Understanding and predicting intimate femicide: An analysis of men who kill their intimate female partners

To understand why men kill their female partners a Binary Model of intimate femicide was proposed. This model conceptualizes intimate femicide as perpetrated by two different types of men. Alpha Murderers are undercontrolled men with a history of abusing their intimate female partners. They maintain frequent contact with other abusive men. The murders committed by these men tend to be impulsive and triggered by intense anger. Beta Murderers are overcontrolled men with no known history of abusive behaviour. They are less likely to associate with men who they know or suspect to be abusive. The murders committed by Beta Murderers were preceded by suicidal ideation or attempts, which are later manifested as a planned murder suicide. To validate the Binary Model questionnaires were completed by 89 men sentenced for the murder of an intimate partner, 151 men incarcerated in a federal penitentiary for an offence other than the murder of an intimate partner, and 102 nonincarcerated men. Support was obtained for the Binary Model of intimate femicide. Multiple regression analysis contributed to the identification of variables significantly differentiating intimate murderers from men in the two control groups. This process demonstrates the potential for the development of an empirically based approach for the identification of men at risk of killing their current or estranged intimate female partners.