# What's the best thing to do, legally, if you find a dead body in America? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 2, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303 "2015-10-02T21:13:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/21 "2015-10-03T01:18:21Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > [First one](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlie_Routier) I can think of. Not a shred of evidence she did it, they just couldn’t find evidence that “anyone else was there”. If the dead body is of _a family member in your own house_, then, yes, there’s a chance that you’ll be railroaded into a murder conviction even if you’re actually innocent. You’ll call 911 anyway (I mean, are you _sure_ your kid/spouse/whoever is dead and not just badly injured? 911 dispatches ambulances and paramedics as well as police). And obviously a mother who finds the dead bodies of her own children in her own house can’t exactly just “walk away”, as you advised above. Any examples of a person finding the body of a stranger in a public place and being railroaded into a conviction? (Or even just railroaded into an expensive and life-altering trial.) The railroaded part doesn’t have to be a certainty; even just a case where a lot of people think the defendant was just some guy who found the body of a stranger in some public place, but the corrupt/incompetent/fascist cops decided to pin it on the poor guy. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/22 "2015-10-03T02:31:47Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > How many people “have an attorney”? Like on retainer? If I needed an attorney I would first have to find one. Unless it was to sell my house… It’s nice to have attorney’s in my immediate family. Neither are specialized in criminal law but the firm my brother is with certainly has defense attorneys available should I need one. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/23 "2015-10-03T03:31:47Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > In 18 years of police work I have never see or heard of anyone who called in finding a body later getting arrested for the murder. Just like in Law & Order you never see them again after the opening credits. A month or so after my mom moved to Manhattan, she found a body in the East River. And it was exactly like a L&O episode. They asked her a few questions, and that was it. (Well, except that they lost the body before they could recover it. When they found it a couple months later, they visited my mom again, went over her statement again, and she didn’t hear anything about it after that. ) The notion that she would have done anything but call the cops is absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/24 "2015-10-03T03:31:58Z")
Go through their pockets for identification ( you can keep anything you find, they ain’t gonna be using it ). Call their family to explain they won’t be home for Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/25 "2015-10-03T03:45:03Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > How many people “have an attorney”? Like on retainer? If I needed an attorney I would first have to find one. Unless it was to sell my house… This can be shorthand for one’s family lawyers. Carruthers and Jennings gave been with our people for nearly two centuries now, covering everything from estate management to accusations of murder; they are almost like family themselves. They still bill us in guineas. If they bother to bill us at all — when lawyers reach a certain relationship, half friend, half retainer, with valued clients, they no longer care about money. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/26 "2015-10-03T04:13:53Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > A month or so after my mom moved to Manhattan, she found a body in the East River. And it was exactly like a L&O episode. They asked her a few questions, and that was it. > > (Well, except that they lost the body before they could recover it. When they found it a couple months later, they visited my mom again, went over her statement again, and she didn’t hear anything about it after that. ) “Mrs. Bean? Hi. Lt. Davis with the NYPD. Listen, remember when we came by a few months ago after you found that body? Yes, it was smelly. Yes, we do thank you for not poking it with a stick. Listen. When my partner and I left, do you recall if we took the body with us? What’s that? On the roof, you say. Ok, boy, that really slipped my mind. Thanks a bunch, Mrs. Bean. We’ll check the area where we made that first turn.” ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/27 "2015-10-03T04:14:22Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > This can be shorthand for one’s family lawyers. Carruthers and Jennings gave been with our people for nearly two centuries now, covering everything from estate management to accusations of murder; they are almost like family themselves. They still bill us in guineas. If they bother to bill us at all — when lawyers reach a certain relationship, half friend, half retainer, with valued clients, they no longer care about money. My God…you’re a _vampire_!? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/28 "2015-10-03T04:24:33Z")
