is it 'breaking and entering' if you have the key ?

Question

i was watching 'a perfect murder' with michael douglas and gweneth paltrow. she enters a dead man's apartment (which has been sealed off) using his key. 'trespassing' i can see...what about 'breaking and entering'?

Answer 1

It is not breaking and entering. Given it was a sealed crime scene, unlawful entry, tampering with evidence, inhibiting a police investigation, etc. would be some of the charges.

Side note, it is not illegal for someone to enter your house without your consent. Example: If I were to walk up to your door, find it unlocked, enter, sit down and turn on the TV, don't attempt to remove or destroy anything, then you come home, find me, tell me to leave, and I leave, I have broken no laws. If you tell me to leave and I refuse, then I am trespassing. Up and to that point, no laws are broken. A person cannot be considered trespassing until they are told to no remain on property. That is the reason people have no trespassing signs on their property. At that point, anyone entering without permission is trespassing.

These may seem like technicalities, but lawyers are known for using technicalilities to defend people. In my example above, I would walk if charged with trespassing under the circumstances I stated.

Answer 2

I haven't seen the movie (not a big fan of Douglas) but if the person is given a key by the owner/renter or the apartment even before his death then there is no trespass but she could be charged with tampering with evidence in murder, which is a felony. If she swiped the key then it would probably be felony trespass since the site has been sealed. In order to "break" and enter the perpetrator must use some means of force to enter, otherwise it is unlawful entry, trespass or criminal trespass depending upon what you do once you enter. crawling through an open window would probably not be B&E. This is a very strong point because the penalties for B&E and unlawful entry are very different.

Answer 3

In Toronto, a superintendent who had the keys to every unit in the apartment building was charged with breaking and entering because his only reason for being in the apartment was to snoop and steal.
I can only imagine that the same would hold true if you moved out of a rental unit and used your old keys to get back in long after new tenants moved in. The line has to be drawn somewhere or everyone can steal your keys, let themselves in and plead their criminal charge down.

Answer 4

well i think it really depends on the motive and intentions the person entering the apartment has. Did that person have possession of the key, without the consent of the owner? IT just gets complicated,. .also if shes tresspassing a sealed off crime scene, i think that would constitue, Interference within a crime scene,> who knows?

Answer 5

Entry into a residence or business, with the intent to premanently remove property and deprive the owner of it, is called burglary.
It doesn't matter if you have a key or if the door is standing open.

Entry into a residence or private property without the consent of the owner or legal tenant is tresspassing.

Answer 6

by technicallity she broke a seal on the door making the charges that could have been filed as follows: unlawful entry, hindering a police investigation, tampering with a crime scene, evidence tampering, breaking and entering, trespass, criminal mischief, loitering

Answer 7

depends on how she got the key...but in short I would say no.

breaking means just that - literally breaking the seal of a door or window to gain entry....

Answer 8

If it is sealed off by the Police .. then it is breaking and entering. Good Luck ! :)

Answer 9

Yes, it's a b&e...as is crawling through an open window. "Breaking" refers to the unlawful entry i.e. without permission

Answer 10

Hey I'm just guessing it can't breaking in without any actual
-breaking- but you know how gray the law gets...