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Intimate Partner Homicide by Presence or Absence of a Self-Destructive Act

Utrecht University, Netherlands, m.liem{at}law.uu.nl

Darryl W. Roberts

University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore

Intimate partner homicide is not only the most common type of domestic homicide, but is also most prevalent in homicides followed by a self-destructive act (e.g., suicide or a suicide attempt). To date, very few studies have addressed this unique circumstance of intimate partner homicide, particularly in comparison to intimate partner homicides that are not followed by a self-destructive act. One possible reason for this lack of research might be that many consider homicide and suicide discrete phenomena, therefore devaluing the similarities that might exist between them. The "Currents of Lethal Violence" analogy describes homicide and suicide as two currents in a stream of lethal violence. We propose that intimate partner homicide followed by a self-destructive act mixes these currents. This study aims to assess the differences among intimate partner homicide perpetrators who did and did not commit a self-destructive act following the homicide. Descriptive and bivariate analyses of predictive variables were obtained from the records of 341 male intimate partner homicide perpetrators held at a Dutch forensic observation hospital between 1980 and 2006, of which 44 committed a self-destructive act following the offense. Perpetrators that attempted suicide were more likely to have a diagnosis of depressive illness and to have threatened suicide prior to the offense. Perpetrators in this group showed evidence of far-reaching dependency on the victim and a fear of abandonment. Further research into this area is necessary to elucidate this issue.

Key Words: intimate partner homicide • spousal homicide • domestic violence • homicide-suicide • forensic psychology

Homicide Studies, Vol. 13, No. 4, 339-354 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1088767909347988


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