A Descriptive Study of the Characteristics of Homicide-Suicide in Forensic Autopsy Cases.

This study focuses on the characteristics of homicide followed by suicide (HS) cases in Japan, analyzed through forensic autopsy records from 2008 to 2020 at Chiba University’s Department of Legal Medicine. Among 77 identified HS cases, victims were predominantly female and older adults accounted for nearly half, with the most common victim–perpetrator relationship being parent and child. Strangulation was the leading cause of death, psychotropic drugs were detected in some victims including children, and intimate partner violence (IPV) was present in about half of adult intimate partner HS cases. The study highlights gender and age differences among perpetrators and victims, notes that some perpetrators expressed HS intentions beforehand, and emphasizes the need for nationwide integrated data, forensic autopsies, toxicological analyses, and forensic psychiatric evaluations to better understand and prevent HS.