Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.32.010 (2026)

Homicide defined

✓ current as of May 2026
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Homicide is the killing of a human being by the act, procurement, or omission of another, death occurring at any time, and is either (1) murder, (2) homicide by abuse, (3) manslaughter, (4) excusable homicide, or (5) justifiable homicide.
[ 1997 c 196 s 3; 1987 c 187 s 2; 1983 c 10 s 1; 1975 1st ex.s. c 260 s 9A.32.010.]

Notes:

Excusable homicide: RCW 9A.16.030.
Justifiable homicide: RCW 9A.16.040 and 9A.16.050.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 32 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1980–2023 · leading case: In re the Pers. Restraint of Percer, 150 Wash. 2d 41 (Wash. 2003).
In re the Pers. Restraint of Percer, 150 Wash. 2d 41 (Wash. 2003). · cites it 10× “In granting the PRP, the court determined (as did the Schwab court) that the disjunctive wording in the definition of homicide found in RCW 9A.32.010 barred multiple homicide convictions for a single death.”
State v. Edwards, 701 P.2d 508 (Wash. 1985). · cites it 5× “The Laramie Bill, an amendment to the homicide statute, RCW 9A.32.010, provided that murder charges may be filed if a victim dies within 3 years and a day of the criminal act.”
In Re Percer, 75 P.3d 488 (Wash. 2003). · cites it 10× “In granting the PRP, the court determined (as did the Schwab court) that the disjunctive wording in the definition of homicide found in RCW 9A.32.010 barred multiple homicide convictions for a single death.”
State v. Dennison, 801 P.2d 193 (Wash. 1990). · cites it 2× “" RCW 9A.16.050. [21] "Homicide is the killing of a human being .”
In Re the Welfare of Colyer, 660 P.2d 738 (Wash. 1983). · cites it 2× “[9] Under Washington's criminal code, homicide is "the killing of a human being by the act, procurement or omission of another" (RCW 9A.32.010), and it is murder in the first degree when, "[w]ith a premeditated intent to cause the death of another person, [one] causes the death…”
State v. Womac, 160 Wash. 2d 643 (Wash. 2007). “RCW 9A.32.010. From the plain language of the statute, the court concluded “one killing equals one homicide; one *656 unlawful homicide equals either murder, homicide by abuse, or manslaughter.”
State v. Tamalini, 953 P.2d 450 (Wash. 1998). · cites it 2× “See RCW 9A.32.010. The degrees of homicide, he suggests, are the two degrees of murder and the two degrees of manslaughter.”
State v. Womac, 160 P.3d 40 (Wash. 2007). “RCW 9A.32.010. From the plain language of the statute, the court concluded "one killing equals one homicide; one unlawful homicide equals either murder, homicide by abuse, or manslaughter.”
State v. Schwab, 988 P.2d 1045 (Wash. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 2× “Homicide itself is defined in RCW 9A.32.010: Homicide is the killing of a human being by the act, procurement, or omission of another, death occurring at any time, and is either (1) murder, (2) homicide by abuse, (3) manslaughter, (4) excusable homicide, or (5) justifiable…”
State v. Chavez, 180 P.3d 1250 (Wash. 2008). “, RCW 9A.32.010, which provides a general definition for the crime of “homicide.”
State v. Morgan, 936 P.2d 20 (Wash. Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 2× “A hearing was held December 7 and 8, 1994. Mr. Morgan's standard range was 36 to 48 months.”
In re the Pers. Restraint of Percer, 47 P.3d 576 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 3× “In Schwab , a Division One panel of this Court held that a defendant could not be convicted of both second degree murder and first degree manslaughter for a single homicide, reasoning that RCW 9A.32.010 defines homicide in the disjunctive: It is either (1) murder, (2) homicide…”
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.32.010(1)(c) — 1 case
State v. Ogden, 7 P.3d 839 (Wash. Ct. App. 2000).
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