Murder-Suicide

Scope of the Problem

Homicide followed by the perpetrator committing suicide constitutes a relatively small percentage of the homicides in the United States and other countries. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports, the annual number of homicides in the United States ranges from 18,000 and 23,000 per year, and official estimates of murdersuicide range from 1,000 to 1,500, or 5% to 7.5% of all reported homicides. In Australia, according to the 7-year Homicide Monitoring Program, the proportionate percentage of murder-suicides was similar to the U.S. data. Specifically, 144, or 6.5%, of the 2,226 homicide incidents reported in Australia were murdersuicides. In a British study, similar proportions of murder-suicide to murder rates were reported; 142, or 6%, of the 2,274 reported homicides were identified as murder-suicides. In the United States, Australia, and England, death by shooting is the most common method of the male perpetrators, followed by stabbing, strangulation, and/or poisoning.

A 2002 study by Karen Brock of the Violence Policy Center indicated that over 1,300 murder-suicides took place in the United States during 2001. According to this recent study, approximately three fourths of murder-suicides involved intimate couples, and 93% of these victims were female and murdered by their partners. During the first 6 months of 2001, seven populated states reported more than 10 murder-suicides, as follows: Florida (35), California (29), Texas (29), Pennsylvania (17), New York (14), Virginia (12), and Ohio (11).

Profile, Characteristics, and Motives

Between 1,000 and 1,500 deaths by murder-suicide are reported each year in the United States. With regard to the relationship between the perpetrator and victim, 50% to 75% of the American murder-suicides have involved male murderers who killed their spouses or girlfriends before killing themselves. The second most frequent type of relationship between the perpetrator and victim are elderly married couples in which one partner is socially isolated or soon to be moved to a hospice or nursing home due to terminal illness such as advanced stages of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, multiple strokes, or untreated depressive disorders. This may explain the large numbers of murdersuicides in Florida, with its large elderly population.

The most common motives and mental disorders of the killers in murder-suicides seem to be jealous rage, major depression, paranoia, psychotic episodes, bipolar disorder, or antisocial personality disorder. [Page 325]The typical profile of the perpetrator is a white male family member between the ages of 30 and 45 years of age, and the typical victim is a white female around 30 years of age, who is usually the intimate partner or ex-partner of the murderer. The usual weapon is a firearm, particularly a handgun. The overwhelming majority of domestic violence murder-suicides take place on the weekends. The majority of the murderers live in trailer parks, housing projects, or low-income apartments.

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