The Murder-Suicide: A Study of the Postagressional Suicide

The authors studied a series of 18 cases of homicide followed by suicide or attempted suicide by the aggressor, analyzing: 1) frequency of such acts, 2) age & sex of the aggressors, 3) means or arms used for the murder & suicide, 4) period of time between the 2 events, 5) motives for the homicides & the relationship between the victims & their aggressors. Findings include: suicide usually follows homicide almost immediately, & in 50% of the cases by the same method, usually a firearm. (GW)