A murder conviction without a body is an instance of a person being convicted of murder despite the absence of the victim's body. Circumstantial and forensic evidence are prominent in such convictions. Hundreds of such convictions have occurred in the past, some of which have been overturned. In all cases, unless otherwise noted, the remains of the victims were never recovered.

Argentina Victim(s) Convicted Location Disappeared Conviction date DescriptionTehuel de la TorreLuis Alberto RamosAlejandro Korn, Buenos Aires11 March 202130 August 2024Torre, a transgender man, disappeared after travelling to Alejandro Korn to meet with Ramos, who had offered him a job as a waiter. Evidence from both men's phones proved that Torre had arrived at Ramos' home, and Torre's blood and burnt items of clothing were found there. Ramos, who had made disparaging remarks about Torre's gender identity, was the first person in Argentina to be convicted for an anti-transgender homicide.Cecilia StrzyzowskiCésar Sena, Emerenciano Sena, Marcela Acuña, Gustavo Obregón, Fabiana González, Gustavo MelgarejoResistencia, Chaco2 June 202315 November 2025Cecilia Strzyzowski disappeared at the home of her boyfriend César Sena, the son of powerful local politicians Emerenciano Sena and Marcela Acuña, who had pressured him to end the relationship. Security footage showed that Cecilia never left the property, and that César and both his parents were present that day. Large amounts of Cecilia's blood and burnt personal effects were found, as were bone fragments which could not be proved to belong to Cecilia. César and his parents were convicted of murder, and three family employees were convicted as accomplices.

