While one occurred in California in 1957, at the trial of Leonard Ewing Scott, who was convicted of killing his wife, Evelyn Throsby Scott. Evelyn's body was never found, but her dentures, glasses, and other personal items were discovered near an incinerator in their backyard.
According to AI, for what it is worth:
More than 500 no-body murder trials have been held in the United States, and a significant number of these cases have resulted in convictions.
Without a body, proving that someone has committed murder is difficult but not impossible. The conviction rate for no-body murder cases that go to trial is higher than that of all murder cases, with about 86 percent of no-body murder cases resulting in convictions compared to a 70 percent conviction rate for all murder cases.
I would never had guessed the success rate of no body found murder cases. 😋
In this case the babysitter had stated that she & her had left on their own accord and hitch-hiked to Madison Wisconsin where they caught a bus to Indianapolis, and ended the story saying that the last time she saw her was walking away from a bus stop around a corner in 1962. This testimony is what appeared on a missing person's flyer apparently from back in the day.
A few years ago the new owner of an older home was having some work done and human remains were found in a disused septic tank, something like that. The remains turned out to be the long-missing wife of the former owner, who had died without ever having been a suspect per se.
"Without a body, proving that someone has committed murder is difficult but not impossible. The conviction rate for no-body murder cases that go to trial is higher than that of all murder cases, with about 86 percent of no-body murder cases resulting in convictions compared to a 70 percent conviction rate for all murder cases.
Apparently if these numbers are true, it seems without a body, proving someone has committed murder is NOT that difficult, since that conviction rate is higher than when a murder was committed and a body was found.