INTIMATE FEMICIDE-SUICIDE IN PORTUGAL

UNIVERSITY OF PORTO

BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES INSTITUTE ABEL SALAZAR

INTIMATE FEMICIDE-SUICIDE IN PORTUGAL

Integrated Master in Medicine

2012/2013

Scientific Dissertation

Medical Research Article

Sara da Ponte Martins Graça de Matos

INTIMATE FEMICIDE-SUICIDE IN PORTUGAL

Sara da Ponte Martins Graça de Matos1

Tutor: Teresa Magalhães MD, PhD1,2

Subtutor: Ana Rita Pereira MD, MSc3

1Biomedical Sciences Institute Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

2National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, North Branch, Porto, Portugal

3National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, South Branch, Lisboa, Portugal

Authors’ contacts:

Sara da Ponte Martins Graça de Matos

Biomedical Sciences Institute Abel Salazar

Largo Professor Abel Salazar

4099-003 Porto PORTUGAL

Telephone: 00351 918901028

Email: [email protected]

Teresa Magalhães

National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, North Branch

Jardim Carrilho Videira,

4050-167 Porto PORTUGAL

Telephone: 00351 222073850

Fax: 00351 222083978


Ana Rita Pereira

National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, South Branch

Rua Manuel Bento de Sousa, nº 3

1169-201 Lisboa PORTUGAL

Telefone: 00351 218 811 800

Fax: 00351 218 864 493


ICBAS-UP Sara da Ponte Martins Graça de Matos

Intimate Femicide-Suicide in Portugal | 1

ABSTRACT

Intimate partner femicide-suicide (F-S) is a rare phenomenon which carries a

significant psychosocial impact. This study aims to contribute to the knowledge on

intimate F-S, regarding characteristics of victims and perpetrators related to risk factors,

and its forensic aspects. A retrospective study was conducted on intimate partner F-S

cases in Portugal, from 2005-07, based on autopsy records, police reports and judicial

decisions, in a total of 29 femicides (15 suicides and 14 suicide attempts). At the time of

the event, the victims were mostly young and employed; the perpetrators were, on

average, 50 years old, employed and owned a firearm. Their relationship was usually

marriage, current, during less than 10 years, with children in common, without

cohabitation and history of previous abuse by the same perpetrator. The event occurred

on a residence, triggered by jealousy, with 1 case of mercy killing; in 14% other mortal

victims were involved - 75% children. The method of death most used in F-S cases was

gunshot trauma, for victims and perpetrators. For suicide attempts it was also gunshot

trauma, while the victim was killed by sharp or chop trauma. The method of death,

location and number of lethal lesions of the suicides were similar to the respective

femicides. No victim presented wounds suggestive of repeated physical abuse or sexual

assault. All perpetrators alive at the time of the trial were convicted. Support to men

separated from their partner, who own a firearm and have history of mental illness is an

important preventive measure.

KEYWORDS

Femicide-suicide, homicide-suicide, intimate partner violence, Portugal

RESUMO

O femicídio-suicídio (F-S) nas relações de intimidade é um fenómeno raro, com

grande impacto psicossocial. O objetivo deste estudo foi contribuir para o conhecimento

sobre esta temática, relativamente a características da vítima e perpetrador relacionadas

com fatores de risco, e aspetos forenses associados. Foi realizado um estudo

retrospetivo sobre casos de F-S em Portugal, de 2005-07, baseado em autópsias,

processos judiciais e registos policiais, num total de 29 femicídios (15 suicídios e 14 de

tentativas de suicídio). À data do evento as vítimas eram jovens e empregadas, e os

perpetradores tinham em média 50 anos, eram empregados e possuíam arma de fogo. O

tipo mais comum de relação foi o casamento, à data dos factos, com menos de 10 anos,

filhos em comum e sem coabitação, e história de abusos prévios pelo mesmo



perpetrador. O evento ocorreu maioritariamente numa residência, despoletado por

ciúmes, destacando-se 1 caso de mercy killing; em 14% houve outras vítimas - 75%

crianças. O método mais usado para o femicídio seguido de suicídio foram as armas de

fogo, para vítimas e perpetradores; nos casos de suicídio tentado, foram usadas armas

de fogo para os perpetradores, mas armas brancas para as vítimas. O método, local e

número de lesões mortais nos suicídios foram similares aos respetivos femicídios.

Nenhuma vítima apresentava sinais de abuso físico repetido ou agressão sexual. Todos

os perpetradores vivos à data do julgamento foram condenados. O apoio a homens

separados da parceira, com posse de arma de fogo e doença mental é uma importante

medida preventiva.

