ABSTRACT
The laws making prosecution of no-body homicides rare and uncertain began to change with precedent-setting cases following the Second World War. Despite this, prosecutions remained rare until the 1970s. This chapter explores the reasons successful prosecutions became more common. Legal changes were buttressed by the inspirational example of successful cases. The ability to prove absence means death was enhanced by the rise of the bureaucratic state and the move from cash to documentable transactions. Forensic DNA matching, trained cadaver dogs, and the use of cellular phones were key technical changes that allowed for new kinds of evidence in no-body prosecutions.
