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Can you be convicted of murder without a body?

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C

CourtJester

Guest
This is just to satisfy a little argument my father-in-law and I had, nothing serious. I thought I remember hearing about a law with a Latin name that basically said that you cannot be charged with murder unless the state has the body of the victim of forensic evidence of the murder occurring. Is this true?
 


I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
CourtJester said:
This is just to satisfy a little argument my father-in-law and I had, nothing serious. I thought I remember hearing about a law with a Latin name that basically said that you cannot be charged with murder unless the state has the body of the victim of forensic evidence of the murder occurring. Is this true?

My response:

No, it's not true. You can be convicted of murder based soley upon circumstantial evidence. If your theory was correct, there would be a lot of Mafioso still on the streets.

IAAL
 

Son of Slam

Senior Member
Charley Manson said,

"United States of Cowards. You're afraid to face me. All you have is muscle. You don't have any mind. Are you proud?", when he was convicted of killing "Shorty" Shae. Not only was the body not found but Manson was convicted even though everyone knew he did not do it.
 

calatty

Senior Member
You might be thinking of "corpus delicti," though it doesn't stand for what you say. It means "body of the crime," and it means the state cannot prosecute you based only on your own statement.
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
calatty said:
You might be thinking of "corpus delicti," though it doesn't stand for what you say. It means "body of the crime," and it means the state cannot prosecute you based only on your own statement.

My response:

Take Calatty for example. She's a "delectable corpus" - which is the Latin term for an "annoying Liberal".

But, when she dresses in her dark blue suit, and has her hair so tightly pulled back that her forehead roots look like they're almost being pulled out, then Wow, she's sexy!

IAAL
 
E

early999

Guest
corpus dilecti (sp?) produce the body of evidence. and depending on what state, yes one can be convicted of murder without a body. that would be the intellegance of the lawmakers of those states
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
CourtJester said:
This is just to satisfy a little argument my father-in-law and I had, nothing serious. I thought I remember hearing about a law with a Latin name that basically said that you cannot be charged with murder unless the state has the body of the victim of forensic evidence of the murder occurring. Is this true?
**A: haven't you been watching CSI?
 

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