Murder followed by suicide: a newspaper surveillance study using the New York Times Index.
Murder–suicide is a relatively uncommon event but as reported by the New York Times, it has occurred and continues to occur yearly. Previous research has indicated that those who commit murder–suicides tend to be men, are in or have been in an intimate relationship with the victim, victims tend to be women, and a firearm is most likely to be used. This study uses a newspaper surveillance methodology to examine such cases. Articles from the New York Times as found in the New York Times Index were coded, analyzed, and examined. The cases, 166 in total, support the findings from prior research. The trend data was examined by cross tabulations and chi-square analysis. The findings suggest that murder–suicides are rare events and when they occur they usually involve a male perpetrator and an intimate partner victim who is either a wife or girlfriend with the event occurring in a private home. A firearm is the most commonly used method for both murders and suicides, particularly if there was more than one murder victim. The authors conclude by suggesting that future research should focus on using the forthcoming data resource in the CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) to examine the occurrence of murder–suicide.
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Ball State University, North Quad 248, Muncie, IN 47306, USA. kwarrengordo@bsu.edu
Kiesha
K
Warren-Gordon
Bryan D
BD
Byers
Stephen J
SJ
Brodt
Melissa
M
Wartak
Brian
B
Biskupski
D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016206:Databases, Bibliographic; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006708:Homicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D017678:Sex Distribution; D018454:Spouses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States; D054041:Weapons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data