The Homicide-Suicide Phenomenon

David Birnie, an Australian Serial Killer was known for abducting, raping and killing. He was responsible for killing four women partnered with his girlfriend Catherine Birnie between October and November 1986. The murder took place in the suburbs of Perth in Willagee, in the house that was classified as the ‘House of Horrors’, Moore house street, Perth Western Australia. In David’s attempt to rape the fifth victim and later on kill her, she narrowly escaped from the couple’s house, half naked running across the street shouting for help. Later on with the Police arriving at the Birnie’s doorstep, the couple were arrested and interrogated for several hours. David being the first to confess, was sentenced to four consecutive sentences of life imprisonment in 1987 and twenty years later he committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell on October 7, 2005. This case study will integrate the Psychological research and theory to outline about the causes of Birnie’s behaviour, and why he offended.

The bottom was characterize as a large black neighborhood in Ohio, that stood above the hill of Medallion was a predominately white wealthy community. Before it was call the Bottom, now they call it the suburbs. Consequently, a good slave master promised freedom and piece of land if the slave perform difficult chores, when they finish the work he was hastens about giving away valley land he hope to give away piece of the bottom. However, the slave thought the valley land was the bottom, the master told them when God look down, it's the bottom, it the bottom of heaven best land there is. And they agree to it, And it was done. Shadrack was a citizen of the bottom, he fought in WWI, return back as a damaged man that couldn't cope with reality of what was happening in the world, his mental state of mind was unstable he live around the border of the town to find harmony in his life.

Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess different sociological explanations of suicide. (21 marks)

When a death occurs suddenly, unexpectedly and from unnatural or unknown causes, a forensic scientist has the duty to gather and analyze evidence to determine whether the victim died from a previously undiagnosed disease or infection or from a homicide, suicide or accident (Lurigio, 2009). When considering suicide as the probable cause of death, we are looking at the act of intentionally killing oneself through one’s own effort or with the assistance of another (Sever, 2009). The resolution of the manner of death by a forensic pathologist as suicide is based on a series of factors which eliminate natural causes of death, homicide and accident (Geberth, 2013, p.55). The cause of death is also determined by the medical examiner in

The psychic of the young person is shaped by social interactions as well as the parental training. Often the young murderers were brought in pathological environments, they did not experience the parental love and acceptance, and they forced themselves to drown particular emotions so as not to appear weak. All these factors results in social dysfunctions that triggers violence and violence becomes the perfect self-defense mechanism, because it brings attention. According to the FBI’s list of traits that describe young murderers the most common syndromes are the feeling of isolation, the narcissist disorder, and depression6. A perfect example to support the above argument will be a background check of Jeff Weise, a young sixteen-year-old boy who killed 9 people and committed suicide in the Red Lake Senior High School in Minnesota in 2005. Weise’s family was the kind of pathological one, his parents were separated, his mother had a habit of drinking too much being an abusive alcoholic, what is more Weise himself was often bullied at school7.

Offenders and Victims tend to be around a similar age, while offenders of other homicide categories in cases where there is no known relationship, the perpetrators are younger than the victims (Australian Institute of Criminology). Age is inconsistent with the general pattern in this case as Gittany and Ms Harnum were 10 years apart. The dynamics of Mr Gittany and Ms Harnum relationship are consistent with the general pattern concerning gender characteristics. Men are generally driven to commit IPH due to possessive and jealous impulses within the relationship in connection to the threat of separation and control over their spouse (Weizmann-Henelius et al., 2011). There was undoubtable evidence to suggest Mr Gittany was abusive, controlling and domineering within the relationship. He would keep track of her movements by bugging her phone and by surveillance means without Ms Harnums knowledge. Studies show contradictory results, whether mental disorders and personality disorders correlate with IPH. Watt (2008) suggests that cases congruent with spouse batterers, have generally tested positively with a personality disorder, however offenders convicted of IPH rarely have psychopathic traits (Weizmann-Henelius et al., 2011). Although Gittany’s mental health assessment suggested he suffered from depressive,

