10 Factors of a Suspicious Death in Domestic Violence Relationships

10 FACTORS OF SUSPICIOUS DEATH IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES

1. Victim dies prematurely/unexpectedly

2. Appears to be a suicide or accident scene

3. One partner wanted to end the relationship

4. Prior history of domestic violence (or cohercive control)

5. Victim found dead in home or place of residence

6. Victim found by current or previous partner

7. Prior history of strangulation/suffocation against partner (including previous relationships)

8. Partner is the last to see the victim alive

9. Partner has control of the crime scene before the police arrive

10. Crime scene altered in some way

References

 1 - 6. ‘The Perfect Murder’: An Exploratory Study of Staged Murder Scenes and Concealed Femicide; Bitton, Y. and Dayan, H.; Brit. J. Criminol.; Vol. 59, pp. 1054 - 1075 (2019).

7. Nonfatal Strangulation is an Important Risk Factors for Homicide of Women; Glass, N., Laughon, K., Campbell, J., Block, C., Hanson, G., Sharps, P. and Taliaferro, E.; The Journal of Emergency Medicine; PubMed Central; Vol. 35, No. 3. pp. 329 - 335 (2008). 

8. Staged Homicides: An Examination of Common Features of Faked Burglaries, Suicides, Accidents and Car Accidents; Ferguson, C.; Journal Police Criminal Psychology; Springer Publishing; Vol. 30(3), pp. 139 - 157 (2015).

9. Crime Scene Staging Dynamics in Homicide Cases; Pettler, L.; CRC Press (2015). 

10. Crime Scene Staging and Its Detection; Hazelwood, R. and Napier M.; International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology; M. Sage Publications; Vol. 48 (6), pp. 744 - 75 (2004). 

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