homicide

Table of Contents

Introduction & Top Questions References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Hear Professor Robert Hanlon discuss a brutal homicide case described in his book Survived by One: The Life and Mind of a Family Mass Murderer

For Students

homicide summary

Read Next

Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that

America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)

Shadow of a man holding large knife in his hand inside of some dark, spooky buiding

7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers

Law legal system crime concept with gavel and scales of justice with books in the background. (mallet, judicial system).

What Are the Differences Between First-, Second-, and Third-Degree Murder?

Discover

Watergate scandal. Richard M. Nixon. President Nixon gives a press conference and talks to the press, March 12, 1971.

9 American Political Scandals

Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time

Nativity Scene, Adoration of the Magi, Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Montenegro

Why Is Christmas in December?

Fish. Lionfish. Lion-fish. Turkey fish. Fire-fish. Red lionfish. Pterois volitans. Venomous fin spines. Coral reefs. Underwater. Ocean. Red lionfish swims by seaweed.

10 of the World’s Most Dangerous Fish

Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and autodidact.

6 Interesting Facts about Srinivasa Ramanujan

9 Mind-Altering Plants

Facsimile of one of William Henry Ireland's forgeries, a primitive self-portrait of William Shakespeare(tinted engraving). Published for Samuel Ireland, Norfolk Street, Strand, December 1, 1795. (W.H. Ireland, forgery)

The Time a Law Clerk Successfully Forged a New Shakespeare Play to Impress His Dad

homicide

Q: How is a homicide defined?

Homicide is the killing of one human being by another. Homicide is a general term and may refer to either a noncriminal act or the criminal act of murder. Some homicides are considered justifiable, while others are said to be excusable. Criminal homicide is not regarded by the applicable criminal code as justifiable or excusable.

Q: When is a homicide classified as a murder?

Murder is a homicide committed intentionally or as a result of the commission of another serious offense and is usually distinguished from the crime of manslaughter by the element of malice aforethought.

law

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Nov 16, 2024 • Article History

Key People:: Oscar Pistorius

Related Topics:: genocide; murder; euthanasia; infanticide; manslaughter

See all related content

How is a homicide defined?

When is a homicide classified as a murder?

homicide, the killing of one human being by another. Homicide is a general term and may refer to a noncriminal act as well as the criminal act of murder. Some homicides are considered justifiable, such as the killing of a person to prevent the commission of a serious felony or to aid a representative of the law. Other homicides are said to be excusable, as when a person kills in self-defense. A criminal homicide is one that is not regarded by the applicable criminal code as justifiable or excusable. All legal systems make important distinctions between different types of homicide, ...(100 of 750 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.