ABSTRACT
Researching homicide presents unique challenges for qualitative researchers. To begin with, one vital half of the victim–offender dyad is inaccessible to researchers. Consequently, whereas we have learned a great deal about many other offenses (such as domestic violence or sex offenses) by analyzing victims’ accounts, we are never able to access the voice of the victim for this most serious act of violence. Furthermore, gaining access to killers, to homicide detectives and prosecutors, or to detailed homicide data (such as homicide investigation files) presents many challenges owing to the sensitive nature of the data and the closed world of major crime investigation.
