Offender‐Victim Relationships in Criminal Homicide Followed by Offender's Suicide, North Carolina, 1972–1977

Abstract

An analysis of 90 cases of criminal homicide followed by suicide in North Carolina, 1972 to 1977. Homicidal victim-offender relationships were investigated in regard to age, sex, race and whether victim and offender were member of the same family, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. These results were compared with victim-offender relationships in 994 criminal homicide cases in North Carolina in which offenders did not commit suicide. Married white males over 30 years were much more involved in homicide-suicide than they were in homicide alone. In these homicide-suicide cases, the victim was usually the spouse. Except for marital status, characteristics of homicide offenders who killed themselves resembled those of suicide-only individuals much more than those of homicide-only offenders. In the homicide-suicide cases, the killing of someone in close relationship to the offender, often a wife, appeared to be part of the evolving process of suicide. This clearly has implications for intervention into marital strife and also for immediate treatment of homicide offenders who kill spouses and other family members.

Murder–suicide: A reaction to interpersonal crises

“…It is interesting that it has been claimed that homicide-suicide perpetrators are more like suicide-only individuals than like those who only engage in homicidal behavior (e.g., [6][7][8][9]). Although this is true in relation to suicide variables, there certainly is a pattern of distinct difference between the two groups.…”

“…As mentioned, it has been reported that homicide-suicide perpetrators share more characteristics with suicide-only than homicide-only perpetrators [6][7][8][9]. However, the differences between those who engage in spousal/consortial, familial and extrafamilial homicide-suicides may be marked.…”

“…It is clear that this action is a statistically rare event [2][3][4][5]. When compared with individuals who have committed suicide but not committed a homicide, and with individuals who have committed a homicide but who did not commit suicide, it has been reported that the homicide-suicide group more closely resembled suicide-only individuals in terms of demographic and psychological variables [6][7][8][9].…”

Homicide–suicide—An event hard to prevent and separate from homicide or suicide

“…In 2002, Finland had a suicide rate of 32.3/ 100,000 for males and 10.2/100,000 for females, while the respective rates for Estonia were 47.7/100,000 and 9.8/100,000, respectively [4]. Previous research has suggested that homicide-suicide perpetrators share more characteristics with those who commit suicide than with those who commit homicide [12][13][14][15]. These studies used the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator as a measure.…”

Extended Suicide Attempt: Psychopathology, Personality and Risk Factors

“…Investigating the epidemiology of abnormal homicide and murder followed by suicide, Coid [8] found rates of about 0.20-0.30/100,000. According to Palmer and Humphrey [9] about 2% of criminal homicide cases are followed by the suicide of the offenders in North Carolina.…”