Murder-suicide
|
Suicide Microchapters |
|
Treatment |
|---|
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Murder-Suicide
A murder-suicide is an act in which an individual kills one or more other persons immediately before, or at the same time as, killing himself.
The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms, including:
- Suicide to facilitate murder, as in suicide bombing
- Suicide after murder to escape punishment
- Having a combined objective of suicide and murder
- Suicide after murder as a form of self-punishment due to guilt
- Considering one's suicide as the main act, but murdering one's children first, to avoid them becoming orphans, to be together in an expected afterlife, in the context of severe depression where the person feels he is sparing his loved ones from a horrible life, or simply just to experience the act
- Joint suicide in the form of killing the other with consent, and then killing oneself
- Some cases of cult suicide may also involve murder
- Suicide in a group setting that necessarily causes the death of others, such as an airplane or train bombing.
The motivation for the murder in murder-suicide can be purely criminal in nature or be perceived by the perpetrator as an act of care for loved ones in the context of severe depression. The severely depressed person may see the world as a terrible place and can feel that they are helping those they care about by removing them from it. Thoughts like this are generally regarded as a medical emergency requiring suicide intervention.
Since crime just prior to suicide is often perceived as being without consequences, it is not uncommon for suicide to be linked with homicide. Motivations may range from guilt to evading punishment, insanity, part of a suicide pact, or exacting revenge on those whom they feel are responsible.
A famous example of murder-suicide is the double murder-suicide of professional wrestler Chris Benoit, who was found hanging in his home along with the bodies of his wife and son.
External Links
- QPR Institute statistics from a suicide prevention program