Simple homicide: concept, characteristics, examples

We explain what a simple homicide is, its characteristics, the differences with qualified homicide and examples

What is a simple homicide?

simple homicide It refers to when a person kills another, acting with intent and intention, but without additional circumstances that can mitigate or aggravate the crime. It is simple in that no other elements are incorporated. A clear example is a thief who kills the owner of a house, who discovers him in full theft.

If an individual is tried and found guilty of a simple homicide, he will be sentenced according to the legislation in force for the specific case. Normally the penalty will vary depending on whether there are aggravating circumstances, such as a family relationship with the victim. Homicide is regulated in article 138 of the Penal Code.

Said article reads as follows: «Whoever kills another will be punished, as guilty of homicide, with a prison sentence of ten to fifteen years.» It is necessary that a specific material result (the death of another person) occurs for the crime of homicide to exist.

Simple homicide can be produced by action (stabbing someone) or omission (not providing food to a child who is in charge of the homicide). It is not relevant in these cases if the victim suffers from a disease that will soon take his life; that does not condition the crime of simple homicide.

Characteristics of simple homicide

– Simple homicide is regulated in article 79 of the Penal Code. It is considered to be a crime of action, which can also be by omission and material result. Its primary characteristic is the existence of a causal relationship between the action of the murderer and the result of death.

The existence of an active and passive subject are characteristic of simple homicide. Active subject can be anyone. It does not need any special qualification, since it is not a type aggravated by bond, as is the case with parricide. A passive subject can also be anyone, although it must be different from the murderer; otherwise it would be suicide.

– According to the legislation, homicide means killing another and its elements are a causal action or omission, a material result, death, and a subjective element (intent), which implies the will to take life.

– It is mainly an acting crime, since the act of killing is almost always an active procedure; however, in some cases it may be committed by omission. When it comes to homicide by omission, the figure of the guarantor appears, who has the legal duty to act to avoid the result of death.

Real examples of simple homicides

shooting homicide

On April 17, 2018, a man was murdered in La Laguna, Tenerife. He was shot dead from a getaway car. Police later located the burning car nearby. The Efe agency reported that the individual suffered two shots: in the chest and in the head.

The homicide occurred at 10 p.m., when he left the Language School and was preparing to get into his vehicle to return home after his class.

This real example is about a simple homicide, since there is no treachery, price or reward, nor cruelty. What is found is the intention to end the life of another person.

stabbing homicide

This is the case of a homicide in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, of a 30-year-old man who was stabbed. On the night of March 14, 2018, the victim was found in cardiorespiratory arrest. He was revived, though he later passed away at the hospital.

The emergency services and police were notified by passers-by who heard the cries for help from the victim, who had several stab wounds to the chest and abdomen.

It is a simple homicide without treachery, price or cruelty, although the will to kill does exist.

Homicide by shooting in a fight

On March 5, 2018, a fight broke out in an apartment in the Carabanchel neighborhood and a 19-year-old man of Dominican nationality was shot dead.

The neighbors were the ones who alerted the police when they heard the discussion and a shot. The police found the victim on the landing, already dead. This thatAnother example of simple homicide without aggravated circumstances.

Difference between simple homicide and qualified homicide

Qualified or aggravated homicide is regulated in article 139 of the Penal Code. Indicates that “sAnyone who kills another in any of the following circumstances shall be punished with a prison sentence of fifteen to twenty-five years, as a murderer:

With treachery
For price, reward or promise.
With cruelty, deliberately and inhumanly increasing the pain of the offended.
To facilitate the commission of another crime or to avoid discovery.

When more than one of the circumstances provided for in the previous section concur in a murder, the penalty will be imposed in its upper half.

Simple homicide does not have these circumstances; that is, it is not carried out with premeditation and there is no prior planning analyzing the victim and her habits to facilitate the commission of the crime.

There is also no treachery, which is a way of reducing or eliminating the chances of defending yourself against the victim. In simple homicide there is also no price paid for executing the victim and there is no cruelty in the way of murdering her.

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