Intimate Partner Homicide Suicide: a Mini-Review of the Literature (2012-2018)

Abstract

Recent findings: In homicide-suicide (HS), a perpetrator kills at least one victim and then commits suicide within a time frame, which is not consistently described in the literature. Most HS happen in an intimate partner relationship (HS-IP), but data about this phenomenon are still scant and poorly systematized.

Purpose of review: To assess the research papers published about HS-IP from 2012 to 2018 in Pubmed and Scopus. Article selection followed the PRISMA flow diagram. Information was extracted from the selected articles and tabulated. The 22 eligible articles focusing on different types of HS, including HS-IP, suggest that HS-IPs are predominantly committed by men, usually married, cohabiting, or recently separated from their partner, with a medium-low employment status; the victim is usually the current or former female partner. Heterogenity of HS makes it difficult to generalize the results. Implications emerge for the need to target domestic violence and firearm regulation.

Keywords: Homicide; Intimate partner violence; Mercy killing; Suicide.