Hypothetically speaking, could one get in trouble for writing an autobiographical novel that involved illegal activity? And would one be sued for defamation if it included illegal activities with someone who was later the victim of a high profile murder case? For example, if the author simply claimed to have smoked weed with the person, would this person's family want to sue the author and could they? The person writing it could change names of people in the story, but how could he or she get around the fact that the identity of the murder victim would be obvious to everyone?
If the author states that it is loosely based or even entirely fictional would this make any difference?
If the author states that it is loosely based or even entirely fictional would this make any difference?