From Caring to Killing: A Typology of Homicides and Homicide–Suicides Perpetrated by Caregivers

Siobhan T. O’Dwyer (), Charlotte Bishop, Rachel Gimson, G. J. Melendez-Torres, Daniel Stevens and Lorna Hardy
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Siobhan T. O’Dwyer: School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Charlotte Bishop: Law School, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QJ, UK
Rachel Gimson: Law School, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QJ, UK
G. J. Melendez-Torres: Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK
Daniel Stevens: Department of Politics, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QJ, UK
Lorna Hardy: Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-26

Abstract: In the news media, there are regular reports of family caregivers killing the people for whom they care, but scholarly research on this phenomenon is fragmented, and there has been little effort to predict or prevent future deaths. The aim of this study was to develop a typology of caregiver-perpetrated homicides that could provide a framework for more rigorous research and targeted responses in policy and practice. Ideal Type Analysis was applied to sixty-four homicides and homicide–suicides perpetrated by family caregivers in England and Wales between January 2015 and December 2019. The cases clustered into seven clear types: Ending Suffering; Genuine Burden of Care; Pre-existing Mental Illness; Neglect; Exploitation; Caregiver as Victim of Domestic Violence, Abuse or Coercive Control; and Caregiver as Perpetrator of Domestic Violence, Abuse, or Coercive Control. Each type was characterised by a distinct motive, context, or course of events leading to the homicide. This is the first typology of homicides and homicide–suicides perpetrated by caregivers. The Caregiver-Perpetrated Homicide Typology challenges previous claims that caregiver-perpetrated homicides are isolated events and provides a framework for the development of evidence-based prediction and prevention initiatives.

Keywords: unpaid carers; informal carers; disability; chronic illness; suicide; family (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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