TYPES OF TRAUMA IN CASES OF HOMICIDE

A group of 251 victims of homicide in the years 1978-1988 were examined to determine the causes of their injuries. It was found that 51.4% of homicide victims exhibited evidence of injuries due to blunt trauma, 31.9% were victims of sharp trauma and 29.5% suffered from strangulation. Less common were shootings (18.7%) and other traumata (4.0%). Males were most commonly victims of injuries caused by blunt (51.9%) and sharp (33.6%) trauma, possibly due to more frequent physical confrontations among men. Females also demonstrated injuries due to blunt trauma (50.8%), but strangulation was nearly equal (47.5%). Women were commonly murdered by the aggressor's bare hands within the setting of conflicts in relationships. In 36.7% of all cases, injuries were caused by a combination of aggressive traumas. Combined injuries were common in cases of strangulation (77.3%), blunt trauma (64.3%) and sharp trauma (46.9%), whereas shooting injuries were seldom combined (12.8%) because they were usually fatal alone. Female victims demonstrated combined fatal injuries more frequently than males, probably because conflicts in relationships can cause extreme emotional outbursts and thus lead to the use of multiple aggressive traumatisations.