ABSTRACT
Precipitation of the murder by the victim was more common in slayings of spouses. In the victim-precipitated deaths, 22 percent involved spouses, while only 15 percent of other murders involved spouses. The victim-precipitated murderer both aggresses outwardly and inwardly. With reference to the idea of victim-precipitated homicide as a form of suicide, such a death is a particularly hostile form of committing suicide. William Foote has looked at the research done on victim-precipitated murder (VPH) since Marvin Wolfgang’s early study. Domestic quarrels seem to lead to VPH more often than they lead to ordinary murder, and VPH participants seem to be intoxicated more often than those involved in ordinary murders. Less obvious VPH are those individuals who continually place themselves in death-likely situations, such as those who regularly drink heavily at bars, late into the night, and who often get into fights with other bar patrons.
