murder

/ˈmər-dər/

partly from Middle English murther, from Old English morthor; partly from Middle English murdre, from Anglo-French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English morthor; akin to Old High German mord murder, Latin mort-, mors death, mori to die, mortuus dead, Greek brotos mortal

noun

  1. the crime of unlawfully and unjustifiably killing a person; specifically, law : such a crime committed under circumstances defined by statute

  2. something very difficult or dangerous

  3. something outrageous or blameworthy

an attempted murder

verb

  1. to kill (a person) unlawfully and unjustifiably with premeditated malice —sometimes used figuratively

  2. to slaughter mercilessly : slay

  3. to put an end to : destroy

He was accused/convicted of murdering the missing hiker.

kill slay murder assassinate dispatch execute mean to deprive of life. kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner. slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.