Homicide in Switzerland

Markwalder, Nora; Killias, Martin

doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-0466-8_22

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Among the familicide group, we could not confirm Markwalder and Killias' () assumption about the relationship between the high prevalence of households with a gun or an army weapon, respectively, and the frequency of familicides in Switzerland. Even though the share of firearms in general among lethal instruments was high, that of army weapons was not.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 73%

Is familicide a distinct subtype of mass murder? Evidence from a Swiss national cohort

Frei

Ilic

2020

Criminal Behav Ment Health

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Background Familicide is defined as the killing of a whole family and, numerically, a form of “mass murder” (more‐or‐less three simultaneous killings). Switzerland has a lower rate of homicide than most other countries but a comparatively high share of homicides within the family. Aim The aim of this study is to describe a complete national sample of familicides and compare them with other types of mass murders in the country over the same period. Methods All cases of three or more unlawful homicides in one event in Switzerland between 1972 and 2015 were identified from court records and socio‐demographic, criminological, and psychological variables were extracted. Given small numbers, we rely on narrative comparisons. Results There were 20 familicides in the 43‐year study, with 82 victims between them as well as six felony‐associated mass murders accounting for 19 victims and nine public mass murders with 44 victims. Only one familicide was a woman; mean age was 39.5 years (range 19–57 years). Most were in employment. Only four had a prior psychiatric history. Nine had a history of violent or intrusive behaviour, but a prior criminal conviction was rare. In all but one case there was evidence of psychosocial stressors; eight men were facing separation from a spouse. Just over half used guns, but only three used army weapons. The main difference between the familicides and the other mass killers was the much higher rate of suicide among the familicides. Conclusions Familicides in Switzerland appear to be rare suicidal acts, generally carried out by previously successful and apparently stable middle‐aged men with often an inconspicuous psychiatric history or criminal record, differing considerably from other groups of mass killers. Expert responses, like the recently established multidisciplinary “threat management boards” in Switzerland, should bear in mind that the likely competent men involved may be good at covering their intent even from themselves.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 73%

Is familicide a distinct subtype of mass murder? Evidence from a Swiss national cohort

Frei

Ilic

2020

Criminal Behav Ment Health

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“…The situation is in many ways similar in Finland. In both countries these firearms are relatively often involved in cases of domestic homicide (Markwalder and Killias, 2012; Lehti, 2016), which by their very nature have a high clearance rate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homicide clearance in Western Europe

Liem

Suonpää²,

Lehti³

et al. 2018

European Journal of Criminology

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This study provides an overview of homicide clearance in four West European countries: Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Using data from the European Homicide Monitor, employing similar definitions and uniform coding schemes, this study allowed for unique crosscountry comparisons in factors influencing differences in homicide clearance rates. Findings based on homicides occurring in the period 2009-14 revealed overall low homicide rates in all countries, with a wide variety in homicide clearance rates, ranging from 77 percent in the Netherlands to 98 percent in Finland. Results further showed that both event-based as well as victim-based characteristics significantly influenced the likelihood of homicide clearance, suggesting that homicide clearance rates can, for a large part, be attributed to the prevalent types of homicide in each of these European countries.

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“…In line with several other European countries (Povey, Coleman, Kaiza, & Roe, 2009;Savolainen, Lehti, & Kivivuori, 2008), the use of sharp instruments is the most common violent method in Sweden. In contrast, firearms are prevailing in for example Switzerland (Markwalder & Killias, 2012), and the U.S. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2016).…”

Section: Weapon Availability and Alcohol Involvementmentioning

confidence: 99%