corpus delicti
- the facts constituting or proving a crime; material substance or foundation of a crime: the corpus delicti in a murder case is not just the body of the victim, but the fact that the victim has been murdered
- loosely the body of the victim in a murder case
See corpus delicti in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(dĭ-lĭkˈtīˌ)
noun- Law The material evidence in a homicide, such as the discovered corpse of a murder victim, showing that a crime has been committed.
- A corpse.
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