corpus delicti

corpus de·lic·ti   (dĭ-lĭk'tī')    n.   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. [New Latin corpus dēlictī : Latin corpus, body + Latin dēlictī, genitive of dēlictum, crime.]

Main Entry: corpus de·lic·ti
Pronunciation: -di-'lik-"tI, -dA-, -tE
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, literally, the body of the offense
: the substance of a crime that the prosecutor must prove and that consists of an injury or loss (as death of a victim or disappearance of property) and the criminal act that resulted in it

Main Entry: corpus de·lic·ti
Pronunciation: -di-'lik-"tI, -(")tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural corpora delicti
1 : the substantial and fundamental fact (as, in murder, actual death and its occurrence as a result of criminal agency) necessary to prove the commission of a crime
2 : thematerial substance (as the body of the victim of a murder) upon which a crime has been committed