Do Homicide Perpetrators Have Higher Rates of Delayed-Suicide Than the Other Offenders? Data from a Sample of the Inmate Population in Italy

Silvia Raddi, Francesca Baralla (), Alberto D’Argenio, Simona Traverso, Marco Sarchiapone and Marco Marchetti
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Silvia Raddi: Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy
Francesca Baralla: Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education—SUSeF, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy
Alberto D’Argenio: Department of Neuroscience, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Simona Traverso: Department of Medical Science, Chirurgical and Neuroscience, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Marco Sarchiapone: Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy
Marco Marchetti: Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-14

Abstract: Homicide-suicide can be defined as homicide followed by the suicide of the perpetrator shortly afterward. In the so-called “homicide-delayed suicide”, homicide and suicide occur but within a wide and not strictly defined timeframe. This study analyzes data concerning the suicide of 667 inmates in Italy between 2002 and 2015, considering homicide perpetrators compared to all offenders. The analyses revealed that inmates who had committed homicide were more likely to commit suicide (71% versus 45%; χ2 = 10.952, p = 0.001) and the odds of suicide increase concerning 1.58 times among homicide perpetrators. The time-to-suicide interval after homicide ranges between 0 to 9.125 days (mean = 1.687,9; SD = 2.303,1). Moreover, the intimate-homicide offenders who committed suicide had a significantly shorter survival time after the offense than did the other non-intimate offenders who died by suicide ( t test, t = −3.56, df = 90, p = 0.001). The link between homicide and higher suicide risk in homicide perpetrators should be highlighted because of all the homicide offenders passing through the criminal justice system. Superior knowledge about the path of homicide-delayed suicide will be of particular use to professionals in evaluating and treating homicide inmates.

Keywords: inmate’s suicide; homicide–suicide; homicide-delayed suicide; aggressive and violent behavior; suicide prevention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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