PALAVRAS-CHAVE

Femicídio-suicídio, homicídio-suicídio, violência nas relações de intimidade, Portugal



INTRODUCTION

Intimate partner violence (IPV) related femicide-suicide (F-S), concerns the

homicide of a woman by her intimate partner who then takes his own life. Many studies

have been showing that it is the most prevalent form of homicide-suicide (H-S), with the

victim being more frequently a woman killed by her male partner due to jealousy or during

an impending separation [1-3]. These events are considered the most extreme form of

homicide in the context of IPV [1], a phenomenon that is responsible for a mortality rate of

0.44 per 100.000 women in Portugal [4]. Despite highly publicized by the media, intimate

partner F-S is a rare event, but one that has a big psychosocial impact on families and

communities [5]. Literature indicates worldwide rates that range from 18% to 40% of

perpetrator suicide in the context of homicide in intimate relationships [6].

For this type of fatal events, where there are no living victims, it is usually difficult

to find a reliable cause. To characterize this phenomenon, Marzuk et al [7] suggested two

main groups: (a) the amorous-jealous subtype: it is the most common and occurs in young

couples, generally driven by rage, jealousy and fear of a separation; (b) the mercy killing

subtype: occurs in older individuals, where the perpetrator is typically the caregiver of his

spouse, who is often bedridden due to ill health [1,7-9].

Previous studies show some trends on the characteristics of this phenomenon.

The perpetrator is usually Caucasian, older than the victim [10,11] and the majority

suffered from depression, unlike the perpetrators of homicide alone [9,10]. However, the

proportion of perpetrators who suffer from depression varies broadly across studies and in

most cases the psychological reports are not available [12]. H-S is often a premeditated

and planned act – proven by the short time between the two deaths and the existence of a

suicide notes [7,8]. It generally occurs in the victim’s home [1,13] and in many cases

there’s also the homicide of a child [1,14]. The most important risk factor for intimate F-S

is the existence of prior domestic violence [12]. Other important risk factors include the

perpetrator’s access to a gun, previous homicide and/or suicide threats, partner’s

estrangement, cohabitation with a stepchild and a marital (current or past) relationship

[12]. It has been proved that the use of a gun is more prevalent in H-S cases than in

homicide cases alone [12,13,15], being also a strong predictive factor of intimate F-S

[1,12]. Only in a minority of cases the weapon used for the suicide is different than that of

the homicide [1,3,16,17]. Regarding the suicide cases, the most frequent location of the

fatal wound - normally a single one - are the head, face or neck; in homicides the head is

the most common region, but multiple wounds are often observed [17].



Because this is a complex and severe problem, more studies are needed on the

subject; in Portugal, this is the first one performed through a forensic sample. The lack of

information about this issue at a national level hampers the implementation of social

measures and policy interventions that are necessary for the gradual decline of this

phenomenon. In these cases the surveillance and alertness to the risk factors, specially

by the health professionals that accompany these men and women, are vital for taking

preventive actions [12].

The aim of this study was to contribute to improve the knowledge about intimate F-

S cases, regarding some characteristics of female victims and male perpetrators related

with risk factors, as well as some forensic aspects of femicide and related suicide or

suicide attempt.



MATERIALS AND METHODS

A Portuguese national retrospective autopsy-based and judicial-proved study was

conducted on IPV-related F-S or femicide-suicide attempt (F-SA), referring to a 3-year

period.

In a first step, forensic autopsy cases were selected according to the following

inclusion criteria: (a) woman; (b) aged 15 years or older; (c) violent death (excluding

suicide and accident), suspected to have been perpetrated by a current or past male

intimate partner (d) autopsy performed in the National Institute of Legal Medicine (INML);

(e) between January 2005 and December 2007. After reviewing the correspondingly

judicial decisions which were obtained from Public Prosecutors Offices and Courts, death

cases proved to be related with an intimate relationship (n=62) were retained. To make

sure that the criminal investigation and forensic cases were completed as well as judicial

decisions were also determined, it was only possible to include cases that took place

before 2007.

In a second and final step, from the totality of 62 cases, those which were followed

by the suicide or suicide attempt of the perpetrator (which was considered within a week

after the homicide incident [6]) were identified.

A detailed review of the autopsy reports of women victims of homicide, as well as

the respective judicial decision was conducted (n=29). Also, a complete review of the

autopsy report of men who committed suicide (n=15) and the police records of men who

attempted suicide (n=14) was performed. Two groups were considered for the analysis: F-

S and F-SA. A data set instrument was specifically made and then applied in a digital

database (using the computer software Excel 2010 by Microsoft ®) built for this purpose.

The collected data was divided into the following sections: (a) characteristics of the

involved victims and perpetrators; (b) characteristics of the intimate relationship; (c)

characteristics of the circumstances surrounding the femicide and the suicide; (d)

characteristics of the lethal and non-lethal lesions of the victims and perpetrators; (e) legal

outcomes.

Due to the limited number of cases included, only descriptive statistical measures

were used.



RESULTS

A total of 29 cases of IPV-related femicide associated with suicide or suicide

attempt of the perpetrator were registered: 10 in 2005, 10 in 2006 and 9 in 2007. The rate

of perpetrator suicide in the context of homicide in intimate relationships was 24.2%.

