Comparison of Intimate Partner Homicide to Intimate Partner Homicide-Suicide: One Hundred and Twenty-Four New Mexico Case

• NCJ Number: 224302
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 14 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2008 Pages: 1065-1078
• Author(s): Laura Banks; Cameron Crandall; David Sklar; Michael Bauer
• Date Published: September 2008
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study was a comparison of the cases of female intimate partner homicide followed by suicide to the cases of female intimate partner homicide without suicide that occurred in New Mexico between 1993 and 2002 and were identified by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) and reviewed by the New Mexico Intimate Partner Death Review Team (IPDRT).

Abstract

There were key differences found between intimate partner homicide cases that involved solely the death of a victim and cases that resulted in a homicide followed by the suicide of the perpetrator. Female intimate partner homicide-suicide was most often perpetrated by middle-aged to older, married, or formerly married men who used a firearm. Homicide-suicide cases made up almost 40 percent of the female victims of intimate partner homicides in this study. In cases involving homicide-suicide, the couples tended to be older than the couples involved in cases of homicide only. Increasing victim age, increasing perpetrator age, and spousal relationship type were associated with an increased risk of homicide-suicide compared to homicide alone. A strong association was shown between the use of firearms to commit a homicide and the subsequent suicide of the aggressor. If physicians and other advocates seek to intervene in the tragedy of intimate partner death, they must broaden their focus beyond the prevention of partner violence to include awareness of signs of impending suicide. Prior research shows that a large majority of homicide cases that include the subsequent suicide of the aggressor occur in couples who share a current or former spousal relationship or other intimate partnership. The authors in this study compared cases of female intimate partner homicide-suicide to female intimate partner homicide alone to describe risk factors and suggest prevention strategies. Tables, figure, and references