Recherche en gérontologie et en gériatrie

Abstrait

Homicide-Suicide in Older Couples

Renard L*, Malbranque S, Jousset N

Spousal homicide-suicide refers to the discovery of two bodies in the same location and, in most cases, to cases where a wife is killed by her husband. It involves a particularly violent crime scene. Among the objectives of the forensic analysis, the estimation of the chronology of the events leading to the suicide and the determination of the causes of deaths, which appear as more or less self-evident at first glance, sometimes require an autopsy, if this is the direction that the investigators choose to follow. In this article, we describe the homicide-suicide of an elderly couple by mechanical asphyxia. A post-mortem examination was carried out on site and the intervention of a third party was formally ruled out. The description of this case allows us to highlight the different characteristics of homicidesuicide, notably among elderly couples, and to emphasize the particularity of the suicidal mechanism used in these cases and the underlying psycho-social context.