Murder is widely agreed to be one of the most serious, if not the most serious, offenses someone can be charged with. Some defendants are surprised to learn that they are facing murder charges even though they never actually killed anyone. Even if you did not directly cause someone’s death, you might still be charged with their murder depending on your involvement in the killing.
Felony murder may be charged if someone is killed during the commission of a separate offense. For example, a bank robbery gone wrong might lead to felony murder charges for all parties to the robbery, even the getaway driver who did not pull the trigger. Conspiracy to murder charges might instead apply if you helped plan a killing but did not actually carry it out. There may also be other ways to be charged with murder even if you did not do the killing.
Contact our Salt Lake City murder defense lawyers for a free case review by calling Overson Law, PLLC at (801) 758-2287.
Can a Person Be Charged with Murder if They Are Not Directly Responsible for the Killing in Utah?
You do not always have to be the one who pulls the trigger to be charged with murder. There are various circumstances where a person might be killed as a direct result of someone else’s criminal actions, even though that person did not kill the victim. Someone else can pull the trigger and you can be charged, depending on the circumstances.
According to Utah Code § 76-2-202, every person acting with the mental state or intent needed to commit an offense and who aids, encourages, or otherwise has someone else carry out the offense may be criminally liable for the offense. Put another way, if you knowingly contribute to the killing, you may be charged with murder even if you did not carry out the killing.
Felony Murder
A common example of defendants being charged with murder for killing they did not directly commit is felony murder. Under § 76-5-203(2)(d), a defendant may be said to have committed murder if someone is killed in the course of another crime they committed (or attempted), and the defendant had the necessary intent to commit that other “predicate” offense.
A predicate offense often comes from a list of individual crimes under § 76-5-203(1)(a), including kidnapping, arson, burglary, robbery, escape, and a myriad of other offenses. Our Salt Lake City homicide defense attorneys will check your case against the list of predicate offenses and, if you did not commit a predicate offense, we will challenge the charges against you.
Conspiracy to Commit Murder
You do not have to necessarily play an active role in a killing to be charged with murder. Simply helping to plan the offense or agreeing to somehow further it might be enough to be charged with murder or conspiracy. Again, you do not have to pull the trigger to be charged with murder here.
According to § 76-4-201, a person may be charged with conspiracy if they, intending that a crime be carried out, agree with at least one other person to engage in or somehow cause the criminal conduct, and at least one of them committed an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. This means that if you and a few other people plan to carry out a killing, you may be charged with conspiracy to murder even if your part in the plan did not involve directly killing anyone.
You may even be charged if the murder did not end up happening. The conspiracy is legally completed at the time of planning. The fact that the intended victim was not killed does not mean there is no crime.
Telling Someone Else to Kill
If you tell or pay someone else to kill someone, you are still the one who “caused” the death, legally speaking. The fact that the other person was doing your bidding does not make them less liable, but the fact that you had someone else do it for you does not legally stop you from being “the murderer,” if the claim against you is proven.
Common Examples of Murder Charges in Utah for Defendants Who Did Not Directly Kill Anyone
How often are defendants charged with killing they did not directly commit? This happens more often than you might think, and certain scenarios are more common. If you are facing murder charges for a killing you did not commit, speak to an attorney. If your situation is one that does not normally lead to these kinds of charges, your attorney might be able to help you.
Partner in Crime Kills Someone Unplanned
Crimes are often committed by more than one person. While you and your partner might have planned for nobody to get hurt, the plans might have gone awry. Suppose you and your partner plan to rob a convenience store, and an unloaded gun would be used only to scare the store clerk into handing over the money. Next, suppose your partner, unbeknownst to you, loaded the gun and shot the store clerk. Even though this was not part of the plan and you did not pull the trigger, you may still be charged with the murder.
Crimes Gone Wrong
Many charges for things like felony murder stem from crimes gone wrong. Perhaps you had agreed to take part in a crime, but the situation got out of hand, and someone was killed.
A classic example is the heist gone wrong. Maybe you and a partner agreed to rob a store. You were the getaway car driver, and your partner was to carry out the actual robbery. However, when your partner pulled out the gun, the store clerk fought back, and the gun accidentally went off, killing the clerk. Both you and your partner may be charged with felony murder. The fact that you were participating in the underlying felony of bank robbery that led to the death is enough to be charged.
Bystander Killings
In some cases, innocent people are caught in the crossfire of a crime and killed. Perhaps this was never the plan, but you might still be charged with murder even if you did not pull the trigger. For example, suppose you and a partner robbed a convenience store. Next, suppose your partner shot at the police as they chased you, but accidentally hit a passerby. You could be charged with the murder of the passerby even though you were not the one who shot them.
Hired Killings
While hiring a hitman seems like something out of the movies, it occasionally happens in real life. There have been multiple news stories over the years of people having their lovers kill their spouses or paying a hitman to kill someone. Even though the person who hired the hitman might not carry out the killing, they may still be charged directly with the murder.
Defenses to Murder Charges in Utah Where You Did Not Directly Kill Anyone
One method of defending against felony murder charges is to refute the intent or mental state necessary to commit a predicate offense as contained in Utah Code § 76-5-203(1)(a). While arson is a possible predicate offense, you cannot be charged with felony murder if you did not intend to commit the underlying arson. If the fire was purely accidental, that could reduce your charges to far less serious charges for the accidental death.
If you are instead charged with conspiracy, there might be ways to defend yourself. For example, if you renounce the conspiracy and take steps to prevent it from being carried out, you may have a strong defense. Remember, you must take active steps to thwart the conspiracy, typically by reporting it to the police and trying to stop it.
Talk to Our Utah Murder Defense Attorneys for Help Immediately
Contact our Ogden criminal defense lawyers for a free case review by calling Overson Law, PLLC at (801) 758-2287.
