For people living in Southern California, the death of a 10-year-old Long Beach girl has been dominating the news the past two days. Now the case is gaining national attention, as the little girl’s death has been rules a homicide as the result of blunt force trauma after a school yard fight with another student. Some people may be shocked to hear that no charges have been filed in this case, but as expert Southern California murder defense attorneys, we here at Wallin and Klarich think it’s important to explain that homicide is not synonymous with murder.

In California, homicide crimes fall into three different categories: First Degree Murder, Second Degree Murder and Manslaughter. Manslaughter itself has varying degrees as well. The two most common are voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.

First degree murder means that there was premeditation, or that you intended to kill someone. You can also be convicted of first degree murder if you accidentally kill someone while committing a different violent crime. Second degree murder means that the act of killing someone was intentional, but not premeditated.

Voluntary manslaughter is when you kill someone accidentally as the result of a reckless act or if you kill someone using unreasonable force while trying to defend yourself.

All this leads us to involuntary manslaughter, which is what this incident would seem to fall under based on the details of the case that have been released to the public. However, due to the ages of the girls involved (10 and 11) and the strange circumstances following the aftermath of the fight, it seems unlikely that prosecutors will find enough evidence to bring any charges against the other little girl involved outside of an assault charge.

While this may seem like an injustice, it would be difficult to prove that the fight was an act that would normally be a danger to human life, especially since both girls went on their way and seemed perfectly healthy for a period of time following the fight.

While this story is tragic, it is hard for us to imagine that criminal charges in the homicide will be filed. As new details emerge, we will be sure to keep you posted. We welcome your thoughts or comments as well.