If someone is facing a murder charge, typically, it is because a body has been found, along with evidence linking them to the crime. However, in Connecticut, you could be charged with murder even if there is no body. According to the New Haven Register, as long as there is evidence you committed the crime, you could face murder charges.
However, the prosecutor may find it difficult to take your case to court. Not having such critical evidence as the body can make proving the case hard because murder charges require proof beyond a reasonable doubt for a conviction.
Despite the challenges, if your case does go to trial, the prosecution has to provide enough other evidence to convince a jury the person was murdered and that you did the crime. This is complicated because any person would wonder how it could be proven a murder occurred when there is no body. Additionally, without a body, it is not always possible to know how the person was killed. Not having an actual body nor solid evidence of how the person died are two very strong strikes against the prosecution’s case.
In all cases like this, prosecutors start at a disadvantage. Some prosecutors will not take a murder case to court until the body has been found for this reason. More often, a case will be labeled as a missing person instead of as a murder until a body or substantial evidence is found. This information is intended to educate and not to be considered as legal advice.
