The Crime Book

200

H

omicide is the killing of

one person by another.

Although not all homicides

are murder, every murder is a

homicide. Yet while homicide may

be tolerated, or even championed,

such as state-approved executions,

murder is always condemned. It is

usually defined as “the unlawful

killing of a human being with

malice aforethought.”

Murder by degree

The law distinguishes between

different types of murder, and these

vary across legal jurisdictions. The

degree of prior intent is critical. In

the US, most states distinguish

between premeditated murder; an

intention to commit serious bodily

harm that results in murder; a

killing that results from extreme

recklessness; and a murder

committed by an accomplice

during a felony. By contrast, in the

UK, first degree murder involves

premeditation, while second degree

murder occurs in the heat of the

moment, with a clear intent to kill

but an absence of prior planning.

The case of woodworker Daniel

M’Naghten in London in 1843 set a

precedent for “not guilty of murder

by reason of insanity.” In English

law, this can only occur if the

defendant is able to clearly prove

that “at the time of the committing

of the act, the party accused was

labouring under such a defect of

reason, from disease of the mind,

as not to know the nature and

quality of the act he was doing;

or if he did know it, that he did

not know he was doing what was

wrong.” Most US states have a

similar law regarding sanity.

Cold-blooded killers

Outside the criminal justice

system, criminologists classify

violence as being “reactive” or

“instrumental” in nature. Reactive

violence is hot-blooded, happens

spontaneously, and characterizes

most homicides. The murders

detailed in this chapter are

instrumental: cold-blooded,

premeditated, and goal-driven.

Their motivations differ widely,

from profit (the Stratton brothers),

sexual gratification (the Black

Dahlia murder), to revenge

(Roberto Calvi).

Historically, many middle- and

upper-class women have been

spared conviction for murder due to

false assumptions about femininity

and violence. The most shocking

case was that of Madame Caillaux,

caught red-handed for premeditated

INTRODUCTION

430,000 YA

1762

1892

1905

1843

1879

1910

1914

In the US, prime

suspect Lizzie Borden

is acquitted of the axe

murder of her father

and stepmother.

French cloth merchant

Jean Calas is executed

for the murder of his eldest

son, who was about to

convert to Catholicism.

The acquittal of

murderer Daniel

M’Naghten on the

grounds of insanity

sets a legal precedent

in English law.

In Paris, an all-male

jury cites “unbridled

female passion”

when acquitting

Madame Henriette

Caillaux of murder.

Domestic maid Kate

Webster, known as

the Dripping Killer,

is executed in

London for murdering

her employer.

The bludgeoned skull

of a Neanderthal man

found in a cave in

Northern Spain is the

earliest evidence

of murder.

Dr Hawley Crippen

is hanged at

Pentonville Prison,

London, for the murder

of his wife, Cora.

In England, the

Stratton brothers are

convicted through

fingerprint evidence,

and executed.

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