Malicious mischief is the wilful or wanton destruction of or injury to property.

Statutes of the different states relating to this subject differ. Some statutes relate to personal property only, others to real estate, while others are comprehensive enough to cover both. For this reason more than any other perhaps no very satisfactory definition of this offense can be given and none can be found in the diversity of opinions.

By the common law, malicious mischief is a misdemeanor,290 and by the weight of authority extends to both real and personal property.291

286 Carton vs. People, 150 Ill., 181;

Phillips vs. State, 29 Ga., 105;

Sam vs. State, 33 Miss., 347. 287 Carlton vs. People, 150 Ill., 181;

Hughes Cr. Law, Sec. 880. 288 State vs. Thompson, 97 N. C, 496; Hughes Cr. Law, Sec. 887. 289 Com. vs. Gauvin, 143 Mass., 134.