Suicide Pacts: Six Cases and Literature Review

Abstract

A suicide pact is the decision of two or more people to die together. This event is rare. The majority of suicide pacts victims are married, socially isolated, with a serious physical illness in one or both partners. We performed a retrospective study of all cases of suicide pacts leading to death between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2010 referred to the Forensic Medicine Department of Tours (France). Six cases were recorded as suicide pacts. Firearms were the preferred means of death. Five suicide notes were discovered. For some cases, it was difficult to establish whether death was the result of a suicide pact or of a homicide-suicide without the consent of the victim. An objective element, such as a suicide note and motive, is required to prove that a suicide pact is involved. The prevalence of mental disorders is hard to assess. In France, psychological autopsies are not performed in such cases, as the investigation is usually very sparse after the death of both individuals.

Complex patterns of shotgun injuries in a Suicide Pact; a Case Report

“…a study conducted from 2003 to 2010 at the Forensic Medicine Department of Tours (France), six cases were recorded as suicide pacts and the firearms were the preferred means of death. [6] In close contact range, the clothes and the skin around the wound may be burnt. [7] In this case, the female victim had 3x2.5cm perforation with burnt margin and a muzzle imprint.…”

“…A suicide pact is an agreement between two or more people to commit suicide together at a given place and time. [6] Suicide pacts are common among married or romantic partners, family members, or friends. In this case, the bodies only had injuries caused by firearm injuries and there was no evidence of threat or force.…”

Attempted Suicide Pact by Married couple: A Case Study

“…14 They can occur as an isolated episode or as a form of dyadic deaths. 8,10,14 Suicide pact needs to be differentiated from the other forms of "Dyadic death"; i.e., suicide clusters, accidental deaths of relatives associated with suicide gesture of another person, simultaneous suicide (independent decision of close friends suffering from depression), mass suicides (in those involving cults) 8 ; and Homicide-suicide (actively induced death of two or more individuals without the consent of the other, as in family suicide). 2,3 An essential feature of suicide pact is the mutual consent 9-10 ; but as it cannot always be clinically differentiated from homicide-suicide, recent studies do not distinguish between the two.…”

“…7 The majority of suicide pact victims and survivors are married, socially isolated, with a serious physical or mental illness in one or both partners. 1,3,4,6,[8][9][10][11] We report a psychiatric case history of a couple (husband and wife) who attempted an impulsive act of suicide pact.…”

Peut-on distinguer homicide-suicide et suicide par leurs facteurs de risque ?

“…Une lecture complète des articles inclus a permis d'exclure secondairement six autres articles. Trois d'entre eux ne présentaient pas suffisamment de données pour effectuer les comparaisons appropriées (Berman, 1979 ;Fishbain, Rao et Aldrich, 1985 ;Jensen, Gilbert et Byard, 2009) et les trois autres ne remplissaient pas les critères de représentativité requis dans la mesure où les cas d'homicide-suicide étaient extraits de l'échantillon de suicides (Guileyardo, Carmody, Lene et Stone, 1994 ;Li et al, 2015 ;Prat, Rérolle et Saint-Martin, 2013).…”