**Moderator Action** It is going to be very difficult to answer the OP with a strictly factual answer, and as one might expect, the answers so far have involved opinions (and in some cases haven’t really been appropriate for GQ). I think it’s best to move this one over to IMHO. Moving thread from General Questions (where the body was found) to In My Humble Opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/29 "2015-10-03T04:27:16Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > **Moderator Action** > > It is going to be very difficult to answer the OP with a strictly factual answer, and as one might expect, the answers so far have involved opinions (and in some cases haven’t really been appropriate for GQ). I think it’s best to move this one over to IMHO. > > Moving thread from General Questions (where the body was found) to In My Humble Opinion. Hope you called your lawyer, first. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/30 "2015-10-03T04:29:24Z")
> [@SigMan](#): > > You can always say nothing and go about your business. :rolleyes: This sounds pretty good to me. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/31 "2015-10-03T04:31:36Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Call their family to explain they won’t be home for Christmas. “Hello, is this the widow Smith?” “I’m Mrs. Smith, but, I’m not a widow.” “Wait till you see what’s on your front porch!” ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/32 "2015-10-03T04:36:47Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > … Not a shred of evidence she did it, they just couldn’t find evidence that “anyone else was there”. How about “they could find only one person who was at the crime scene at the time of the murders other than the two victims”? The way you set it up made me think that there was some amount of reasonable doubt that she did it. You owe me 4 minutes of my life. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/33 "2015-10-03T04:36:53Z")
To answer OP’s question that hasn’t actually been answered yet: Yes, if you find a stiff, you are obligated to report it. Failing to do so is a crime. At least in some places. One reads news articles from time to time of someone getting charged with the crime of failing to report a dead body. Examples: [Men charged with stealing tools, failing to report dead body](http://www.knoxnews.com/news/watchful-eye/men-charged-with-stealing-tools-failing-to-report-dead-body_44036202) (Knoxville, or somewhere around there.) [Failure to report dead body now a misdemeanor under new Michigan law](http://archive.freep.com/article/20130102/NEWS06/130102065/Failure-to-report-dead-body-becomes-misdemeanor-under-new-Michigan-law). [Man charged with failing to report dead body appears before judge](http://www.courierpress.com/news/man-charged-with-failing-to-report-dead-body-appears-before-judge-ep-820023455-325526641.html) (Evansville area.) ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/34 "2015-10-03T05:49:23Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > How about “they could find only one person who was at the crime scene at the time of the murders other than the two victims”? > > The way you set it up made me think that there was some amount of reasonable doubt that she did it. You owe me 4 minutes of my life. No I don’t. You fail reasoning. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. It is far more likely that someone else did it but the CSI team didn’t find definite traces of that someone (maybe they were wearing gloves and just didn’t leave traces in a spot that could be found) than she stabbed and bruised herself and left drops of her own blood a hundred meters from the house (what did she do, run over there while stabbed?) If that isn’t reasonable doubt, the right to such doubt does not exist. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/35 "2015-10-03T06:01:37Z")
This is one of those things that “everybody knows” that just ain’t so. In some jurisdictions, you’re NOT supposed to call the police, but rather the county coroner. > [@](#): > > Q. WHY IS THE CORONER INVOLVED? > A. Colorado State Law requires that the Coroner be notified on certain deaths such as violent or sudden unexpected deaths. The Coroner must then determine the cause and manner of death. [http://cor.elpasoco.com/Pages/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.aspx](http://cor.elpasoco.com/Pages/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/36 "2015-10-03T06:28:43Z")
I have his number on Speed Dial. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/37 "2015-10-03T07:50:25Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > This is one of those things that “everybody knows” that just ain’t so. In some jurisdictions, you’re NOT supposed to call the police, but rather the county coroner. > > > [@](#): > > > > Q. WHY IS THE CORONER INVOLVED? > > A. Colorado State Law requires that the Coroner be notified on certain deaths such as violent or sudden unexpected deaths. The Coroner must then determine the cause and manner of death. > > [http://cor.elpasoco.com/Pages/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.aspx](http://cor.elpasoco.com/Pages/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.aspx) Does Colorado state law actually say or imply that if you find a dead body and don’t _personally_ notify the county coroner that you’re guilty of “misprision of finding a dead body” or some such thing? That FAQ question could just as easily mean that if a person finds a corpse and then calls the cops like a good citizen, the _cops_ have some legal obligation to call the Coroner’s Office and say “Yeah, we got another stiff”. (Or more likely fill out some form in triplicate.) ---
**Author:** ![tafowler87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@tafowler87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tafowler87)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/38 "2015-10-03T08:09:10Z")
What do you mean by the legally best thing to do? Really this seems to be a situation of moral value. Do you want to ensure this person is found (considering family turmoil) or do you care less? Most likely you aren’t the only person to have seen the body and if you are indeed the first it won’t be long before another person discovers it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/39 "2015-10-03T12:30:24Z")
I’d call 911, having first insured that my fly is zipped up. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303/40 "2015-10-03T12:40:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’d call 911, having first insured that my fly is zipped up. Yeah, the truck driver that found the body of the Lindbergh baby went into the woods to take a piss. I’m sure that many bodies are found just by accident. Well, maybe not “many”, but it does happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-thing-to-do-legally-if-you-find-a-dead-body-in-america/733303.md?page=3)