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Defense attorney says murder convictions without a body are rare but possible
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BATON ROUGE — Police have charged a man with first-degree murder in connection with the disappearance of a 15-year-old, even though the teenager's body has not been found.
Maurice Parms was arrested Saturday and charged in the case of Ja'Derrius Minnieweather, who has been missing for three weeks. Search crews are still looking for Minnieweather.
East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards addressed the case Saturday.
"We will hunt you down. We will find you. Don't fool with our babies in Baton Rouge," Edwards said.
Defense attorney Franz Borghardt, who works on criminal cases in the area, said murder convictions without a body are possible. He said murder can be proven without a body.
"You still have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person accused of a crime did it," Borghardt said. "But it is not impossible to prove it, and in fact nationally and locally, we've had cases where people have been convicted of murder when there is no body."
According to arrest documents, a witness saw a "very tall black man" beating a smaller person, police believe fit Minnieweather's description on the night of June 4. Parms told police he visited Minnieweather briefly that night and then returned home and did not leave until the morning.
Security video contradicted that account, reportedly showing Parms riding a "small kid's bike" from the scene where police also found a large blood stain.
Bourghardt said that kind of evidence can help build a criminal case.
"If it's reliable and credible, then we can draw conclusions from it," he said. "Based on the affidavit, it would seem that we have physical evidence in a place that it shouldn't be. We also have direct evidence, someone saw something."
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