spousal homicide: process and post-criminal phase

Abstract

The spousal homicide is committed upon an intimate partner or former. It represents about 20% of homicides
in France.
With approval of the French Ministry of Justice, we carried a descriptive and retrospective study on 42 cases
of spousal homicides or attempts, judged between 1999 and 2010 in the jurisdictions of the Court of Appeal of Poitiers. The objective is to highlight the elements of the process and the post-criminal phase of domestic homicide.
It is a crime mainly perpetrated by men, often without premeditation (73.8%). Half of the authors used overkill when acting out. Physical force, kitchen knives and shotguns are weapons most frequently used. The victim’s
body is usually found within 24 hours, cases of disappearances are uncommon (11.9%). As for the authors, 61.9%
of them remain on the crime scene.
Multifactorial in its causes, spousal homicide is not uncommon. The demonstration of these characteristics,
together with the study of the pre-criminal phase, improves the analysis of this murder and suggest targeted prevention acts.