NCJ Number
173719
Journal
Homicide Studies Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: August 1998 Pages: 305-320
Date Published
1998
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Data for more than 2,500 homicides of spouses and other intimate partners in California during 1987-96 were studied to determine correlates and patterns of this form of homicide in terms of relationship type and gender ratio of victimization.
Abstract
Analysis of the sample of 2,686 intimate partner homicides revealed that 73.5 percent involved female victims in heterosexual relationships; 22.9 percent involved male victims in heterosexual relationships; and 3.7 percent involved homosexual relationships, mostly of males. The data analysis excluded former spouses and homosexuals due to their small frequencies in the total sample. Results of the further analysis reproduced many of Wolfgang's findings for spousal homicide in Philadelphia 40 years ago; these findings were reported in Patterns in Criminal Homicide in 1965. Similar to the findings of Wolfgang, results revealed that female-perpetrated homicides were especially likely to occur in private settings, to result from arguments, and to involve knives as the instrument of death. Results also revealed, as did Wolfgang's research, that the ratio of female-to-male perpetrators is substantially higher among black people than among other groups. The range of relationship types was considerably broader than when Wolfgang conducted his research and encompassed large numbers of unmarried cohabiting couples. Nevertheless, Wolfgang's research remains a durable foundation for understanding how the most intimate human relationships end in homicide. Tables and 24 references (Author abstract modified)