for killing Leon Lumasac on April 16, 1997, during a drinking session in Aurora. Senoja claimed self-defense, arguing that Lumasac attacked him with a bolo after threatening him. The case involved two phases: an initial confrontation inside a hut where both parties were pacified and reconciled, and a second phase outside where Senoja followed the departing Lumasac and stabbed him multiple times. The Supreme Court affirmed his conviction, ruling that valid self-defense requires unlawful aggression which had ceased when Lumasac left the hut peacefully. The Court found Senoja's testimony incredible based on contradictory statements, the nature and number of victim's wounds (9 total, 5 fatal), and physical evidence. This case demonstrates the strict requirements for self-defense claims and the principle that the right to defend oneself ends when the danger passes.