So a person who commits murder but gets away it is not a criminal simply because they were not caught or convicted? Someone who commits burglary but is not caught is not a criminal? You're logic seems a bit flawed. Here's a bit of a different interpretation.
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/criminal_1#:~:text=criminal-,noun,person who commits a crime
criminal
noun
a person who commits a crime