running gag / said by James and Jimmie
No body, no crime
What does "No body, no crime" mean on Small Town Murder?
A play on Bob Marley's 'No Woman, No Cry', used whenever a killer disposes of the body: without a corpse there can be no murder charge. The hosts treat it as Bob Marley's song, sing it, and use it as a shorthand for the whole idea, right up to the live-show singalong.
- Kind
- running gag
- Usually said by
- James and Jimmie
- First heard
- Episode 192, 8 October 2020
The story behind the phrase
Where did "No body, no crime" come from?
It first comes up in episode 192, when James reads a co-worker's account of a man planning to dispose of a body in pieces. The co-worker said he kept repeating the words "nobody, no crime, nobody, no crime".
The line came from the case itself, not from the hosts. Within minutes it turns into a joke on Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry", since without a body there can seem to be nothing to charge.
How is "No body, no crime" used now?
James and Jimmie reach for it whenever a killer hides or destroys a body, and often sing it. In episode 445 James adds that prosecutors have tried cases without a body, and by episode 489 he talks about fans singing it along at the live shows. In episode 705 he uses it the other way round, saying there is definitely not "nobody, no crime" in a case.
When was "No body, no crime" first said?
It was first heard in episode 192, "Angry, Bloody & Ridiculous", on 8 October 2020, at about 1:17:01.
"He kept telling McNeely, McNeely would later say, quote, he kept repeating the words, nobody no crime, nobody no crime."
James recounts that (name covered) McNeely said the killer kept repeating 'nobody, no crime, nobody, no crime' while describing how he would dismember and scatter the body. The line comes from the case itself, not coined by the hosts, but Jimmie picks it up straight away and minutes later they turn it into a Bob Marley 'No Woman, No Cry' parody, which becomes the running gag.
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