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So, I heard of such cases from some countries in which people get murdered but due to influence from powerful people, it gets labeled as "suicide" in the media and similar sources even with cases that have proof that it in fact was a murder.

Is there any English word that summarizes this "made-up suicide" that may or may not be valid in the following example cases?

They brutally [word]ed him.

Yesterday, x got brutally [word]ed by y.

I am certain that this is not a suicide, this is rather a [word].

This begs the question, how can we prevent this inhumane spree of [word]s?

At the moment, I tried briefly searching it inside a PDF copy of the Oxford Dictionary 2018. I haven't really considered any word for this yet, I don't think any word that is currently in my vocabulary fits the definition, or I fail to remember it right now. I also don't have a "best word" criteria, so simply what matches my sample cases the most will be chosen. Non-compound words would certainly be highly preferred, but compound words are also allowed.

Syed M. Sannan
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4 Answers4

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Staged

The word you are looking for is "staged".

Practical homocide.com

In "staged crime scenes," however, the presentation of the homicide victim and the manipulation of the crime scene by a clever offender could make the death appear to be a suicide. I have personally investigated many such cases and the truth of the matter is that initially, the cases did look like suicides.

Answer

They brutally [murder]ed him.

Yesterday, x got brutally [murder]ed by y.

I am certain that this is not a suicide, this is rather a [staged suicide].

This begs the question, how can we prevent this inhumane spree of [staged suicide]s?

John Strachan
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  • “Staged” is the most appropriate word. It works the other way too: a suivide may be staged as a murder. See https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/case-suicidal-hanging-staged-homicide – Anton Aug 26 '22 at 16:42
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There is a transitive use of suicide as a verb that may be entering mainstream usage (see this English.se question). It can either mean "to drive to suicide" or "to kill [someone] and make their death appear to have been a suicide rather than a homicide" (Wiktionary).

In the second sense, it has apparently been used as far back as 1898, and would fit in either of your first two sentences. For the noun form, you would need either quotes to indicate that the word "suicide" is not to be taken literally, or a phrase that explains what's happening.

Esther
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  • Although both of the answers match an equal number of sample cases, i.e., yours matches two, the other answer matches two as well, I will accept the other answer now as it suits the ironic feel of these cases more, If that makes sense. Thank you for answering though.

    Edit: My bad, yours matches 1 sample case, not 2, while the other answer matches 2.

     – Syed M. Sannan Aug 28 '22 at 12:20
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    @Stranger the other answer is literally the past tense of my answer. It's the same word. And as such, as I said in my answer, you can use it for either of the first 2 sample sentences, where the word you are looking for is a verb. – Esther Aug 28 '22 at 14:06
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    Moreover, for a full understanding of how and when to use this verb, it is important to know that, as this answer points out, this way of using it 'may be entering mainstream usage, i.e. that the use is not well established. The other answer, by not containing that qualification, may mislead the future visitors to this page. – jsw29 Aug 28 '22 at 16:18
  • I agree with all of your points but in my particular case, I had already written that the answer most accurate to the sample cases wins, so by not accepting it, I thought that I am doing an injustice. – Syed M. Sannan Aug 28 '22 at 21:23
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    @Stranger answers don't "win" on stackexchange sites. Feel free to accept whichever answer helps you personally, and don't worry about justice. However, if you're going ot be like that, you did put the [ed] in your sample sentences already... :) – Esther Aug 28 '22 at 21:35
  • @Esther You do make sense, but because of my poor judgment skills, I have already changed the accepted answer twice. Would it be appropriate if I do it again? – Syed M. Sannan Aug 29 '22 at 17:45
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The word is suicided but it has to be used as a transitive verb in a way that indicates agency by another person. M-W in the above link lists it as a synonym for 'murdered', but of course it carries the connotation of a murder disguised as a suicide.

"Epstein didn't kill himself, he was suicided".

A similar usage is that of disappeared.

He never showed up to meet either duty, which was unlike him, according to his sister, Grace Fernández. As the evening progressed, the grim reality that her brother was disappeared started to sink in.

Spehro Pefhany
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The best that can be hoped is an expression.

  • murder covered up as (a) suicide

(ref. And if we announce a murder covered up as a suicide, a lot of people will just think it's another death on the reserve and go on about their day.

(ref.) Immediately Bruce is interested because it fits the pattern—a murder covered up as suicide and the connection to gay men.

(ref.) When the autopsy showed that she had been the victim of a murder covered up as suicide,

LPH
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  • Hmm, so it's concluded that there is no single word that fits the definition? – Syed M. Sannan Aug 26 '22 at 17:39
  • @Stranger Rather, the conclusion is that there seems little chance to find anything as short as a single word. Perhaps in some obsure legal vocabulary there is something short enough. The problem is that it's at the same time a complicated notion and one rarely needed. – LPH Aug 26 '22 at 18:04
  • Very much agreed with you, thanks for the answer. – Syed M. Sannan Aug 26 '22 at 18:06
  • @LPH Sadly, I think that it is something that occurs enough in the news such that a shorter turn of phrase may have come about. – Mitch Aug 26 '22 at 19:04
  • @Mitch It's not such an ideal term (to suicide), as it carries an ambiguity between killing and driving to kill oneself. – LPH Aug 26 '22 at 19:15