Regarding the questioning re murder... I am not sure where that came and have never heard it mentioned before or read about it but .. 'Lyke (or Lych') is the old English word for Body... and 'wake' is the time spent with a dead body whilst it goes through the 'purging'.... ie.. the Victorians believed that a person who died had to go over a gorse moor... a dreadful bridge and a purgatory fire. They had to satisfy certain conditions before their spirit would go to heaven........ The three elements which were always present at a wake (which was usually held in the persons house in a back room) were 'Fire' 'Candlelight' and 'salt' which were supposed to keep evil spirits away from the body during its transition. Hope that helps.
PS in the UK there are still Lyke or Lych gates outside some of the older Churches.. it is a covered area at the entrance to the Church grounds under which the coffin, on a bier (handcart) would shelter from rain/snow etc before entering the Church at the appropriate time.
Best wishes, Mike.