Homicide–suicide—An event hard to prevent and separate from homicide or suicide

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Abstract

Suicide preceded by homicide is a rare but tragic event that often shocks the whole community. Annual rates show considerable variation, though not as great as the incidence of homicides. Within the industrialized nations, Finland's prevalence rates for homicide–suicide have been mid-range. The National Suicide Prevention Project recorded and carefully analysed all suicides committed in Finland during a 12-month period. In this material of almost 1400 suicides, 10 verified homicide–suicide cases were found. The perpetrator was male in all but one case, and all the victims were family, 9/10 being spouses and/or children. The most typical homicide–suicide seemed to be a man shooting a family member during a separation process. No perpetrator was found suffering from a psychotic disorder but three had major depression. The homicide–suicides were compared with the suicides and statistically significant differences emerged in two variables: shooting was more often the method used in the homicide–suicide cases, which, furthermore, were more likely to involve a divorce or recent rupture in another long-term intimate relationship. Sharing few common variables with either homicide or suicide, homicide–suicide appears to be a distinct phenomenon whose prevention would seem to be extremely difficult on the individual level. Since shooting is the most common method of homicide–suicide, firearm licenses should be more restricted.

Introduction

Homicide–suicide, murder–suicide, extended suicide, or dyadic death, is even more tragic than other suicides or homicides. It is generally defined as homicide preceding suicide with a maximum interval of 1 week [1]. While the incidence in industrialized nations seems to show considerable variation, it is not as great as the incidence of homicide. In the period 1955–1970, the annual incidence was 0.2–0.6/100,000 in US, 0.07/100,000 in England and Wales, and 0.18/100,000 in Finland [2]. It has been proposed that the higher the homicide rate in a population, the lower the rate of homicide–suicide [3].

Among the western European countries Finland has a relatively high rate of homicide, 5.4/100,000 in both 1987 and 1988, for example [4]. The rate is lower in all other Nordic countries [5]. In 1987 and 1988 there were 1.9/100,000 and 2.0/100,000 homicides in UK, and 2.4/100,000 and 2.8/100,000 in Sweden, respectively [4]. The typical Finnish homicide is committed by a drunken man stabbing a drinking buddy, and alcohol problems are frequent among the perpetrators [6]. During recent decades, women have committed about 10% of Finnish homicides [7]. People who commit homicide have a high death risk themselves and are especially prone to suicide [8], [9].

The typical Finnish suicide is also committed by a man, and by intoxication or hanging. Only 23% of Finnish suicide victims are female [10], and typically with a history of attempted suicide(s) and psychiatric treatment [11]. Until recently Finland headed the statistics for suicide rates in the European Union, but since the arrival of the new member states this is no longer true. In 2002, Finland had a suicide rate of 32.3/100,000 for males and 10.2/100,000 for females, while the respective rates for Estonia were 47.7/100,000 and 9.8/100,000, respectively [4].

Previous research has suggested that homicide–suicide perpetrators share more characteristics with those who commit suicide than with those who commit homicide [12], [13], [14], [15]. These studies used the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator as a measure. Rosenbaum [16] compared 12 homicide–suicide couples with 24 couples in which the perpetrator had killed the spouse without subsequently committing suicide. He found that the homicide–suicide perpetrators were men in 95% of cases, older than the homicide perpetrators, more likely to be separated and depressed, and less likely to abuse alcohol or to be drunk at the time of the offense. Cooper and Eaves [17] found that mental illness and separation were most often the precipitating events in homicide–suicide cases. The perpetrator's obsession and dependence toward the former partner played a major role.

The Finnish population differs from other nations in which studies of homicide–suicide have been made: the population is homogenous, both homicide and suicide rates are relatively high, alcohol consumption is high but unevenly scattered, and organized crime is relatively uncommon. Our aim, therefore, was to exam whether homicide–suicide in Finland resembles that described in previous studies. Does it form part of the phenomenon of homicide or of suicide, or is it independent? We were also interested in whether the incidents could have been prevented.

Section snippets

Material and methods

All suicides committed in Finland during a 12-month period between April 1, 1987 and March 31, 1988 (n = 1397) were recorded and carefully analysed using the psychological autopsy method [18]. During this research period of the National Suicide Prevention Project every case of violent, unexpected or sudden death was assessed for the possibility of suicide. The medicolegal examinations were more systematic and detailed than usual. The data concerning the suicide victims were collected from

Results

The 10 cases involved 12 homicide victims in total, since in 2 cases there were 2 homicides. The most frequent victim was the spouse (6/12), followed by children (5/12). The most frequent method employed in both homicides and suicides was shooting (7/10). See Table 1 for results of all cases.

Within the year preceding the event, three male perpetrators had been in contact with a primary health care unit, but none with a mental health professional. One perpetrator had previously mentioned

Discussion

Our findings showed that these Finnish homicide–suicide cases were intrafamilial and the perpetrators mostly men. Typically, a man shot his wife and shortly afterwards himself during a process of divorce or separation. These results strengthen previous findings on homicide–suicide [16], [17]. The 10 homicide–suicide cases represent a population rate of 0.2/100,000. See Table 2.

Homicide offenders in Finland are typically 20–50-year-old men and social outcasts. Sexual and drinking group conflicts

Conclusion

The most typical homicide–suicide seems to be a man shooting a family member during a separation process. The cases imply deep despair and/or impulsiveness in reaction to an event. The availability of methods seems a genuine preventive issue regarding impulsive acts, and prevailing firearm legislation must surely affect the rate of homicide–suicide. Homicide–suicides may be closer to the phenomenon of suicide than to homicide, but nonetheless seem to be a distinct phenomenon. Prevention of

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      Although HS holds strong media coverage, this form of violence remains a rare phenomenon. Epidemiological data indicates that the official HS rate ranges from 0.27 to 0.38/100000 inhabitants in the United States (Liem, 2010), 0.2 to 1.55 in France (Vandevoorde et al., 2017), 0.89 in South Africa (Roberts et al., 2010), 0.44 in the Sapporo region in Japan (Hata et, 2001), 0.07 in Australia (Liem, 2010), 0.05 in England & Wales (Flynn et al., 2009), 0.04 in Italy (Roma et al., 2012) and 0.2 in Finland (Saleva et al., 2007). But despite these low incidence rates, this phenomenon should be considered as a major public health issue as the effects of HS on individual, interindividual, familial, and social levels are numerous.

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