Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-32 (2026)

First and second degree murder defined; punishment

✓ current as of May 2026

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Murder, other than aggravated murder, by poison, lying in wait, imprisonment, starving, or by any willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or in the commission of, or attempt to commit, arson, rape, forcible sodomy, inanimate or animate object sexual penetration, robbery, burglary or abduction, except as provided in § 18.2-31, is murder of the first degree, punishable as a Class 2 felony.

All murder other than aggravated murder and murder in the first degree is murder of the second degree and is punishable by confinement in a state correctional facility for not less than five nor more than forty years.

Code 1950, § 18.1-21; 1960, c. 358; 1962, c. 42; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1976, c. 503; 1977, cc. 478, 492; 1981, c. 397; 1993, cc. 463, 490; 1998, c. 281; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 344, 345.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 551 cases (180 in the last 5 years), 1978–2026 · leading case: Willis v. Commonwealth, 393 S.E.2d 405 (Va. Ct. App. 1990).

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Willis v. Commonwealth, 393 S.E.2d 405 (Va. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 22× “Amending the Indictment The Commonwealth indicted Willis for murder in violation of Code § 18.2-32, use of a firearm in commission of murder in violation of Code § 18.”

Berkeley v. Commonwealth, 451 S.E.2d 41 (Va. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 28× “This appeal is limited to the first degree murder conviction for violation of Code § 18.2-32. [1] The dispositive question *42 for our determination is whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain the first degree felony-murder conviction as charged in the final amended…”

Braulio Marcelo Castillo, s/k/a Braulio Marcello Castillo v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 827 S.E.2d 790 (Va. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 5× “Severance / Protective Order A grand jury indicted appellant on three charges: murder in the first degree, in violation of Code § 18.2-32; burglary with the intent to commit murder, in violation of Code § 18.”

Barnes v. Commonwealth, 535 S.E.2d 706 (Va. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 24× “Barnes (appellant) was convicted in a bench trial of first degree murder in violation of Code § 18.2-32 and abduction in violation of Code § 18.”

Aldridge v. Commonwealth, 606 S.E.2d 539 (Va. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 8× “Kuturah Aldridge appeals her conviction, following a bench trial, for first-degree murder, in violation of Code § 18.2-32. Specifically, Aldridge contends that the trial court erred in: (1) denying her motion to suppress statements she made to police, arguing that she made the…”

Walshaw v. Commonwealth, 603 S.E.2d 633 (Va. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 13× “Our Supreme Court has consistently held that it is unnecessary to include the words “willfully, deliberately and premeditatedly” or “malice” in the indictment to convict a defendant of murder in violation of Code § 18.2-32. Simpson, 221 Va. at 115 , 267 S.”

Marshall v. Commonwealth, 496 S.E.2d 120 (Va. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 12× “2 and first degree (felony) murder in violation of Code § 18.2-32 in the death of his infant son, Tyler Marshall.”

Turner v. Commonwealth, 694 S.E.2d 251 (Va. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 16× “2-48, and murder, in violation of Code § 18.2-32. The trial court imposed a prison sentence of 82 years.”

Wooden v. Commonwealth, 284 S.E.2d 811 (Va. 1981). · cites it 13× “Since malice is an element of Va. Code § 18.2-32 felony-murder, the Commonwealth’s position would require the elimination of proof of malice as a prerequisite to conviction under our felony-murder statute.”

Simpson v. Commonwealth, 267 S.E.2d 134 (Va. 1980). · cites it 20× “On January 24, 1979 the trial court, sitting without a jury, convicted Simpson of the following offenses: murder (Code § 18.2-32), attempted murder (Code §18.”

Jonathan Marquis Holley v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 765 S.E.2d 873 (Va. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 22× “The enactment of Code § 18.2-32 and cases interpreting that statute do not establish any legislative intent to displace the common law.”

Kennemore v. Commonwealth, 653 S.E.2d 606 (Va. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 12× “When the killing takes place during the commission of arson, Code § 18.2-32 punishes the killing as first-degree murder.”

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