How to frame someone for murder?

This is a how long is a piece of string question!

Just remember that the bases to cover are means, motive and opportunity.

Probably worth reading some crime novels to get a feel for the process.

Who is the murderer, why do they want to frame this particular person? Is he just convenient person or do they deliberately want this person to be punished.

Framing someone for murder is something that takes work, patience, meticulousness, and time. You can’t just frame ANYONE, you have to chose someone that the police will look at and say “Yes. This person can totally be a suspect.” Which means manipulating things to establish a motive for the person frame to want to murder the victim. How this is done completely depends on the relationship between the actual murderer, the person framed and the victim.

Then, of course, there is the planting of evidence. Planting DNA of the person framed that could have only gotten there during the murder is entirely possible, you see. And it also means that the actual murderer has to have extra care not to leave a single piece of evidence, however small, of their own involvement. I could try to work more on this for your story, if you’re interested.

Try working out a version of the story where the person you want framed actually did the murder. How would the police know it was them? What evidence would they use?

Now work out how your real murderer would plant all that evidence. Plus why. You need two plausible motives here - one for why the real murderer would want the victim dead, and a second for why they'd go to such lengths to frame this other person.

Frame-up mysteries are usually complex stories (as the posts above indicate) and many involve corruption, such as police or powerful politicians framing someone -- which can add more complexity via insider access to evidence, etc.

Here are some frame-up novels you can probably find at your local library (though you might want to check online reviews and blurbs first to confirm the plots will help you):

The Crossing and A Darkness More Than Light (both by Michael Connelly)
Devil in a Blue Dress (Walter Mosely)
The Ex (Alifair Burke)

Good Luck!

I am an actual defense attorney. So here's a few tips.

1) Not every case is CSI. Prosecutors bitch about the CSI effect where juries expect a lot of flashy science tests, even if they do not exist. Depending on the level of realism and sophistication of the area, your mileage may vary. Where the murder took place, the victim murdered and the era that took place will impact how much forensic evidence is available, used and expected.
2) Smaller communities tend to be smaller with fewer resources. It can be easier to frame the outsiders. For a real life example, see the West Memphis Three and compare to the Central Park Five.
Keep in mind what your characters know when designing your frame and that should help.