Homicide-suicide offences: description, classification and short case studies

Abstract

Purpose – Although homicide-suicide (H-S) offences are rare, they have remarkably tragic consequences. The purposes of this paper are to: examine the background characteristics of H-S offenders (including previous offending history and psychiatric elements); describe the crime-scene behavior and examine the motivational aspects of the offences; and to establish the reliability in the outlined typologies. Design/methodology/approach – The study consists of case series of all H-S offenders in Sweden, January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009 (n=13), and data was collected from medico-legal autopsy reports, police investigations and three national databases. Findings – Of all Swedish homicides, 5.5 percent consisted of H-S cases, and the rate of H-S was 0.05 per 100,000 inhabitants. Seven of the offenders had had previous contact with a psychiatric service, however, the average time between the last contact and the offence was slightly more than four years. Three of the offenders had previously been convicted of a violent crime and nine of the 13 offenders were involved in serious marital conflicts during the time of the offence. In conclusion, the study supports the notion that cases of H-S are mainly associated with intimate partner homicides, rather than suicide or other homicides. However, the offences were not always directly aimed toward the (former) spouse, but instead carried out through a proxy (such as a common child). Originality/value – The study adds in-depth knowledge by using a qualitative approach in an otherwise scarce area of research.

Comparing Homicide‐Suicides in the United States and Sweden

“…On the other hand, this study, among many others, has shown that most homicide‐suicide offenses take place within intimate partner relationships, especially in the case of divorce . The offenses are often a quick reaction to the fact that the offender cannot sustain the relationship , and although these offenders may experience this as a mental trauma, in such a short time interval most will likely not have developed depression (at least not in the sense of a conventional clinical diagnosis). Rather, the mental status is in line with what in psychiatric terms is called a maladaptive stress reaction, in this case a reaction to the interpersonal crisis (cf.…”

“…They estimate 1650 deaths annually as a result of homicide‐suicide in the United States. Previous Swedish studies have reported that the rate is 0.55 per 100,000 inhabitants in the 1970s and 0.05 per 100,000 inhabitants in the years 2007–2009 . According to Coid , homicide‐suicide rates should be similar in different countries regardless of the homicide rate.…”

Differentiating Male and Female Intimate Partner Homicide Perpetrators: A Study of Social, Criminological and Clinical Factors

“…Cross-sectional and prospective studies elucidate an association between suicidal behavior (attempted and completed suicides) and higher levels of lifetime aggression (Jokinen et al, 2010). As demonstrated in previous research (Liem, 2010;Manning, 2015;Sturup & Caman, 2015) and study II, homicide followed by the perpetrators' suicide is mainly associated with IPH, in which involuntary loss of intimacy seems to play a central role. Numerous studies have supported the notion that H-S almost exclusively involves male perpetrators with female victims (Belfrage & Rying, 2004;Bossarte et al, 2006;Campbell et al, 2007).…”

“…The Forensic Homicide Database includes sufficient number of cases in order to enable detection of generalizable patterns and subtypes, but manageable enough in order to enable comprehensive and detailed information in which the complex nature of the homicide event can be scrutinized. The material that the database is built on allows micro level examination, in which the cases can be examined beyond general patterns and study the dynamics and complexities involved, as is done in a case study of H-S offenses (see Sturup & Caman, 2015) that is outside the scope of the present thesis, and to some extent in study IV.…”

Intra- and extra-familial child homicide in Sweden 1992–2012: A population-based study

“…In Sweden, a declining incidence of homicide-suicides has been reported for the period 1991-2010 (Regoeczi, Granath, Issa, Gilson, & Sturup, 2016). Since homicide-suicide offenders cannot be interrogated post offense, the circumstances that precede such tragic events are sometimes difficult to disentangle, and police investigators and researchers may have to rely on notes left behind by the perpetrator as the only source of information (Sturup & Caman, 2015;Weeke & Oberwittler, 2017). It has been debated whether homicide-suicides have more in common with suicides -and therefore should be thought of as "extended suicides"or whether the homicidal event is the primary motivation underlying these violent acts (Manning, 2014;Marzuk, Tardiff, & Hirsch, 1992).…”