Last Updated on September 19, 2024
Many people have heard that habeas corpus translates to “bring forth the body” or something similar. As a result, they may mistakenly believe that the US Constitution requires a dead body to be discovered for the government to prosecute a murder charge. But habeas corpus, while an important legal doctrine, has nothing to do with dead bodies and instead refers to the (presumably) living body of the person charged with a crime. In fact, you can still be charged with murder, even if the victim’s body has never been discovered.
Can You Be Convicted of Murder Without a Body?
Yes, but because there is no statute of limitations on murder charges, prosecutors often wait years to file these charges if they believe there is any chance the police might find the victim’s body. That being said, if it seems unlikely a victim’s body will be discovered but there is ample evidence indicating that the suspect killed them, the prosecution may choose to file charges anyway.
While these cases are relatively uncommon, they do happen, and over 500 murder trials have taken place without a body over the last 180 years.
How Difficult is it to Find Someone Guilty Without a Body?
While it is possible to be charged with murder even if a body hasn’t been found, it is rare and much more difficult for the prosecution to obtain a conviction. Without a body, the prosecution must prove that a murder took place before they can even start to work on securing a conviction against the person they believe to be guilty.
In these cases, the prosecution must rely on a strong chain of circumstantial evidence. Though there is no direct evidence proving the victim is deceased (meaning there’s no body), they must have enough circumstantial evidence to secure a conviction. The defendant’s lawyer will try to poke holes in the evidence, arguing that there is insufficient proof to prove that the alleged victim is deceased, that the defendant killed her, or both.
Without a body, it can be difficult for the prosecution to counter the defense’s claims, such as the defendant fighting back against the supposed deceased in self-defense or the alleged victim dying in an accident rather than an intentional slaying.
That being said, because prosecutors rarely file these charges unless they are confident they have a strong case, they have very high conviction rates in these cases. In fact, whereas the conviction rate in standard murder trials is only 70%, those where the victim’s body has not been recovered have a conviction rate of 86%. In other words, don’t just assume that you will not be convicted of murder just because investigators cannot find a corpse —prosecutors can and do win cases without the victim’s body regularly.
A Chain of Circumstantial Evidence is Important
As stated above, the prosecution must have strong evidence to prove that the victim was killed and that the defendant was responsible for the death. This evidence often must be able to tell a story of what happened leading up to, at the time of, and for the period immediately following the murder.
For example, imagine that a husband and wife were seen fighting outside of a bar. They were observed fighting all the way back to their hotel room, where the neighbors testified hearing them fight until suddenly they heard a loud “thud” and then silence. A hotel surveillance camera shows the man lifting something heavy into his trunk and leaving alone in his car. A cashier at a gas station near a large forest testifies that the man bought gas there. The hotel’s security camera never shows the wife leaving the hotel, and no one has seen her since.
The man is then arrested with a map to the forest, a dirty shovel, and blood-stained clothes, which DNA results confirm match the wife’s blood. The trunk and the hotel room are also covered in her blood. The room also contained a heavy lamp with her blood, hair, and skin cells on it.
In this case, it would be reasonably easy for the prosecution to put together a strong chain of evidence showing the man killed his wife with the lamp, drug her body to the trunk of the car, drove her to the forest, and buried her.
Many of These Cases are Never Charged
Most cases where the body isn’t found lack sufficient evidence to warrant charges. For example, imagine someone disappeared, a little blood is found in their home, and a few people saw them argue with their spouse. In this case, it would be easy for a good lawyer to claim there isn’t enough evidence to show the missing person was murdered, let alone that their spouse did it.
What to do if Your Spouse Goes Missing
If your spouse has disappeared, do not say anything to the police before first consulting with your lawyer. Remember that whatever you say can be used against you. It can hurt you if you admit that you and your partner fought, but, on the other hand, it can also hurt your case if you say you didn’t fight and then a witness contradicts that statement.
In some cases, if you genuinely believe your spouse is alive and in hiding, and you are concerned you may be accused of murder, it may pay to hire an investigator to help you track them down to prove your innocence.
A Real Life Example
The missing body murder case of alleged victim Jahi Turner shows it can be difficult to convict unless the circumstantial evidence is very powerful. 2 year-old Jahi Turner was reported missing in 2002 after he disappeared while being watched by his mother’s boyfriend. The prosecution waited until 2016 to prosecute the defendant for murder because it thought it had substantially incriminating statements from the boyfriend.
Defense attorney Courtney Cutter was able to secure a hung jury on the basis that the circumstantial evidence did not prove her client guilty of the murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Attorney Cutter later persuaded the San Diego judge to dismiss the charges entirely on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to prove he killed the child.
If someone you know has disappeared and you worry you may be accused of hurting them, please call (760) 643-4050 to schedule a free initial consultation with attorney Peter M. Liss.
Related article: Is it murder if the victim is already dead? Also, can you be charged for hiding the body of an accident victim?
