Female intimate partner homicide: a population-based study

Author: Moracco, K. E. / Runyan, C. W. / Butts, J. D.
Publication: J Am Med Womens Assoc
Topics: Domestic Violence Gender Homicide Law Enforcement State
Keywords: Intimate Partner Violence North Carolina guns women
Bibliographic information +

The authors examined the patterns of female intimate partner homicide, the nature of the partner relationships between victims and perpetrators, and the extent of intimate partner violence (IPV) preceding the homicide, using data from North Carolina medical examiner records and conducting telephone interviews with law enforcement officers about 293 partner homicides of women age 15 and older in North Carolina between 1991 and 1993. They found that most women were killed at home (80%) and with guns (66%). 46% were killed by marital partners. Intimate partner violence was noted in two-thirds of the cases. Homicides by former non-marital partners were the most likely to have been preceded by IPV. 106 victims with histories of IPV had had contact with law enforcement or judicial systems in the year before death.