Key Questions Answered
Q: How common are murder-suicide events in the U.S.?
A: Recent research identifies an average of 820 deaths per year linked to murder-suicide incidents in the United States—substantially higher than many earlier estimates.
Q: Who are most often the victims and perpetrators?
A: Perpetrators are most often white men, and a majority of homicide victims are current or former intimate partners.
Q: What are the policy implications?
A: The results point to urgent needs for improved domestic violence screening and interventions, and for policies that limit firearm access for those at high risk.
Summary: New findings from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health show that murder-suicide events in the U.S. occur more often than previously reported. The study, analyzing data from 2016–2022, finds an average of 820 deaths per year tied to these incidents. Most incidents involve current or former intimate partners, children constitute a meaningful share of victims, and nearly all suspect suicides were carried out with a firearm.
Children under 18 accounted for 14% of homicide victims in these events, and per-capita rates varied across states—with Alaska and Arizona recording the highest rates and New England states among the lowest. These findings underscore the need for targeted public health and policy responses that address intimate partner violence and access to guns.
Key Facts
- Higher than earlier estimates: The study reports an average of 820 deaths annually tied to murder-suicide events across 30 states from 2016–2022.
- Intimate partner connection: 57% of homicide victims were current or former intimate partners of the perpetrator.
- Firearms frequently used: Nearly 90% of the suicides associated with these events involved a firearm.
Source: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Overview: Researchers examined restricted-access data from the National Violent Death Reporting System for 30 states with complete reporting between 2016 and 2022. Murder‑suicide incidents were defined as events where one or more homicides were followed by the suspect taking their own life within a 24-hour period, as indicated in police reports and related records.
Across the study period, investigators identified 5,743 deaths linked to murder‑suicide events: 3,125 homicides and 2,618 suicides, averaging 820 deaths each year. Demographic patterns show most perpetrators were white males. The geographic distribution of rates varied substantially, with the highest per-capita rates observed in Alaska and Arizona and the lowest in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
The analysis also highlights the vulnerability of children in these events—14% of homicide victims were under the age of 18—and the dominant role of firearms, which were used in nearly all suicides tied to murder‑suicide incidents. These patterns emphasize intersections between domestic violence, firearm access, and fatal outcomes.
Lead author Katherine M. Keyes, PhD, professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, noted the importance of updated national estimates: “Murder‑suicide events involve extreme violence and devastating consequences. Updated, detailed data on who is affected and where these incidents occur are essential for guiding prevention and intervention efforts.”
The authors stress that prevention strategies should be tailored to local conditions, accounting for state variation in gun policy, mental health resources, and domestic violence response systems. Given the predominance of intimate partner relationships among victims, bolstering screening, safety planning, and intervention programs for domestic violence survivors and at-risk partners is a public health priority. Because almost 90% of associated suicides involved firearms, policy tools that reduce access to guns among individuals deemed high risk—such as extreme risk protection orders—may be particularly effective in preventing these tragedies.
Co-authors on the paper include Victoria A. Joseph and Caroline Rutherford, both affiliated with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The findings appear in JAMA Network Open: Psychiatry, providing an accessible, peer-reviewed assessment of murder‑suicide epidemiology in recent years.
About this violence and psychology research news
Author: Stephanie Berger
Source: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Contact: Stephanie Berger, Columbia University
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research (open access): “The Epidemiology of Murder-Suicide in the US, 2016–2022” by Katherine M. Keyes et al., published in JAMA Network Open: Psychiatry. The study uses data from the National Violent Death Reporting System Restricted Access Database and focuses on incident-level information to estimate rates and characterize victims and perpetrators across 30 U.S. states during 2016–2022.
Abstract
The Epidemiology of Murder-Suicide in the US, 2016–2022
Murder‑suicide events are defined as incidents in which an individual commits one or more homicides shortly before taking their own life. Although incidence in the general U.S. population remains relatively low, earlier studies reported stable population rates of about 0.2 to 0.3 per 100,000—estimates that did not include data after 2004. Because both suicide and homicide trends have evolved, updated epidemiologic analysis is necessary to guide prevention and intervention priorities. This study estimates murder‑suicide rates and describes characteristics of these events using data from 30 states for the years 2016 through 2022, with the aim of identifying patterns that can inform policy and public health responses.