Lecomte D, Fornes P
Institute of Forensic Medicine of Paris, University of Paris, College of Medicine Cochin Port-Royal, France.
J Forensic Sci. 1998 Jul;43(4):760-4.
Homicide-suicides (HS) are relatively infrequent events. Yet, they are of great concern because they often result in the death of family members, young children, and cause additional morbidity, family disruption and childhood psychological trauma. The aims of our study were (a) to examine the sociodemographic, clinical, and autopsy characteristics of HS in Paris and its suburbs from 1991 through 1996, and (b) to analyze the psychodynamic determinants leading up to the onset of HS. Our findings are compared with those obtained in other international studies. For the purpose of the present study. HS was defined as a violent event in which an individual committed homicide and subsequently committed suicide within a few hours. The main results are as follows. During the six-year study period, 56 HS involving 133 victims were investigated at the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Paris. Seventeen events occurred in Paris and 39 in its suburbs. Paris has a population of approximately 2,200,000 while its suburbs are home to another 8,5000,000. Of the 56 offenders, 48 (85%) were males. The mean age of offenders was 51 years in males (range, 24 to 83) and 40.5 years in females (range, 33 to 56). In 45 events (80%), the offenders used a gun for both the homicide and suicide. A knife was used in only 4 murders, strangulation in 4 other cases, with poisoning, arson, or beating occurring in one case each. In 9 cases, the offender used a different weapon for homicide and suicide. Among firearms, handguns were more likely to be used (26 cases) than shotguns (6 cases) or rifles (13 cases). In 40 cases the offender killed one victim, in 11 cases 2 victims, and in 5 cases 3 victims. The homicide victims consisted of 34 children (21 boys), mean age 8 years (range, 1 to 16), 29 spouses (26 females), 2 girlfriends, 10 strangers, and 2 relatives. Five pets were killed. HS were most likely to be committed in the home. A suicide note was found near the victims in 29 cases (50% of events). In 42 cases the offender was found to be severely depressed. Familial HS were the most frequent events followed by suicidal pacts. When male sexual proprietariness and amorous jealousy were involved, the HS perpetrators acted often impulsively in carrying out the HS. There had been a chronically chaotic relationship and frequent physical violence and verbal threats. The triggering event was often the female withdrawal or estrangement. Only in a few cases, other motivations such as occupational or money problems were involved. Chronic alcoholism was found in 16 cases. In conclusion, the offender was more likely to be a male, severely depressed, violent and jealous who killed his spouse, and often his children, with impulsiveness, but after numerous threats. Our findings suggest that HS differ from both homicide and suicide and thus occupy a distinct epidemiological domain requiring specific prevention programs.
杀亲自杀事件相对罕见。然而，此类事件备受关注，因为它们常常导致家庭成员、年幼子女死亡，并引发更多的发病情况、家庭破裂以及儿童心理创伤。我们研究的目的是：（a）调查1991年至1996年期间巴黎及其郊区杀亲自杀事件的社会人口学、临床及尸检特征；（b）分析导致杀亲自杀事件发生的心理动力学决定因素。我们将研究结果与其他国际研究所得结果进行比较。就本研究而言，杀亲自杀定义为个体实施杀人行为并随后在数小时内自杀的暴力事件。主要结果如下。在为期六年的研究期间，巴黎法医学研究所调查了56起涉及133名受害者的杀亲自杀事件。其中17起发生在巴黎，39起发生在其郊区。巴黎人口约为220万，郊区人口另有850万。在56名犯罪者中，48名（85%）为男性。男性犯罪者的平均年龄为51岁（范围为24至83岁），女性犯罪者的平均年龄为40.5岁（范围为33至56岁）。在45起事件（80%）中，犯罪者杀人及自杀均使用枪支。仅4起谋杀案使用刀具，另外4起使用勒颈方式，还有1起分别涉及投毒、纵火或殴打。在9起案件中，犯罪者杀人与自杀使用不同武器。在枪支中，手枪使用更为频繁（26起案件），而霰弹枪（6起案件）和步枪（13起案件）使用较少。40起案件中犯罪者杀害1名受害者，11起案件中杀害2名受害者，5起案件中杀害3名受害者。杀人受害者包括34名儿童（21名男孩），平均年龄8岁（范围为1至16岁），29名配偶（2名女性），2名女友，10名陌生人以及2名亲属。5只宠物被杀。杀亲自杀事件最常发生在家中。29起案件（占事件的50%）在受害者附近发现遗书。42起案件中发现犯罪者患有严重抑郁症。家族性杀亲自杀事件最为常见，其次是自杀协定。当涉及男性性独占欲和情爱嫉妒时，杀亲自杀犯罪者实施此类行为时往往冲动行事。存在长期混乱的关系，经常发生身体暴力和言语威胁。触发事件通常是女性的疏远或冷淡。仅在少数情况下涉及其他动机，如职业或金钱问题。16起案件中发现存在慢性酒精中毒情况。总之，犯罪者更可能是男性，患有严重抑郁症，暴力且嫉妒，冲动地杀害其配偶，通常还有其子女，但此前有过诸多威胁。我们的研究结果表明，杀亲自杀既不同于杀人行为也不同于自杀行为，因此占据一个独特的流行病学范畴，需要特定的预防方案。