Tommy entered the house, it was quiet, and he went to the kitchen to get a snack. Tommy dropped his plate causing a loud clattering noise, waking his mother. Tommy’s mom was furious, walked around the corner and started beating Tommy for waking her. As she was beating him a man came around the corner to stop her. It was Tommy’s dad. In a blind rage, Tommy’s mom grabbed the gun from the kitchen drawer; the one she used to threaten Tommy for all his wrong doings and shot Tommy’s father. Tommy’s experiences of regular, yet unpredictable beatings ending with a traumatic death experience forever changed Tommy’s life. After a traumatic experience, a chemical imbalance in the brain occurs; leaving this untreated can cause someone to become a serial killer. Traumatic life experiences, abuse, and an inability to have healthy coping strategies can lead to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Abuse, trauma, and poor coping skills combined can lead to the creation of a killer. Criminologists have identified several common life experiences that convicted serial killer have had in common. One identified experience shared by convicted serial killers is the witnessing a murder or death. Another is experiencing abuse from a young age. The kind of is not as significant a factor, but many serial killers reported higher incidences of sexual and emotional abuse. Abuse combined with a significant traumatic experience has been determined to cause a chemical imbalance in the brain. Another

In the United States results in thousands of deaths and thousands more injuries annually. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2013, firearms (excluding BB and pellet guns) were used in 84,258 nonfatal injuries (26.65 per 100,000 U.S. citizens) and 11,208 deaths by homicide (3.5 per 100,000), 21,175 by suicide with a firearm, 505 deaths due to accidental discharge of a firearm, and 281 deaths due to firearms-use with "undetermined intent" for a total of 33,169 deaths related to firearms (excluding firearm deaths due to legal intervention). 1.3% of all deaths in the country were related to firearms.

In the article “Just a murder-suicide in a small Umpqua Community College Los Angeles office. And so America shrugs” from The Times Editorial Board. How to live in illustrates was in the morning at 10am, but I just evidence about warning have to gun in college. Without students in campus just for entering into the office come to attend because of their engineering building. If people/student when a campus not being officers is a illegal gun.

Homicide always will be an aspect of life, whether it is in the 16th century, 21st century or in the future. At times of extreme stress, people may turn to murder as an outlet of a greater problem they cannot fix or control. Presently, homicide has a greater value in society due to popular culture references through the media such as television, film and writing; society constantly has homicide and murder in the subconscious. In David M. Buss’ findings in The Murderer Next Door: Why the Mind is Designed to Kill,

Suicide is the act of killing yourself. It is the 11th leading cause of death in America (CDC 2009). I have never had any intentions on committing suicide and I never really understood why people commit suicide that’s why I chose this topic to help me understand what problems people go through that makes them do such a thing. Sociology is the study of social behavior and the culture of humans. There are numerous reasons like financial stress, family problems or mental health disorders that lead to suicide. The number one cause of suicide is untreated depression. The issues that were just listed are some social conditions from society that results in a suicidal

DuMonthier, Asha. Digital image. Activist Fight to Stop New Youth Jail in Seattle. New America

Thus, future research of serial homicide should focus on those three factors, which is what the article states. Indicating that those three traits are the most important. A poor social environment seems to lead to isolation, which can cause deficiencies in social interactions, which consequently become supplemented by fantasies, often sexual and violent in nature. The nature and development of fantasies ought to be analyzed further. Determining the etiology of fantasy will provide insight into the development of serial homicidal behavior. There are chain reactions in all of these

Domestic violence is a crime that occurs regularly within the United States. It claims millions of victims each year. There is not a specific cause to establish why domestic violence occurs. However, it has been documented that domestic violence is a product of physical, emotional, sexual, psychological, and any other forms of torture or torment that the particular abuser wishes to employ to gain control or power over their victims (Gosselin, 2005). Due to the complexity of this crime, many criminologists and socialologists have studied its causes and the effects in order to determine social policies and additional theories to better understand the causation of domestic violence. The social policies and theories that are developed from

What causes a person to take their own life? The fictional novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe attempts to answer this question through telling the story about Okonkwo, a member of the Igbo society in Umuofia, Nigeria. Okonkwo is determined to not end up like his apathetic father who never received any titles in their society. Things Fall Apart is the story of how Okonkwo and the Igbo society decline after the arrival of European men. These men have different opinions and customs from the the Igbo people, and the conflict between the two headstrong groups leads Okonkwo to kill himself. Okonkwo’s feelings of pride, defeat, and loneliness essentially cause his cowardly death, ultimately suggesting humanity is responsible for its own self