Characteristics of the victims and perpetrators

The characteristics of the female victims and male perpetrators at the time of the

event, discriminated by group, are presented on table 1. In the majority of the variables,

the numbers were similar in both groups.

The average age of the victims was 44 (with a range of 17 to 81 years old). Most of

them were Portuguese, 3 being immigrants (2 from African countries of Portuguese official

language [PALOP] and 1 from Ukraine). All women were living in Portugal at the time of

the event, half of them in the two major cities – Lisbon (n=10, 34.5%) and Porto (n=4,

13.8%). The majority were employed (44.8%) while in 34.5% of the cases they were

students, housewives or retired (“other”). Concerning substance abuse and psychiatric

history there was scarce information: in only 1 case a drug abuse problem was identified

and in 2 cases there was a history of psychiatric problems, all of them from the F-SA

group.

On average, perpetrators were 50 years old and most of them were Portuguese, 2

being immigrants (1 PALOP and 1 from Ukraine). Most were actively working, but data

was missing in 31% of the cases. Regarding their occupation, we found the following

relevant: 2 police officers (1 retired), a captain of the Portuguese army and a hunter.

Concerning substance abuse and psychiatric history there was also scarce information: in

only 5 cases (of the F-SA group) it was possible to confirm a history of a psychiatric

problem. There were not any registers of previous suicide attempts or family history of

suicide in any of the perpetrators’ records. Regarding the perpetrators who didn’t

consummate the suicide, during the trial, psychiatric evaluation was conducted in 4 cases

(13.8%), but 86.2% of the total number of cases had no information on that.



Table 1. Characteristics of the victims (V) and perpetrators (P)

F-S

n (%)

F-SA

n (%)

Total

n (%)

V P V P V P

Age

Average

Minimum

Maximum

45

21

81

50

26

75

43

17

80

50

20

76

44

17

81

50

20

76

Country of

origin

Portugal

PALOP

Other

14 (93.3)

0

1 (6.7)

14 (93.3)

0

1 (6.7)

12 (85.7)

2 (14.3)

0

13 (92.9)

1 (7.1)

0

26 (89.7)

2 (6.9)

1 (3.4)

27 (93.1)

1 (3.4)

1 (3.4)

Employment

status

Employed

Other

Unemployed

Unknown

7 (46.7)

5 (33.3)

0

3 (20.0)

5 (33.3)

1 (6.7)

2 (13.3)

7 (46.7)

6 (42.9)

5 (35.7)

1 (7.1)

2 (14.3)

8 (57.1)

1 (7.1)

3 (21.4)

2 (14.3)

13 (44.8)

10 (34.5)

1 (3.4)

5 (17.2)

13 (44.8)

2 (6.9)

5 (17.2)

9 (31.0)

History of

substance

abuse

Alcohol Abuse

Drug Abuse

No

Unknown

0

0

2 (13.3)

13 (86.7)

0

0

0

15 (100)

0

1 (7.1)

2 (14.3)

11 (78.6)

4 (28.6)

0

1 (7.1)

9 (64.3)

0

1 (3.4)

4 (13.8)

24 (82.8)

4 (13.8)

0

1 (3.4)

24 (82.8)

Psychiatric

history

Yes

No

Unknown

0

1 (6.7)

14 (93.3)

0

0

15 (100)

2 (14.3)

2 (14.3)

10 (71.4)

5 (35.7)

0

9 (64.3)

2 (6.9)

3 (10.3)

24 (82.8)

5 (17.2)

0

24 (82.8)

Data on perpetrators’ firearm possession and criminal records is detailed on table

2. Information about firearm possession was missing in 41.4% of the cases but, even so,

58.6% of the perpetrators owned a firearm, legally or illegally. Legal possession was more

prevalent in the F-S group (40%), and illegal possession in the F-SA group (28.6%);

however, in this group, data was missing in 64.3% of the cases. In 20.7% of the cases

there was no information affirming whether the possession was legal or illegal.

Information about criminal records was only available regarding the F-SA group

(because in the F-S group cases were filed due to the death of the offender, so the

criminal investigation was less detailed): the majority of the perpetrators did not had any

prior records (57.1%) while 1 had a previous conviction of IPV-related crime.



Table 2. Perpetrators’ firearm possession and criminal records

F-S

n (%)

F-SA

n (%)

Total

n (%)

Firearm

possession

(n=29)

Legal

Illegal

Legal and/or Illegal

Unknown

6 (40.0)

0

6 (40.0)

3 (20.0)

1 (7.1)

4 (28.6)

0

9 (64.3)

7 (24.1)

4 (13.8)

6 (20.7)

12 (41.4)

Criminal records

(n=29)

Yes (IPV-related crimes)

Yes (other crimes)

No

Unknown

0

0

0

15 (100)

1 (7.1)

2 (14.3)

8 (57.1)

3 (21.4)

1 (3.4)

2 (6.9)

8 (27.6)

18 (62.1)

Characteristics of the intimate relationship

The characteristics of the intimate relationship between the victim and the

perpetrator at the time of the fatal event are shown on table 3. The most common type of

relationship was marriage in both F-S (53.3%) and F-SA (42.9%) groups. In the majority of

the cases there was a current relationship, but while most of them in F-S group were not

living together (n=9, 60%), in the F-SA group they were living together (n=8, 57.1%).

