Homicide-Suicide in Older Persons

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the annual incidence of homicide-suicide and to compare patterns and antecedents in old and young spousal/consortial cases. METHOD: Homicide-suicide cases were ascertained in four medical examiner districts covering seven entire Florida counties from 1988 to 1994. The districts were chosen to determine rates in two regions of Florida, comparable in size of the total population and proportion of older persons. Annual homicide-suicide incidence rates per 100,000 population and homicide-suicides as a percentage of total homicides and total suicides separately were calculated by age group and Florida region. Complete medical examiner files were obtained, and 160 variables were coded from medical examiner reports to compare features and clinical characteristics by age and region. RESULTS: Annual incidence rates ranged from 0.3 to 0.7 per 100,000 for persons under age 55 and from 0.4 to 0.9 per 100,000 for persons age 55 and older, with higher rates in the...