Violent Death Among Intimate Partners: a Comparison of Homicide and Homicide Followed by Suicide in California

This study examines all intimate partner homicides in California during 1996 (n=186). Differences between intimate partner homicides with & without perpetrator suicide are compared. The study found that 40% of perpetrators committed suicide subsequent to the homicide. Variables examined in the analysis include type of weapon used, ethnicity, age, gender of perpetrators & victims, & location of the homicide. Significant differences were found between homicides with perpetrator suicide & those without. The results lend support to previous research suggesting that intimate partner homicide & homicide followed by suicide have different characteristics & possibly distinct etiologies. (35 refs.)