Regarding former relationships (n=11), the elapsed time between the separation and the

fatal outcome was less than 1 year in 54.5% of the cases (data was missing in 18%).

Considering both groups, the length of the relationship was less than 10 years in 34.5%,

although data was missing on 51.7% of the cases. In both groups, in the majority of the

cases there were children in common (48.3%) between the victim and the perpetrator, and

in most cases (51.7%), children were living in the same household as the victim, whether

they were children in common, children or stepchildren of the perpetrators. In 55.2% of the

cases a history of previous abuse (physical, psychological and/or sexual) against the

victim by the same perpetrator was recorded.



Table 3. Characteristics of the intimate relationship

F-S

n (%)

F-SA

n (%)

Total

n (%)

Nature

(n=29)

Marriage

Common-law

Dating

Extramarital

8 (53.3)

4 (26.7)

2 (13.3)

1 (6.7)

6 (42.9)

4 (28.6)

2 (14.3)

2 (14.3)

14 (48.3)

8 (27.6)

4 (13.8)

3 (10.3)

Status

(n=29)

Current

Former

8 (53.3)

7 (46.7)

10 (71.4)

4 (28.6)

18 (62.1)

11 (37.9)

Time elapsed between

the separation and the

fatal event

(n=11)

<1

]1-10]

>10

Unknown

3 (42.9)

0

2 (28.6)

2 (28.6)

3 (75.0)

1 (25.0)

0

0

6 (54.5)

1 (9.1)

2 (18.2)

2 (18.2)

Length (years)

(n=29)

]0, 10]

]10-20]

>20

Unknown

4 (26.7)

0

0

11 (73.3)

6 (42.9)

2 (14.3)

2 (14.3)

4 (28.6)

10 (34.5)

2 (6.9)

2 (6.9)

15 (51.7)

Children in common

(n=29)

Yes

No

Unknown

8 (53.3)

5 (33.3)

2 (13.3)

6 (42.9)

7 (50.0)

1 (7.1)

14 (48.3)

12 (41.4)

3 (10.3)

Underage children living

in the household

(n=29)

Yes

No

Unknown

8 (53.3)

6 (40.0)

1 (6.7)

7 (50.0)

6 (42.9)

1 (7.1)

15 (51.7)

12 (41.4)

2 (6.9)

History of previous

abuse

(n=29)

Yes

No

Unknown

8 (53.3)

0

7 (46.7)

8 (57.1)

2 (14.3)

4 (28.6)

16 (55.2)

2 (6.9)

11 (37.9)

Characteristics of the circumstances surrounding the femicide, suicide and suicide

attempt

In most of the variables concerning the circumstances of the fatal events the

numbers were similar in the two studied groups.

The majority of the fatal events in both groups took place during Spring (n=9,

31%), Summer and Winter (n=7, 24.1% each), with May and July being the most frequent

months chosen for the suicide events. Most cases in both groups occurred in the week-

end period (n=14, 48.3%). The suicide occurred most commonly right after the femicide

(n=9, 60%); in 2 cases it occurred 1 to 2 hours later (13%), also in 2 cases, 3 to 4 hours

later (13%) and in 1 case 5 days later; data was missing in 1 case.

Other characteristics of the circumstances surrounding the femicides, suicides and

suicide attempts are listed on table 4.



Most frequently, in both groups, the femicide took place in a residence (65.5%):

the house where the victim and the perpetrator both lived (n=11, 37.9%), or either the

victim’s or the perpetrator’s residence (n=3, 10.3% each); the second most common place

was a public place (27.6%); in the remaining cases (6.9%), 1 took place in a vehicle and

another one in the victim’s workplace. Also, the suicides, as well as the suicide attempts,

usually took place in a residence (51.7%): the house where the victim and the perpetrator

both lived (n=11, 37.9%), or either the victim’s or the perpetrator’s residence (n=2, 6.9%

each); the second most common place was a public place (31.0%), and in 1 F-S case the

suicide was consummated in the victim’s workplace. In 80% (n=12) of the cases the

suicide happened in the same location as the respective femicide.

In only 8 cases (27.6%) the victim had a survival time and was admitted to a

hospital after the crime, having died there. In 2 cases the perpetrator who committed

suicide survived less than 24 hours (13.3%), and in 1 case, more than 24 hours (6.7%).

In most cases concerning the F-S group, the femicide was triggered by jealousy

(which included a suspicion of the victim’s infidelity) and a sense of ownership by the

male. In the F-SA group, there was not a predominance of a particular motivation, with the

same number of cases (n=4) for each: jealousy, separation or threat of separation and

conflicts (conjugal, financial, familiar or children custody problems).

