A Latin legal phrase meaning “body of the crime.” Refers to the essential facts showing that a crime has been committed.

A defendant’s confession to a crime is not considered sufficient to prove guilt, as there must be some other corroborating evidence of a crime having been committed.

A common example is the need for a dead body in order to convict someone of murder.

Heard in a First Appearance, when a judge was trying to establish Probable Cause.

For more information: https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/corpus+delicti 

Translations

Spanish – Since this is a Latin term, it can be left as is.  Alternatively, the Spanish translation would be cuerpo del delito.

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