How far back does murder go, and why are women the big audience for killer tales?

To begin with, women read more, and read far more fiction. Even so the tilt towards murder mysteries is notable. Studies show links with fear in the real world.

The first murder on record dates to about 400,000 years ago.

In 2015, in a cave in the Atapuerca Mountains in Spain, archaeologists unearthed a hominin skull bearing signs of inflicted blunt-force trauma. They called it Cranium 17.

Even with a killing from that long ago, the first thoughts that come to mind remain universal: Who killed this person? Why did they do it? Were they ever caught?

This mix of curiosity, fear and a desire to see justice done