NCJ Number
195578
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2002 Pages: 157-168
Editor(s)
Roland D. Maiuro Ph.D.
Date Published
April 2002
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The article presents analysis of features and prevalence of sibling on sibling homicides.
Abstract
This article seeks to establish a framework for the study and discussion of homicides committed by a sibling of the victim, referred to as siblicide by the author and fratricide in other literature. Siblicide is a rare subset of homicide, accounting for fewer than 2 percent of know homicide offenses. The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) for 1976-1994 provided the study data. Siblicide committed by adult and juvenile siblings were studied separately in order to determine if there were offense differences based upon age of occurrence. Siblicide with adult victims and perpetrators formed the vast majority of offenses. Further, siblings tended to be close in age, usually separated by no more than 5 years. Data were also analyzed for effects of gender or race on siblicide occurrence. Male on male siblicide was the most common and siblicide between sisters was least common. American Indians exhibited an increased risk ratio for siblicide. The author concludes that sociobiology theories and routine activities theory offer the best frame of reference for understanding siblicide. 3 tables, 3 notes, 37 references