A proxy murder is a murder in which the murderer does so at the bequest of another, acting as their proxy.

The archetypal example of this would be taking a contract out on someone else, in which a hit man commits the act of murder on a specified target for the client, in exchange for cash or other consideration; this would be a contract killing . Another example is a person who manipulates a lover into murdering for him or her.

The person instigating a proxy murder may or may not be legally guilty of the crime of murder; this legal distinction varies by nation (and within the United States, by state). However, all jurisdictions recognize the criminal nature of the actions taken by the instigator, and they may be charged under any of a variety of statutes, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and/or accessory to murder

Proxy murders may skew crime statistics, as the use of a proxy may conceal the true motives of the person behind the scenes.