ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the difficulty of obtaining convictions in no-body cases by examining two unsuccessful, high-profile 19th-century cases. It then discusses how three post-WWII cases changed the precedents governing no-body prosecutions. In Georgia, John Wallace was convicted, even though not enough of the victim’s body remained to be identified or show cause of death. In California, L. Ewing Scott was convicted on a completely circumstantial case based on his post-offence behavior. In Canada, successive juries convicted Richard Chambers for murder without the body of his victim. These cases changed case law in no-body cases and made more prosecutions possible.
