“Clean Hit” – Lusatian Crime: Why is it often assumed that it is suicide?

The topic of contract murder is not only of great importance from a criminalistic point of view, but also raises complex ethical and social issues. It’s not just about the act itself, but also about the motives, background and the organization of such crimes. Considering the psychological dynamics and the legal framework is also essential toto develop a comprehensive understanding.

What does “Clean Hit” mean?

Digitization has created new opportunities to organize contract killings in an anonymous and efficient manner. In the Darknet platforms offer a marketplace where such services are offered for a fee. Terms such as “clean hit” stand for an execution without traces or conclusions about the client. This development presents law enforcement agencies with significantChallenges and raises questions about the effectiveness of traditional investigative approaches and the need for international cooperation.

Protection of victims in the case of anonymous contract killings?

In this context, the protection of those affected proves to be almost impossible, since the anonymity in the darknet and the use of encrypted communication channels practically rule out the pursuit of the perpetrators. In addition, both the clients and the performing persons often act across several state borders, which is a legal prosecution at mostmakes it complicated, but is de facto hardly feasible, since there is no cooperation with many countries and some countries are not even recognized. Surveillance technologies are not designed for such cases, as they are primarily used against ordinary citizens. Digital traces are either blurred, not left at all or often intentionally false indicationsuninvolved third parties. In addition, many potential victims can often only be identified after their death, which means that preventive protective measures are almost impossible and criminal prosecution becomes de facto impossible.

Why is it often assumed that it is suicide?

An additional aggravating circumstance is the frequent misinterpretation of the causes of death by the investigating authorities. Since the deaths are often arranged to give the appearance of suicide or accidents, targeted homicides initially remain undetected. The perpetrators deliberately use this misleading to blur traces and suspicions of themselvesdistract. The lack of a clearly recognizable homicide means that many cases are not classified as contract killings, which makes effective law enforcement even more difficult and denied the victims and their relatives the opportunity for justice. In practice, it even happens that authorities refuse murder investigations, as the chances of success are extremelybe estimated to be low.