Murder Suicide - A jealous, controlling rage

In murder-suicide a person kills one or several persons and then kills himself. Ponder this. Did Samson, one of the celebrated heroes in the Bible commit murder-suicide? What is your view on the matter? Samson did kill the Philistines and in the process, killed himself. I look forward to comments from our readers.

A crime of passion

But what really happens in these crimes of passion? Acts of murder-suicide usually occur in troubled relationships. The perpetrator is usually a man and the victim may be the woman and sometimes her family and a lover. These relationship may have many problems such as cheating, betrayal, deceit and anger.

The perpetrator may be paranoid, abuses alcohol and/or other substances, have a personality disorder or suffering depression. People who are paranoid are very suspicious. They constantly accuse their partners of cheating and lying and may also display high levels of jealousy and are very controlling. They may commit murder in a state of jealous rage at a point when they feel they are losing control and the relationship is threatened. These individuals often kill themselves out of fear or guilt.

Antisocial personality disorder

Alcohol and other drugs may also lead to extreme paranoid behaviour and jealousy and lead people to commit murder and suicide in a troubled relationship. Some individuals have an anti-social personality disorder which leads to lying, cheating and a lack of respect for social norms and law. A relationship with someone who has an anti-social personality disorder is often very tense and is characterised by frequent confrontations, quarrels and fights.

Additionally, people with anti-social personality disorder often use alcohol and other drugs. The victims in these relationships often realise that their lives are at risk; they feel trapped and sometimes helpless. Often it is when the other person make the decision to leave the relationship that they are at greatest risk.

Deep depression

Depression by itself does not lead to murder-suicide. But an individual may be paranoid or using drugs; or has an anti-social personality disorder and also develops depression leading to a sense of hopelessness and despair. Sometimes the trigger may be the behaviour of the victim such as cheating in the relationship leading to depression, anger and despair on the part of the perpetrator, who then acts out by committing murder and then commits suicide in the process.

Leave now!

If you find yourself in such a relationship you should:

1. Leave and leave early.

2. Develop an escape strategy before you leave, to protect yourself and others.

3. If you are in a troubled relationship, seek professional help.

Dr Wendel Abel is a consultant psychiatrist and head, Section of Psychiatry, Dept. Of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies, 977-1108; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.