Rescue fantasies in homicide-suicide.

Thirteen homicide-suicides, events in which an individual murders one or more persons and kills himself immediately afterward, were studied. Findings were presented in terms of the setting in which these events occurred, the relationship between perpetrator and victim, and the rationalizations produced by the perpetrators to explain their behavior. The results are interpreted to suggest that persons who commit homicide-suicide are acting out a three-party rescue fantasy in an attempt to resolve unbearable stress.