Abuse of a Corpse

The offense of unlawfully treating a dead human body in a manner a jurisdiction's law defines as disrespectful, indecent or contrary to how human remains must be handled, a broad residual category distinct from the specific offenses of grave robbery and necrophilia in that it covers other conduct such as concealing, mutilating, dismembering or improperly disposing of a body, including to hinder a criminal investigation into the person's death. Many jurisdictions in the United States codify the offense as abuse of a corpse or a similarly titled statute, and prosecutors have applied it in cases where a defendant dismembered or otherwise disposed of a body to conceal an unrelated homicide, in addition to the underlying homicide charge itself. The offense is generally understood in criminal law as protecting a distinct societal interest in the dignified treatment of the dead and the integrity of a death investigation, rather than protecting a living victim in the ordinary sense.