corpus delicti

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2008)

Corpus delicti (plural: corpora delicti) (Latin: "body of crime") is a term from Western jurisprudence which refers to the principle that it must be proven that a crime has occurred before a person can be convicted of committing the crime. For example, a person cannot be tried for larceny unless it can be proven that property has been stolen. Likewise, in order for a person to be tried for arson it must be proven that a criminal act resulted in the burning of a property. Black's Law Dictionary (6th ed.) defines "corpus delicti" as: "the fact of a crime having been actually committed."

In the Anglo-American legal system, the concept has its outgrowth in several principles. Many jurisdictions hold as a legal rule that a defendant's out-of-court confession, alone, is not sufficient evidence to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. See, e.g., Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 497 n.14, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963 (citing to corpus delicti rule and stating: "For the history and development of the corroboration requirement, see 7 Wigmore, Evidence [3d ed. 1940], §§ 2070-2071; Note, Proof of the Corpus Delicti Aliunde the Defendant's Confession, 103 U. of Pa. L. Rev. 638-649 [1955]. For the present scope and application of the rule, see 2 Underhill, Criminal Evidence [5th ed. 1956], §§ 402-403. For a comprehensive collection of cases, see Annot., 45 A. L. R.2d 1316 [1956].") A corollary to this rule is that an accused cannot be convicted solely upon the testimony of an accomplice. Some jurisdictions also hold that without first showing independent corroboration that a crime happened, the prosecution may not introduce evidence of the defendant's statement.

Corpus Delicti is one of the most important concepts in a murder investigation. For example, when a person disappears and is unable to be contacted, many police agencies initiate a missing person case. If, during the course of the investigation of this missing person, the investigating detectives believe that he/she has been murdered by another individual, then, a “body” or all collected evidentiary items to include physical, demonstrative, and testimonial evidence, must be obtained that establishes that the missing individual has indeed been murdered before a suspect can be charged with homicide^[1]. The best and easiest evidence establishment in these cases is the physical body of the deceased. However, in the event that a physical body is not obviously present or has not yet been discovered, it is possible to prove a suspect’s guilt if enough circumstantial evidence is presented which is able to prove said guilt beyond a reasonable doubt^[2].

Specific Offenses

General - All corpus delicti requires at a minimum: 1) The occurrence of the specific injury; and 2) some criminal agency as the source of the injury. For example:

• Homicide - 1.) An individual has died; and 2.) By a criminal act.

• Larceny - 1.) Property missing; and 2.) Because it was stolen

Misinterpretation

Evidence in the case of British serial killer John George Haigh indicated that he decided to destroy the bodies of his victims with acid because he had the mistaken belief that, in the absence of a corpse, murder could not be proven because there was no "corpus delicti." Haigh had misinterpreted the Latin word "corpus" as a literal body rather than a figurative one.

See also

• Robert Leonard Ewing Scott

References

1. ^ A Scream on the Water: A True Story of Murder in Salem - Margaret Press
2. ^ Criminal Investigation - Bruce Berg

Look up corpus delicti in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.