Homicide - Contact a Lawyer

Homicide begins as an act. It is committed under individual conditions, within certain parameters, and eventually classified into general categories. Each case has its own circumstances that vary as greatly as each single act. Victim service providers working with co-victims should be knowledgeable about some of the general types of homicides.

SPOUSAL HOMICIDE

The killing of a spouse, life partner, or other significant individual of the same or opposite sex with whom one has lived for some time and formed a stable relationship.

The FBI reported in 1997 that 26 percent of female homicide victims are slain by husbands or boyfriends, and 3 percent of male victims are slain by wives or girlfriends. Among legally married persons, regardless of geographic region in the U.S., African- American females were at greatest risk of being killed by African-American spouses or partners. Specifically: in the West, African-American males were 11 times more likely to be victims of spousal homicide than white males, almost 7 times more likely than white females, and 1.4 times more likely than African-American females. (Segall and Wilson 1993).

In a study by Christine Rasche (1993) of 155 "mate" homicides in Jacksonville, Florida, between 1980 and 1986, the most salient motive for spouse murder was possessiveness (48.9 percent) that included the inability of the offender to accept the termination of the relationship and/or the sanctity or security of the relationship (jealousy, infidelity, and rivalry). Feelings arising out of arguments (20.7 percent) and self-defense (15.5 percent) were second and third principal motives respectively.

CHILD HOMICIDE

The killing of a person under the age of 18.

Sixty percent of child murders in 1994 were at the hands of family members (22 percent) or acquaintances (38 percent). During this year, 11 percent of all murder victims were under the age of 18 (Greenfield 1996).

Based on 45 states reporting in 1996, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (1997) states that 996 children were known to have died as a result of abuse or neglect. The majority of these deaths were children 3 years of age or younger.

Pediatric deaths as a result of handgun violence have also risen as an issue of significant concern during the last few years.

SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME

The violent shaking of a young child that causes permanent brain injury or death.

Because shaken baby syndrome is still a relatively new classification of death or injury, it is difficult to say for certain how many children are victims of it each year. However, one source reports that 10 to 12 percent of all deaths due to abuse and neglect are attributable to the syndrome (National Information Support and Referral Service 1998). Perpetrators of shaken baby syndrome are about 80 percent male--37 percent biological fathers and 20.5 percent boyfriends. The remaining 17.3 percent were female babysitters, and 12.6 percent biological mothers. Sixty percent of the victims are male. Between 1,000 and 3,000 children are diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome every year, and about 100 to 120 of them die. Outcomes for victims who live include cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, seizures, learning disabilities, and vegetative states (Shaken Baby Alliance 1998).

PARRICIDE

The killing of one's parent.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports in the study Murder in Families (Dawson and Langan 1994) that 1.97 percent of murder victims were killed by their children. This translates to about 300 cases per year. Relatively rare when compared to other forms of homicide, parricide has begun to attract the attention of family violence researchers.

In a review of 10 studies that examined adolescents who had killed their parents, Kathleen Heide (1993) discusses 3 types of parricide offenders: the severely abused child, the severely mentally ill child, and the dangerously anti-social child. She points out that ascertaining the driving force behind a parricide is complex but factors in the family that often contribute to the homicides include a pattern of violence, easy access to guns, and alcoholism or heavy drinking. Adolescent offenders expressed helplessness in coping with stress in the home and feelings of isolation and suicidal ideation. They had failed in their attempts to get help with little (if any) adult intervention, and had failed in their efforts to escape, with a history of running away.

Heide (1993) acknowledges that adolescent parricide offenders do include the severely mentally ill and dangerously antisocial, but in smaller frequencies compared to severely abused children. Components of child maltreatment pervasive in some families that also may lead to parricide are physical, sexual, emotional, and verbal abuse, and physical, medical and emotional neglect.

STRANGER HOMICIDE

The killing of a person or persons by an individual unknown to the victim.

In 1993, for the first time in history, Americans were more likely to be killed by a stranger or unknown killer (53 percent of cases) than by a family member of friend. By 1996, the trend had reversed slightly with 49 percent of homicide victims killed by strangers (FBI 1998).

MASS MURDERS

The murder of several victims within a few moments or hours of each other.

Currently in the United States, there is approximately one mass murder per week, including public homicidal events in shopping malls, government offices, schools and random street shootings as well as families annihilated by a troubled parent or sibling. Although researchers have only begun to collect data on mass murders, certain commonalties have begun to emerge (Hickey 1991). The offenders are primarily white, male, and span a wide age range; they use semiautomatic guns and rifles to kill swiftly; and their victims are often but not always intentionally selected by the killer.

Those who commit multiple homicides appear to do so in an irrational effort to regain, even for a brief moment, a degree of control over their lives. To the observer, the severe mental imbalance behind these horrible acts is clear. To the killer, however, his or her thoughts and actions may make perfect sense, given his or her psychological disorientation. Feelings of rejection, failure, and loss of autonomy create frustrations that inevitably become overwhelming, and the murderer cultivates a psycho-pathological need to strike back.

SERIAL KILLING

An offender who kills over time. They usually have at least 3 to 4 victims, and their killing is characterized by a pattern in the type of the victims selected or the method or motives used in the killings.

Serial killers include those who, on a repeated basis, kill within the confines of their own home, such as a woman who poisons several husbands, children, or elderly people in order to collect insurance. They may operate within the confines of a city or a state, or even travel through several states as they seek out victims. Some murderers select their victims because of their status within their immediate surroundings such as vagrants, prostitutes, migrant workers, homosexuals, missing children, and single and often elderly women.

Some argue that anyone who kills, especially serial killers, must be mentally ill. However, the vast majority of serial killers are not only judged sane by legal standards, but are indistinguishable from non-offenders as they move about and within our communities.

Reprinted from 1999 National Victim Assistance Academy Text, Chapter 11: Homicide, authors: Carroll Ann Ellis and Janice Lord, editors: Grace Coleman, Mario Gaboury, Morna Murray, and Anne Seymour

Back to Top

This web site is designed for criminal law informational purposes only. The environmental law information contained herein is not guaranteed to be accurate, up to date, or complete. It does not constitute legal advice nor does it constitute the formation of an criminal law lawyer attorney/client relationship. Individuals accessing this site are encouraged to seek independent counsel for advice regarding their individual legal issues. No person should act or rely on any information in this criminal law lawyer search without seeking the advice of an family law attorney. Copyright © Lawyerfind Network 2006