Justice beyond the body

In legal discourse, one of the most frequently asked theoretical questions is: Can a murder be proven even if no body is found?

As a matter of doctrine, the answer is yes. While counterintuitive to some, the law does not require the physical recovery of a corpse to sustain a charge of murder. What it demands is proof that a crime was committed — that a person is indeed dead, and that the death was caused by a criminal act. This is the essence of the corpus delicti rule, which ensures that no one is convicted of a crime unless it is first established that the crime actually occurred.

However, corpus delicti does not equate to the physical body. Rather, it refers to the “body of the crime” — the fact of the crime itself. In a murder case, it means demonstrating two things: that someone has died, and that the death did not occur by natural causes or accident, but through human agency. And the law has long recognized that these elements may be established through circumstantial evidence. This principle is well established in case law and has allowed convictions even in the absence of direct physical remains.

The Rules of Court allow for conviction based on circumstantial evidence, provided there is more than one circumstance, that the facts from which the inferences are drawn are proven, and that the combination of all circumstances produces a conviction beyond reasonable doubt.

This standard is rigorous, and rightly so. But to say that the absence of a body renders conviction impossible is to invite injustice, allowing those who succeed in concealing a corpse to escape accountability.

Justice cannot be held hostage by what is visible alone. In an age where digital footprints, behavioral patterns, forensic traces, and credible witness testimonies form the backbone of many prosecutions, the absence of a body is a challenge — not a barrier. The legal system is not in the business of speculation; it is in the business of truth. But truth can be proven even in the face of concealment.

This discussion emerged from a theoretical question. And doctrinally, the answer is clear: yes, a murder can be proven without the recovery of the body. We do not convict on mere suspicion, but neither do we close the door to justice simply because the killer has hidden the corpse well.