My character, Tena the Small, lay down for a nap and was shocked to receive a visit from a black-robed villain named Lachance, who said she was a murderer and invited her to join some horrible gang of homicidal maniacs. Tena naturally refused and intends to throw a dagger which Lachance gave her into the sea ASAP (as well as warning this poor fellow Rufio that wicked men are out to get him.) Tena lives a godly life, her home (Maple Leaf Cottage) filled with religious books; at level 44 she has 125 fame and 0 infamy and her highest bounty is 40.

How could this happen? Her statistics now indeed say 1 Murder, but she does not recall murdering anyone, she has no bounty for a murder, and she never saw any 'you have been observed by persons unknown' message, although in the heat of some battle it may have passed unnoticed.

Has this happened to anyone else? The best I can figure out is that Tena accidentally killed a Golden Saint in some confused melee in the Shivering Isles (despite the fact that she normally uses only her Staff of Paralysis in such affairs specifically to avoid inadvertently hitting an ally). How many character-types are there whose killing counts as a murder but which incurs no bounty or arrest??

I've only had that problem with the SI NPCs like the seducers and saints, and the CM companions.

But it's a bug that happens even in Vanilla sometimes. Just reduce the chance for a next time by installing every official, and unofficial patch you need.

I hope this helps

It can happen if you sneak-attack a non-hostile vampire (one that hasn't detected you yet.) I consider this a bug, but I've had it happen quite a few times.

Another way it can happen is in a couple of scripted quests where a 'friendly' NPC suddenly turns unfriendly and attacks. If you respond and kill them too quickly, you can beat the game's ability to reset their faction (or whatever) so the game thinks you killed a friendly. And in the heat of a fight when you are not expecting it, missing the DB message is very easy to do. Oh, and I can think of a quest where an NPC asks you to kill them; if you do so, it'll count as a murder despite your noble intent.

Aha! That was it. (He never ate the poisoned apple Tena gave him so she finally pushed him off the steps. He so badly wanted to die.)