Perfect Murder Motive – Make it Look Like a Robbery

Motive for murder is one of the key component investigators consider when trying to solve a case. The basic question is, “Why would someone want this person dead?”

If you kill someone, you probably have a reason for doing so, unless you are a psychopathic serial killer. The trick to committing the perfect murder is to cover up the reason why the victim is dead so that you draw attention away from yourself and widen the pool of suspects.

The hardest crimes for police to solve are those that are random, the most common being home invasion robberies. So if you want to commit the perfect murder, staging a home invasion is one way to go about it.  For more on this topic, read the article “What is the Most Difficult Crime to Solve? Hint: It is Not Murder”

6 Tips to Make a Murder Look like a Robbery Gone Bad

1. Take as many Obvious Items of Value you can Carry

This includes cash, credit cards, check books, jewelry (in the home or on the victim), high end electronics etc. For the police to call a murder ‘a robbery gone bad,’ it has to look like a robbery. If visible valuables are untouched, it is a tip off to detectives that someone is trying to stage the crime scene.

2. Ransack the Place

Make it look like you were searching for items of value. What you shouldn’t do is ransack the house and leave items of value behind. This is another clue that someone is trying the stage a crime scene. In the same token, if you only taken valuables that are hidden and do not tear the place apart, it is a huge indication that you knew the victim because you knew where to look.

3. Dispose of Stolen Goods Properly

Do not be a moron and use the stolen credit cards or checks. This leaves a paper trail and trust us, the police will be looking for this activity immediately. Once investigators know when and where a stolen credit card was used, they can even find video surveillance of you using the card. What you should do with stolen credit cards and checks is completely wipe your fingerprint off and then drop them in random places around a shadier part of town. People who find the cards or checks and use them will automatically become suspects and take the focus away from you.

Do not pawn any stolen items. Pawn store owners keep records of who brings in what and pawn stores are usually the first place the police look to find the items and who brought them in.

Do not keep anything you stole. It is best if you can dump the items in random dumpsters around town. Remember, you are trying to make this look like a random act of a home robbery and the few bucks you would make could cost you a life behind bars.

4. Break Windows from the Outside

Breaking a window from the outside of the house causes the glass to fall into the house. This fits with someone trying to break in. Trying to stage a robbery by breaking glass from the inside only tells crime scene investigators you were already on the inside when the glass was broken.

5. Make Sure you actually “Break In” to the House

Using a key or code to the alarm system immediately tells the police you knew the victim since you had access to these items. This completely defeats your intention of making it look like a stranger broke in and murdered the victim.

6. Do Not Kill the Victim while they are Asleep in Bed

Even if you follow all of the steps listed about, killing a person in bed is an immediate red flag to detectives that you are trying to stage a robbery gone bad. There is no reason or motive for a robber to kill a defenseless individual while they are asleep in their beds. The best case scenario is to make a lot of noise so you victim awakes, comes to investigate and then you kill them. This makes it appear that you were in the middle of robbing their house and they interrupted you. This is a plausible reason why a robber killed them.

Word of caution on step six:
With the prominence of cell phones and the existence of land lines it is easy to call 911 within seconds of hearing an intruder. Cutting the phone lines and accounting for cell phones are a suggested.

Stay Brutal!