LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CRIMINAL LAW – Homicide – Identification of Corpse as Legal Requirement in Murder Proof

Murder prosecution requires proving: (1) the alleged victim is dead; (2) the body examined is the victim’s. This “identification of corpse” requirement ensures: the person is actually dead, autopsy findings relate to the right person, and no mistaken identity exists. Proof methods include: visual identification by persons who knew deceased, circumstantial evidence (clothing, location, context), or forensic identification (dental, DNA where available). Without corpse identification: autopsy evidence is inadmissible (unknown whose body it was), cause of death cannot be attributed to victim, and conviction is unsafe. This requirement serves: preventing wrongful convictions for murders of living persons, ensuring autopsy relates to alleged victim, and maintaining proof standards in capital cases. However, identification need not be: absolute certainty, multiple witnesses, or formal scientific methods—reasonable identification suffices. The principle reflects that while body need not be produced (see Principle 232), when autopsy is performed, prosecution must prove: the examined body is the alleged victim’s. This links: death evidence to the specific victim charged.