Should Desecration of a Body Be Its Own Crime?

The Reasons for – and Considerations around – making body desecration a stand-alone criminal offence.

In July 2025, the family of Michael “Mike” O’Leary, murdered in 2020, called for new legal protection: making the destruction or desecration of a body a specific criminal offence.

As criminal defence solicitors, we fully support justice for victims’ families, while also emphasising the importance of careful legal definitions and procedural fairness when it comes to bringing about any new offence.

So what has prompted these calls?

The Case of Michael O’Leary

Michael O’Leary, a 55‑year‑old father, was shot dead in January 2020 by his friend Andrew Jones in Carmarthenshire, who then burned his body on a farm, leaving only a 6 cm fragment of intestine for investigators to recover.

Jones was convicted of murder and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 30 years. Yet the law currently provides no separate offence for the destruction of remains beyond sentencing as an aggravating factor.

What Families Are Calling For

Mr O’Leary’s sister and other affected families met with the Ministry of Justice to advocate for “Helen’s Law Part Two”, which would specifically criminalise acts of severe disrespect or destruction of a corpse.

This follows earlier successful reform under Helen’s Law, which now requires parole boards to consider an offender’s refusal to disclose location of remains when deciding release eligibility.

Families believe codifying desecration would offer formal recognition and justice. The new law would purely serve as a punishment for what would be argued to be a heinous act.

Legal Considerations from a Defence Perspective

First of all, as criminal defence solicitors we are not opposed to new laws being proposed and introduced as a default. Of course we recognise there are valid arguments for new laws and where the topic is clearly emotive, our consideration has to be placed on ensuring the new laws provide clarity and fairness for any possible conviction.

To that end, some considerations for offences around desecration of a body could include:

• Defining “severe disrespect” in a clear, measurable way.
• Avoiding laws that might capture well-meaning conduct (e.g. emergency handling).
• Preventing overlap that undermines sentencing consistency thus ensuring new offences do not unintentionally result in concurrent sentences reducing overall justice.

It is worth bearing in mind that Parliament has previously considered creating statutory offences of “concealing a body” and “desecration of a corpse” in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. These would replace outdated common law and set maximum sentences of up to three years for desecration.

Supporting Families while Ensuring Fairness

With this instance, where laws are propsed by victim’s relatives there of course has to be consideration and understanding of their upset and how that can form – and indeed strengthen the argument for law changes.

It is important that a victim’s family can feel some sense of justice whenever achievable. In this instance, a new offence could offer formal recognition of their loss.

But for true justice to be received – any new law must be precise: subjective moral outrage alone shouldn’t define criminal liability and can set dangerous precedents.

For families to receive true justice, it has to be handed down based on the clarity of the laws passed.

Conclusion: Towards Balanced Reform

The arguments for making desecration of a body its own criminal offence are undeniably compelling. It could close longstanding legal gaps, help families find closure, and reinforce respect for the deceased.

But as criminal defence solicitors, we emphasise the need for carefully drafted legislation whilst balancing victims’ rights with fair legal safeguards which would help to avoid unintended legal consequences.

How We Can Help

If you have any questions regarding this article or anything to do with murder offences, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Call us 0161 477 1121 or Message Us to speak to one of our team.