Published: July 05, 2008 11:00 pm      

Pa. ranks 4th for murder-suicides

Pennsylvania has the third-highest number of murder-suicides in the nation – including 14 cases in just six months – and most involve domestic disputes.

Domestic violence experts say that’s even more reason for potential victims to seek help at the first sign of trouble.

The Violence Policy Center, a national nonprofit group working to reduce violence in America, recently released a new study on murder-suicide cases.

The study collected all reported murder-suicides nationwide during the first six months of 2007. In that time, there were at least 554 deaths in 234 murder-suicides – an average of nine murder-suicides a week.

Almost all murder-suicides, or 88.5 percent, involved a firearm. 

Using these figures, the Violence Policy Center estimates that nearly 1,100 Americans die each year in murder-suicides.

Nine states had 10 or more murder-suicides in the six-month period of the study, with Florida and Texas the highest at 24 each. California had 17, and Pennsylvania had 14.

The study also found:

• Of the 554 murder-suicide deaths, 234 were suicides and 320 were homicides. Ninety-five percent of murder-suicides were committed by men.

• Seventy-three percent of all murder-suicides involved an intimate partner – spouse, common-law spouse, ex-spouse, or girlfriend/boyfriend. Of these, 94 percent were women killed by their intimate partners.

• Forty-five of the homicide victims were children and teens less than 18 years of age. Forty-four children and teens less than 18 years of age were survivors who witnessed some aspect of the murder-suicide.

• Most murder-suicides – 75 percent – occurred in the home.



States comparison



Nine states had 10 or more murder-suicides in the first six months of 2007, the most recent statistics available. The rates:

Florida, 24

Texas, 24

California, 17

Pennsylvania, 14

Arizona, 12

Georgie, 12

New York, 11

North Carolina, 10

Ohio, 10