In 4 cases (13.8%) there were other mortal victims involved, having all of those

deaths occurred when the perpetrator afterwards committed suicide, namely: a 3-year-old

son, an 8-year-old son, an 11-year-old stepson of the perpetrator, as well as 2 neighbors

(both in the same event).

In 6 of the cases, the perpetrator left a suicide note (40%), which was available to

the study in only 5 cases: all of them clarified the motivation for the fatal events and had

instructions about what was to be done about the perpetrator’s possessions. The notes

were addressed to: the would-be victim (n=1) explaining the motives for the perpetrator’s

suicide; the perpetrator’s son and stepdaughter (n=1); and to a colleague (n=1); in 2 notes

it wasn’t specified to whom it was addressed. In 2 cases there were records confirming

that the perpetrator suffered from a known minor physical condition that apparently was

cause of significant anxiety.



Table 4. Characteristics of the circumstances surrounding the femicide (F), suicide (S) and

suicide attempt (SA)

F-S

n (%)

F-SA

n (%)

Total

n (%)

F S F SA F S/SA

Place

Residence

Public place

Other

Unknown

9 (60.0)

5 (33.3)

1 (6.7)

0

8 (53.3)

5 (33.3)

1 (6.7)

1 (6.7)

10 (71.4)

3 (21.4)

1 (7.1)

0

7 (50.0)

4 (28.6)

0

3 (21.4)

19 (65.5)

8 (27.6)

2 (6.9)

0

15 (51.7)

9 (31.0)

1 (3.4)

4 (13.8)

Survival

time

Yes

No

3 (20.0)

12 (80.0)

3 (20)

11 (73)

5 (35.7)

9 (64.3)

-

-

8 (27.6)

21 (72. 4)

-

-

Alleged

motivation

Jealousy

(Threat of) separation

Conflicts

9 (50.0)

5 (27.8)

4 (22.2)

4 (33.3)

4 (33.3)

4 (33.3)

13 (43.3)

9 (30.0)

8 (26.7)

Other

mortal

victims

(n=4)

Children of the perpetrator

Stepchildren of the

perpetrator

Non-children

2 (50.0)

1 (25.0)

1 (25.0)

0

0

0

2 (50.0)

1 (25.0)

1 (25.0)

Characteristics of the lethal and non-lethal lesions of the victims and perpetrators

Table 5 presents the chief characteristics of the lethal and non-lethal lesions found

on the femicide (n=29) and suicide (n=14) autopsy reports, as well as the characteristics

of the non-lethal lesions regarding the suicide attempts (n=14) which were collected from

the official police reports.



Table 5. Characteristics of the lethal lesions in homicides and suicides and non-lethal

lesions in suicide attempts

F-S

n (%)

F-SA

n (%)

Total

n (%)

F S F SA F SA

Me

tho

d

Gunshot trauma

Shotgun

Handgun

Rifle

Sharp or chop trauma

Knife/razor/dagger

Axe

Blunt trauma

Blunt objects

Transportation vehicles

Asphyxia

Manual strangulation

Hanging

Heat trauma

Gas inhalation

Unknown

11 (73.3)

4

5

2

2 (13.3)

2

0

1 (6.7)

1

0

0

0

0

1 (6.7)

0

0

11 (73.3)

4

6

1

1 (6.7)

1

0

2 (13.3)

0

2

1 (6.7)

0

1

0

0

0

5 (33.3)

5

0

0

6 (40.0)

5

1

1 (6.7)

1

0

2 (13.3)

2

0

0

0

0

4 (28.6)

3

1

0

2 (14.3)

2

0

3 (21.4)

0

3

1 (7.1)

0

1

0

1 (7.1)

3 (21.4)

16 (55.2)

9

5

2

8 (27.6)

7

1

2 (6.9)

2

0

2 (6.9)

2

0

1 (3.4)

0

0

15 (51.7)

7

7

1

3 (10.3)

3

0

5 (17.2)

0

5

2 (6.9)

0

2

0

1 (3.4)

3 (10.3)

Lo

ca

tio

n*

Head

Face

Neck

Thorax

Abdomen1

Upper limbs

Lower limbs

NA

Unknown

10 (31.3)

9 (28.1)

3 (9.4)

6 (18.8)

2 (6.2)

1 (3.1)

1 (3.1)

0

0

10 (38.5)

4 (15.4)

4 (15.4)

4 (15.4)

2 (7.7)

2 (7.7)

2 (7.7)

0

0

2 (10.0)

0

5 (25.0)

9 (45.0)

3 (15.0)

0

1 (5.0)

0

0

0

0

3 (21.4)

0

0

2 (14.3)

0

1 (7.1)

8 (57.1)

12 (23.1)

9 (17.3)

8 (15.4)

15 (28.8)

5 (9.6)

1 (1.9)

2 (3.8)

0

0

10 (23.3)

