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Legal question
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 8:57 pm
by BigGuy
Info for my book.
What happens to a case where there is only one suspect who dies before going to trial? (It's a murder case if that makes a difference.) Is it ever considered closed? I'm assuming you can't try a dead suspect.
Re: Legal question
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 9:08 pm
by srothstein
In a case like this, if the police are convinced and have evidence that the suspect was the actual criminal, they would normally mark it as closed by exception. That description can be applied to a lot of different causes for the case to go no further.
Of course, just because the police think of it as closed, there is no guarantee that someone else would not accept that and may still try to investigate and find other suspects.
Re: Legal question
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 10:05 pm
by philip964
This comes up a lot.
Lee Harvey Oswald.
Sandy Hook school shooting
Columbine High School
Harding Street murders in Houston.
Sometimes we find out what really happened. Some times we don’t.
Re: Legal question
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 10:19 pm
by ScottDLS
philip964 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 30, 2021 10:05 pm
This comes up a lot.
Lee Harvey Oswald.
Sandy Hook school shooting
Columbine High School
Harding Street murders in Houston.
Sometimes we find out what really happened. Some times we don’t.
Las Vegas mass shooting!
Re: Legal question
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 10:25 pm
by BigGuy
Thank you guys. I'll have my characters close it by exception.
Re: Legal question
Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2021 8:00 am
by crazy2medic
ScottDLS wrote: ↑Thu Sep 30, 2021 10:19 pm
philip964 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 30, 2021 10:05 pm
This comes up a lot.
Lee Harvey Oswald.
Sandy Hook school shooting
Columbine High School
Harding Street murders in Houston.
Sometimes we find out what really happened. Some times we don’t.
Las Vegas mass shooting!
We know nothing more about the Las Vegas Shooting than we did three days after it happened!