prime suspect

{{Short description|Most likely perpetrator of a crime}}

{{other uses}}

{{ref improve|date=August 2014}}

A prime suspect or key suspect is a person who is considered by the law enforcement agency investigating a crime to be the most likely suspect.[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prime%20suspect "Prime suspect"]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911092608/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prime%20suspect|date=2015-09-11}}. Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon. Dictionary.com, LLC. 06 Aug. 2014.{{cite web |url=http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/prime-suspect/ |title=prime suspect |work=USLegal.com |access-date=August 6, 2014 |archive-date=April 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402171829/http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/prime-suspect/ |url-status=live }} The idiom "prime suspect" is believed to have originated in 1931. "Key suspect" is seen as early as 1948.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQpF3IvhAK8C&q=%22key+suspect%22 |title=Congressional Record Volume 94, Part 9|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1948 |page= A-695 |access-date=August 24, 2014}}