5 (11.6)

7 (16.3)

4 (9.3)

2 (4.7)

4 (9.3)

2 (4.7)

1 (2.3)

8 (18.6)

Nu

mb

er

1

2-9

≥ 10

NA/NC

7 (46.7)

5 (33.3)

2 (13.3)

1 (6.7)

9 (60.0)

3 (20.0)

2 (13.3)

1 (6.7)

6 (42.9)

6 (42.9)

2 (14.3)

0

-

-

-

-

13 (44.8)

11 (37.9)

4 (13.8)

1 (3.4)

-

-

-

-

NA/NC: Non applicable/non countable

*These variables are not mutually exclusive

1In this analysis “Abdomen” includes lumbar and pelvic regions

All female victims were subjected to a forensic autopsy. In order of frequency, the

lethal lesions that were found were due to:

a) Gunshot trauma (55.2%) specially involving a shotgun; taking in consideration

only the F-S group, it totals 73.3%;



b) Sharp and chop trauma (27.6%), caused either by a knife/razor/dagger or an

axe; it was the most frequent method used in the F-SA group (40%);

c) Blunt trauma (6.9%): 1 using a stone and another a metal bar;

d) Asphyxia by manual strangulation (6.9%);

e) Thermal trauma with heat burns (3.4%).

The most frequent location of the victim’s mortal wounds was, regarding the F-S

cases, the head (31.3%) followed by the face (28.1%), while in the F-SA group it was the

thorax (45%) followed by the neck (25%).

Most of the victims presented one single lethal injury (n=13), in 11 cases between

2 to 9 lethal injuries and in 4 cases more than 10 - regarding deaths by asphyxia the

number of lethal lesions was counted as 1; in the thermal trauma deaths it was considered

not countable.

Autopsies were performed in 14 male perpetrators; in 1 case it was not possible to

ascertain if an autopsy was conducted due to lack of information. However, some

information regarding the lethal lesions on that suicide case was available on police

reports. In order of frequency, the lethal lesions described were due to:

a) Gunshot trauma (73.3%), particularly using handguns;

b) Blunt trauma (13.3%), namely involving transportation vehicles: running against

a moving train (n=1) and a car fall from a cliff (n=1);

c) Sharp trauma (6.7%), caused by a dagger;

d) Asphyxia by hanging (6.7%).

The most frequent location of the mortal wounds was the head (38.5%), followed

by the face, thorax and neck (15.4% each). Most of the perpetrators (n=9) presented 1

single lethal lesion. In 2 cases hesitation wounds were also found (13.3%) - a single

wound in each case.

Comparing lethal lesions presented in the victims and perpetrators: in 11 cases

(78.6%) the method used for the suicide was the same as the one used for the femicide,

and mostly gunshot trauma; in 7 of the cases (50%) the location of the mortal lesions was

coincident with the ones found on the respective homicide victim - in 2 cases it was

partially coincident (14.3%) and in 6 cases it was not coincident (42.9%), with the most

common location being the head; in 9 cases the perpetrator and the victim showed the

same number of lethal lesions (60%), which was usually a single lesion.

In order of frequency, the method chosen for the attempted suicide of the

perpetrator (related to non-lethal lesions) was:

a) Gunshot trauma (28.6%) particularly using a shotgun;



b) Blunt trauma (21.4%), namely involving transportation vehicles: jumping in front

of moving vehicles (n=2) – cars in 1 case and a train in the other - and moving a

car against a static object (n=1);

c) Sharp trauma (14.3%), involving a knife;

d) Asphyxia by hanging (7.1%);

e) Gas inhalation (7.1%), by cutting the gas tube from the stove and leaving the

respective tap open.

The most frequent location of the wounds was the neck (20%) followed by the

upper limbs (13.3%) – the location of the lesions in the case of the gas inhalation was

considered not applicable. Data was missing in 57.1% of the cases. Information on the

number of non-lethal lesions was not recorded in any case.

From the total of 29 femicide victims, 15 cases (51.7%) also presented acute non-

lethal IPV-related lesions, contemporary with the homicide, found on the forensic

autopsies and specially correspondingly to the F-SA group (64.3%), which are shown on

table 6.

Table 6. Characteristics of the non-lethal lesions of the victims

F-S

n (%)

F-SA

n (%)

Total

n (%)

Acute non-lethal

lesions

Yes

No

6 (40.0)

9 (60.0)

9 (64.3)

5 (35.7)

15 (51.7)

14 (48.3)

Method

Sharp trauma

Blunt trauma

Gunshot trauma

2 (33.3)

2 (33.3)

2 (33.3)

5 (50.0)

4 (40.0)

1 (10.0)

7 (43.8)

6 (37.5)

3 (18.8)

Location*

Head

Face

Neck

Thorax

Abdomen

Upper limbs

Lower limbs

0

0

3 (7.3)

0

1 (2.4)

4 (9.8)

0

5 (15.2)

6 (18.2)

5 (15.2)