Australia Victim(s) Convicted Location Disappeared Conviction date DescriptionLouis CarronJohn RowlesMurchison Region, Western AustraliaMay 193019 March 1932Louis Carron became the final victim in the Murchison Murders, in which John Rowles used a body disposal method that had been suggested by author Arthur Upfield. However, Rowles had forgotten to complete one of the steps after Carron's murder. He was convicted of wilful murder for killing Carron and executed on June 13, 1932. Azaria Chamberlain Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, Michael Chamberlain Uluru, Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, Northern Territory 17 August 1980 29 October 1982 An infant who is now believed to have been killed by a dingo while on a camping trip with her parents. Her mother was convicted of the murder in 1982 and her father was convicted as an accessory to the crime. However, following the discovery of the baby's clothing in an area frequented by the animals, the charges were overturned in September 1988.. Evil Angels, journalist John Bryson's book about the case, was the basis for the eponymous film known as A Cry in the Dark internationally. Louise Bell Raymond Geesing Hackham West, City of Onkaparinga, Adelaide, South Australia 4 January 1983 1983 10-year-old Louise Bell was abducted from her home in Hackham West in January 1983. Raymond Geesing, a man serving time in prison for an unrelated crime, was convicted of her murder after supposedly confessing to jailhouse informers, but his conviction was quashed 17 months later after the witnesses were deemed to be unreliable. Years later, child killer Dieter Pfennig was convicted of the murder. Dieter Pfennig 10 November 2016Peter BurtonMargaret Anne BurtonNew South WalesMay 1983November 1984In November 1984, Margaret Burton was convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the disappearance of her husband, Peter Burton. A close friend, Ronald Burke, was only convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. Margaret was sentenced to life in prison for murder and, along with Ronald Burke, eight years for conspiracy to commit murder. On September 24, 1986, the New South Wales Court of Appeal unanimously overturned Margaret's murder conviction after a close friend of Peter Burton, Judy Edmonds, identified him in the crowd at a televised cricket match. Margaret's conviction and 8-year sentence for conspiracy to commit murder were not overturned. Samantha Knight Michael Guider Bondi, Sydney, New South Wales 19 August 1986 28 August 2002 A nine-year-old girl abducted from her home. Guider, a pedophile who drugged his victims with temazepam before molesting them, pleaded guilty to her manslaughter when he was already behind bars for other crimes. According to Guider, Knight never recovered after being drugged, and he later buried, dug up and re-buried her body in two different Sydney locations to evade suspicion. It is believed that the body was ultimately removed or destroyed during the construction of a carpark. Carel Gottgens Patricia Byers Brisbane, Queensland 6 July 1990 1999 Gottgens disappeared while planning to leave Byers, who had forged documents to fraudulently take possession of his assets after his disappearance. Police did not become suspicious until Byers attempted to murder another partner in 1993. Byers maintained her innocence for years, but eventually confessed to murdering Gottgens in 2016.Prue BirdLeslie CamilleriGlenroy, Melbourne, Victoria2 February 19929 December 2012Prue Bird disappeared from her home in Glenroy in 1992 and was never seen again. Leslie Camilleri, one of the perpetrators of the Bega schoolgirl murders, pleaded guilty to killing Bird in 2012, claiming that he acted alone and without premeditation. However, inconsistencies in his confession and witness testimony linking him to the crime led the court to reject his story and conclude that he premeditatedly abducted and murdered Bird with help from another man who had since died in prison. Camilleri, already serving a life sentence, was sentenced to an additional 28 years. Dorothy Davis, Kerry Whelan Bruce Burrell Sydney, New South Wales 30 May 1995 – May 1997 2006 Two women who disappeared, Davis after going to visit Burrell's wife, and Whelan after boarding Burrell's car.Tegan Lee LaneKeli LaneAuburn, Cumberland City Council, New South Wales12 September 199610 December 2010After the mother attempted to adopt out a child in 1999, DOCS workers uncovered evidence of two previous children one of whom could not be located and notified police. After years of investigation and a coroner's inquest charges were laid in 2009, ultimately leading to a conviction on a majority verdict. Hayley Dodd Francis Wark Badgingarra, Wheatbelt Region Western Australia 29 July 1999 2018Wark, a convicted rapist, abducted 17-year-old Hayley Dodd while she was walking near a property he owned in Badgingarra. A cold case review in 2015 led to evidence linking him to Dodd being found in Wark's car and he was convicted of killing her in 2018. He was given a second trial in 2021, but was convicted again. Keith William Allan Sudo Cavkic, Costas Athanasi, Julian Michael Clarke Melbourne, Victoria 28 May 2000 2007 A contract killing in which three men were convicted of the crime.Morton, James (2005), Gangland. The Contract Killers, Sphere, London, p.327. Peter Falconio Bradley John Murdoch Barrow Creek, Northern Territory 14 July 2001 13 December 2005 Falconio was murdered by a truck driver while holidaying with his girlfriend, Joanne Lees. Lees survived the ordeal and was able to escape and identify Murdoch as the killer. However, Murdoch had disposed of Falconio's body by the time authorities went to arrest him.Susan ChristieRory ChristiePerth, Western Australia15 November 20012003Rory Christie was convicted of killing his missing wife Susan in a dispute over the custody of their son. The only physical evidence against him was a tie belonging to him with a small amount of Susan's blood on it. In 2005, Christie was granted a new trial after evidence came to light supporting his contention that the blood came from where he had helped Susan with a nosebleed earlier in the day. The following month, the trial judge threw out the case against him for lack of evidence and Christie was released from prison after four years.George TempletonRobyn LindholmReservoir, Melbourne, Victoria2 May 2005October 2019Templeton disappeared on the anniversary of his father's death and was reported missing by his girlfriend Robyn Lindholm. Lindholm later confessed that Templeton had been murdered at her direction by Wayne Amey, who was himself later murdered by Lindholm, and his body was thrown into Port Phillip Bay.Bob ChappellSusan Blyth Neill-FraserHobart, Tasmania26 January 200915 October 2010Susan Blyth Neill-Fraser was given a 23-year prison sentence for murdering her partner, Bob Chappell, whilst aboard their yacht, which was moored off Sandy Bay on Australia Day in 2009. Mr. Chappell's body has never been found, nor has the murder weapon. Barbara, Leanne and Vicki McCulkin Garry Dubois Brisbane, Queensland 16 January 1974 28 November 2016 Barbara McCulkin and her two daughters disappeared from their home in Brisbane in 1974, in what became one of Australia's oldest cold cases. Criminals Vincent O'Dempsey and Garry Dubois were charged with their murders in 1980 but avoided conviction. Years later, both men were charged again and convicted after it came to light that they had boasted of murdering the victims and burying their bodies in bushland. They were suspected to have targeted Barbara McCulkin to prevent her from talking about their role in nightclub bombings.Vincent O'Dempsey26 May 2017Lynette DawsonChris DawsonSydney, New South Wales9 January 198230 August 2022Chris Dawson was convicted of murdering his wife, Lyn Dawson, in a judge-only trial. The prosecution's circumstantial case alleged Dawson murdered her to pursue a relationship with their babysitter, and the judge was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Lynette Dawson died "as a result of a conscious and voluntary act" by Chris Dawson. On 2 December 2022, Dawson was sentenced to 24 years in jail, with a non-parole period of 18 years. Bruce Schuler Stephen Struber, Dianne Wilson-Struber Palmerville Station, Cape York, Queensland 9 July 2012 24 July 2015 Schuler and three other men were prospecting for gold with metal detectors on the Strubers' vast and remote cattle property. Either Mr Struber or Ms Wilson-Struber shot or otherwise killed Schuler, aided by the other. They then burnt incriminating evidence at the scene and later disposed of Schuler's body and possession in an unknown place.

Belgium

Victim(s) Convicted Location Disappeared Conviction date Description Edit Fintor, Ilona Sőrés; Andrea, Dániel, Zoltán and Tünde Pándy András and Ágnes Pándy Brussels Capital Region 1986 – 1990 6 March 2002 The two wives, two sons, and two of the step-daughters of András Pándy. The conviction relied heavily on the forgery of documents by Pándy aiming to prove that the disappeared had left the country, and the testimony of his eldest step-daughter Ágnes, who confessed to have helped Pándy murder the victims, dismember and partially dissolve the bodies in drain cleaner, and throw any remains in an Anderlecht slaughterhouse's dumpsite. Following Pándy's arrest, the skeletons of seven women and one man were discovered buried in concrete under one of his properties, but they did not belong to his family.

Brazil

Victim(s) Convicted Location Disappeared Conviction date Description Eliza Samudio Bruno Fernandes das Dores de Souza Esmeraldas, Minas Gerais, Southeast Region 9 June 2010 8 March 2013 The convict's former mistress and mother of his illegitimate child, she disappeared after suing him for child support. The child also vanished, but was found in the care of Souza's wife. Souza's cousin and accomplice testified that Souza had dismembered Samudio after abducting and killing her, feeding some parts to his rottweilers and burying the rest in concrete.

Canada