What is the ruling on the killer if it becomes clear that the victim was dead before the act of killing?

Killing is the act of taking a soul and separating it from the body. If a person dies seemingly before being killed, the assailant is not considered a killer, but is subject to discretionary punishment (ta'zir) if the striking was intentional. Jurists have stipulated that if someone commits an act from which life cannot be sustained, such as cutting the esophagus or the jugular veins, and then another person kills him, the first person is the killer because he took a stable soul. The second person is subject to discretionary punishment (ta'zir) for violating sanctity. The assessment of these matters rests with the Islamic judiciary.