6 (18.2)

2 (6.1)

7 (21.2)

2 (6.1)

5 (12.2)

6 (14.6)

8 (19.5)

6 (14.6)

3 (7.3)

11 (26.9)

2 (4.9)

Number

1

2-9

≥ 10

0

5 (83.3)

1 (16.7)

1 (11.1)

4 (44.4)

4 (44.4)

1 (6.7)

9 (60.0)

5 (33.3)

*These variables are not mutually exclusive

These lesions were mostly caused by sharp trauma (43.8%), followed by blunt

trauma (37.5%). The most frequent location of the wounds was the upper limbs (26.9%),



neck (19.5%) and thorax (14.6%). In 9 cases, 2 to 9 non-lethal wounds were found (60%).

Defense wounds were present in 8 cases (27.6%). None of the victims presented wounds

in a healing stage (which would suggest reiterated physical abuse), nor injuries related to

sexual assault.

Legal outcomes

All F-S cases were filed, as well as 2 cases in the F-SA group, due to death of the

defendant before the trial. However, in all these cases, there was enough evidence to

affirm that the perpetrator was, indeed, the current or former intimate partner of the victim.

From the remaining F-SA cases (n=12), 41.7% (n=5) of the convictions were given

at the Trial Court, 16.7% (n=2) at the Court of Appeal and 41.7% (n=5) at the Supreme

Court; in 1 case the perpetrator was convicted to security measures, while the remaining

perpetrators were convicted by the crime of murder: 41.7% (n=5) of qualified murder and

33.3% (n=4) of simple murder. In 25% (n=3) of the cases there were also convictions by

other crimes (illegal weapon possession and murder of other victims). Most perpetrators

were sentenced to between 10 to 15 years of prison (n=10, 83.3%) and 1 case to less

than 10 years.



DISCUSSION

This study examined 29 cases of intimate femicide that occurred during a 3-year

period, of which 15 were followed by the suicide and 14 by the suicide attempt of the

perpetrator.

The rate of perpetrator suicide in the context of homicide in intimate relationships

was 24.2%. Literature indicates worldwide rates that range from 18% to 40% [6].

Several findings of this study were similar to those of previous research on intimate

partner F-S, F-SA and H-S in general, namely: the age of the victim; the employment

status and history of alcohol abuse of the perpetrator in the F-SA group; the nature of the

relationship at the time of the event; the history of previous IPV; the place of the suicide

events; the alleged motivation; the method used for femicides and suicides; the location

and number of lethal lesions and the existence of defense wounds in the victims.

Characteristics of the victims, perpetrators and their intimate relationship

The average age of all victims in the present study was 44 years old, suggesting a

greater risk of this phenomenon for young women, which was also established in other

studies [6,11,12,18]. In both the F-S and F-SA groups the average age of the perpetrators

was 50 years old, which is consistent with information found on earlier research

[2,11,13,18]; however, 2 others studies on intimate partner F-S [6,19] - one conducted in

South Africa and another one in Australia - both found a bigger prevalence of young

perpetrators (under 40 years old), which could be explained by different demographics. In

contrast, a Portuguese study showed that males who committed isolated suicide were

usually older (specifically more than 65 years old) [20].

Studies show that most of the female victims were employed at the time of the

event [6,12,19], which was similar to this study (44.8%). Also, most perpetrators who

attempted suicide were employed (57.1%), confirming findings from previous data

[6,12,19]. Regarding the perpetrators who committed suicide, data was missing in 46.7%

of the cases, rendering it difficult to draw conclusions; however, a study showed that the

majority of males who commit suicide in Portugal do not have any economic activity [20].

In our study, 6.9% of the victims had a history of mental illness, but in 82.8% data

was missing so it was not possible to draw any conclusions. A previous study showed that

H-S are often characterized by a female victim without history of psychiatric disorder and

a male perpetrator who suffers from a depressive illness with personality disorder [10].

Regarding history of mental illness there was a total lack of information in reports for F-S

perpetrators. Among the perpetrators who attempted suicide, 35.7% had a history of

mental illness, which is considered a risk factor for intimate partner H-S [8,10,21] but also



for isolated suicide attempts [22]. Data show that psychiatric disease is present in 91% of

individuals who commit suicide [23] and that depression is more frequent among F-S

perpetrators, rather than in those who commit homicides alone [10].

Regarding history of substance (alcohol and/or drug) abuse, in the majority of the

cases (82.8%) there was no data regarding the victims and it was missing in all F-S

cases. Conversely, 28.6% of the F-SA’s perpetrators had a history of alcohol abuse, and

there was 1 case with records on alcohol and drug abuse, corroborating previous findings

that show that male alcohol abuse is a risk factor for H-S [10]. Studies also show,

however, that illicit drug abuse is not as prevalent in H-S as in homicide alone [8,10,12].

Previous research also revealed that drug abuse is a risk factor for isolated suicide

attempts [22].

