Contextualizing Case File Data Using Family Members' Stories of Intimate Partner Homicide

Background and Purpose. When women are murdered, they are often killed by an intimate partner and with a firearm. As part of the Preventing and Assessing Intimate Partner Homicide Risk (PAIR) Studies, this analysis combines quantitative medical examiner and police case file data from Arizona with qualitative interviews with next-of-kin of intimate partner homicide victims to examine connections between intimate partner violence; firearm threats, violence, and use; and the legal and social service responses prior to the homicide.

Methods. A total of 1,258 homicides that occurred from 2016-2020 where examined. Data were abstracted from medical examiner and police department case files and analyzed in STATA 16 to identify firearm-related homicides. Frequencies and crosstabs identified the types of firearm-related homicides, including victim demographic and relationship data such as age, gender, and race, and victim-offender relationship. Interviews with next-of-kin about the relationship history lasted 2 hours on average and were recorded and transcribed verbatim. For this qualitative analysis of data, a thematic approach was used.

Results. Preliminary analyses found that two-thirds (n=888) of the victims died of gun-related injuries. Intimate partner homicides made up one-third of homicides overall, as well as one-third of firearm homicides. One-in-two female homicide victims were killed by an intimate partner using a firearm (compared to one-in-20 male victim homicides). Three quarters of all homicides followed by suicides using firearms were perpetrated by intimate partners and 84% of the homicide victims, including corollary victims, were female. Interviewees identified firearm-related risk factors present in these relationships prior to the homicides, including threats to kill, prior homicide attempts, use of firearms, and escalating abuse and violence. Next-of-kin also discussed the ways that the legal system failed to protect their loved ones as they tried to navigate their abusive relationship, including a lack for firearm seizure by law enforcement from prohibited possessors.

Conclusions and Implications. Commonalities across quantitative and qualitative data provided information on points of intervention, including safety planning, social services, and the legal system. Investigators will combine quantitative data with nuanced stories to assist the audience in contextualizing and understanding intimate partner homicide, with a focus on policy and practice recommendations for homicide prevention.