The relationship of depression to homicide has been overlooked in clinical psychiatry. The authors report on six homicidal depressed patients and compare them with nonhomicidal depressed control subjects. Data from 81 case summaries was analysed. Preliminary data suggests that homocidal depressed patients are more likely to have a personality disorder, to have been physically abused as a child, to abuse alcohol of drugs, and to be suicidal than are nonhomicidal depressed patients.