“...to know that homicides passed off as drownings are DEFINITELY a thing.”
My favorite was a Perry Mason where he had Paul toss a weighted dummy off a cliff to see if it was an accident or a homicide.
It was a homicide. ;)
Which one was it? I have the whole set (indulgent towards a non-grown daughter who had a serious Perry Mason habit).
Also, I recall that Fredo’s death was attributed to “drowning” in Godfather Part II.
The highest rated episode of Columbo on IMDB (featuring Donald Pleasance EXTREMELY well-cast as the killer) had him suffocate/dehydrate his hated brother in a special wine celler, and dispose of the body dressed in scuba gear in the water. The autopsy showed the body had not eaten for a long time before the “swim”.