16 Entry #16: Motive

"I'm thinking of gathering enough materials before handing this case to the police, so that they'll reopen the case as a homicide case."

"Homicide is technically not right," Nick butted in.

My forehead automatically crumpled.

"It should be murder," he corrected.

"Are they different from each other?" Rox asked.

"Yes. I found in our penal code that the two are separate and distinct crimes. However, in both crimes, certainly, a person was killed."

"What differentiates them?" Simon asked further.

"Premeditation," curtly, he replied. "The criminal planned the killing and was thinking of killing the person before the crime happened. Homicide does not have that characteristic."

"Who cares about the terms?" I exclaimed. "A person was killed! That's what matters!"

"Apparently, Miss Detective, the law cares," he said sarcastically. "If the criminal is brought to the court with the wrong crime, he could be pronounced as not guilty. Do you want that?"