Also known as: felonious killing · intentional killing · murder · homicide
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A criminal act consisting of an unlawful killing committed with both the intent to kill and without legal excuse or justification. This act triggers the slayer rule that bars the perpetrator from receiving any benefit from the victim's estate or donative transfers.
Frank Fisher disabled a safety device at his workplace to steal trade secrets. The resulting explosion killed a coworker. Prosecutors classified the death as criminal homicide because the killing was unlawful and lacked any justification or excuse.
Faye Fuller was charged with killing her neighbor during an alleged fight. After Fuller claimed the victim attacked first, the prosecutor introduced evidence of the victim's peaceful character to show the killing was felonious and intentional rather than defensive.
Fabian Flynn caused a death by carelessly handling a firearm during an argument. Because the conduct was merely negligent rather than purposeful, the charge remained negligent homicide and did not qualify as a felonious and intentional killing.
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Fumiko Fujimoto pushed her uncle off a balcony during an argument over inheritance. The probate court found the act constituted a felonious and intentional killing and therefore barred Fumiko from taking under the uncle's will.
Felicity French deliberately struck her business partner with a heavy object during a dispute over company control. The court found express malice because the killing was both unlawful and committed with intent to cause death, satisfying the elements of murder.
Francesca Fowler lay dying after being stabbed by her roommate. Her statement identifying the attacker and describing the deliberate nature of the attack was admitted under the dying-declaration exception because it concerned the cause of an imminent felonious and intentional killing.
The civil proceeding uses the preponderance of the evidence standard. A final criminal conviction for the killing conclusively establishes slayer status, but the absence of a conviction does not prevent the civil court from making its own finding.
No. The slayer rule requires both that the killing be felonious and that it be intentional. A conviction based solely on negligence does not meet the intent element even though it may support criminal liability.
Yes. The probate court may determine slayer status in a civil proceeding under the preponderance standard when no criminal conviction exists. The court examines the facts to decide whether the person is responsible for a felonious and intentional killing.
No. The rule also prevents the killer from benefiting indirectly, such as by accelerating inheritance through the death of an intervening beneficiary or by receiving property the victim would otherwise have retained.