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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 6087934" data-attributes="member: 19675">Yes, cases go to trial with the murder weapon not being found.But in those cases:1) the means of death are known- the person was shot by a bullet of X caliber fired by Z kind of gunOR2) the body is found in such a way that rules out purely natural causes, such as being found dimembered in a vat of lyeOR3) there is a pattern that speaks for itself- typical in cases of serial poisoning.  Forensic pathologists compare known possible symptoms to those of the deceased, show access & motive, etc.In this case, the third method is the one people are thinking of:  every time the defendant gestured a particular way at someone, that person's head imploded, so he must be guilty.  In those cases, though, the same junk science hurdles still have to get cleared.  Remember, the burden of proof is on the prosecution- they'll have to rule out all known or theorized possibilities besides murder.That's how many serial poisoners got away with murder...at least at first.  Succinylcholine poisoning was damn hard to prove for a long time- virtually undetectable, mimicing natural causes- so it was a favored means of killing by those with access to it.  It still isn't easy.  And some of the tests to detect it are being re-evaluated for their evidentiary value.So, even if patients are always dying- and I mean daily- on Nurse Mengele's shift within minutes of just having been checked up on, you still have to prove that those patients died due to human action, not natural causes or complications from their affliction or treatment.</blockquote>

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