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The Homicide–Suicide Phenomenon: Findings of Psychological Autopsies
Author(s) -
Knoll James L.,
HattersFriedman Susan
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12819
Subject(s) - homicide , coroner , typology , suicide prevention , context (archaeology) , psychology , poison control , psychiatry , injury prevention , human factors and ergonomics , occupational safety and health , medicine , clinical psychology , medical emergency , history , archaeology , pathology
Homicide–suicide represents a single episode of violence which may decimate an entire family. This study aimed to further describe motives and context of these tragedies. Psychological autopsies were completed for 18 homicide–suicide cases in Dallas, Texas. This included postevent interviews with surviving family members and review of police and coroner records. Two‐thirds of perpetrators had made either verbal or written threats prior to the homicide–suicide. A simplified typology describing victim–perpetrator relationship and motive type is suggested for future studies and clinical ease. Two‐thirds of perpetrators fell into the category of Intimate‐Possessive, most of whom were depressed men who were abusing substances and undergoing separation. Additional categories included Intimate‐Ailing, Filial‐Revenge, Familial‐Psychotic, and Friend‐Psychotic . Further, implications from this psychological autopsy study regarding risk assessment include use of collateral interviews regarding threats and past violence.