Earlier studies show that the perpetrators’ easy access to guns is a major risk

factor for intimate partner femicide [6,12,24,25]. In this study, 58.6% of the perpetrators

were in the possession of firearms, which can partially be explained by their occupation

and activities. Legal possession was more prevalent in the F-S group (40%), while in the

F-SA group data was missing in most (64.3%) of the cases. In previous research, higher

rates of access to firearms by the perpetrators of F-S and F-SA were found (80.6% and

58.6%, respectively) [12] while another study demonstrated F-S perpetrators’ legal firearm

possession rates of 75% [6].

There was no data available about previous criminal records of the perpetrators

who committed suicide. On the F-SA group, a minority (n=3) had a criminal record, being,

in 1 case, related to IPV. This is consistent with studies that have been showing that the

perpetrators of F-S generally have a low rate of criminal behavior [8,26].

Most women were killed by their marital partners, including former or current

husbands (53.3% in the F-S group and 42.9% in the F-SA), as opposed to the remaining

non-marital partners, conclusions also drawn in other studies [12,14,19]. This was not

consistent with findings of a South-African study that shows a stronger likelihood of a

woman being killed by a non-marital partner in F-S events [6], which can be explained in

the light of different relationship lifestyles between countries. The fact that in 37.9% of the

cases the victims and the perpetrators had a former relationship show that a considerable

risk for H-S remains even after their separation; in fact, we found that in 2 F-S cases,

more than 10 years had passed since the end of the relationship. Regarding isolated

suicide cases, a Portuguese study showed that males who committed suicide are more

frequently divorced or widowed [20], which contrasts with our findings.

At the time of the event most victims from the F-S group (60%) didn’t cohabitate

with the perpetrator; the opposite was found in the F-SA group, with 57.1% of the cases

involving cohabitation. Our results are not in accordance with other data that shows that



intimate F-S is more common in cohabitating relationships [6,12]. Even so, a previous

study also showed a low prevalence of cohabitation (31%) at the time of the event in H-S

[27]. As a matter of fact, the lowest rates of this phenomenon occur in dating relationships

[6,12], and in the present study only 4 of these cases were found.

According to our findings, the length of the relationships was less than 10 years in

most cases (34.5%) where data was available. It is consistent, to some extent, with a

Chicago study that demonstrated that 50% of the female victims were in a relationship for

less than 2 years [24]. In the F-S group we found that in most cases (53.3%) there were

children in common; in the F-SA group there were no children in common in 50%. This

contrasts with findings of an Indian study that shows that the fact of not having children in

common was a risk factor for intimate partner physical and sexual abuse [28]. In both

groups, we found that underage children were living in the same household as the victim

at the time of the event in most of the cases (51.7%), data not consistent with previous

findings [12].

Most of the victims (55.2%) we studied had a history of previous IPV perpetrated

by the partner who committed the homicide, with similar numbers in both groups.

Comparable findings were also present in other studies, suggesting history of IPV as a

risk factor for F-S [10,27,29,30]. However, physical healing injuries suggestive of non-

recent IPV, or injuries related to sexual assault, were not found in the autopsy of any of

the victims.

Characteristics of the femicide and suicide’s circumstances and of the lethal and

non-lethal lesions of the victims and perpetrators

Studies show that there is a homicide peak during summer months and in the

weekend [31,32]; in our study, most fatal events on both groups took place during Spring

(31%), followed by Summer and Winter (24.1% each) and in the weekend (66.7%). It was

shown that male suicide in Portugal was more prevalent during the months from February

to August [20], a finding that we also confirm for the F-S group, with the most common

months being May and July.

The place of most of the events (femicide, suicide and suicide attempt) was the

house where the victim and the perpetrator both lived. It was shown in previous research

that a residence is also the most frequent location of isolated suicides [33]. However, one

study showed that H-S events occurred more frequently in either the victim or in the

perpetrator’s home [14], which was the second most frequent location found in our study.

Another study showed that most of the F-SA events occurred in the victim’s home, but

only in 29% of the F-S cases, with more than one-third of F-S occurring in a public place

[8]. A public place was the second most frequent location found in this study, both in F-S



and F-SA groups. In most cases in our study the suicide and the homicide took place in

the same location, data also found in another article [14].

Regarding the motivation, most of the events in the F-S group (50%) occurred due

to jealousy and sense of possessiveness by the perpetrator, corroborating previous

studies [7,8,12,14,34]. Other articles showed that the precipitating event was the fear of

abandonment by the perpetrator [35] and that the depression that follows a separation

may trigger the event [36]. In our study, separation or threat of separation was the second

most frequent motive found in the F-S cases (30%). Previous research showed that being

separated or divorced is a risk factor for isolated suicide attempts [22]. Regarding the F-

SA group, there was no predominance of a particular motive. We found only one case of

mercy killing (belonging to the F-SA group); other studies also found this phenomenon to

be a rare occurrence among the F-S events [14] and one case similar to ours was

reported in a Danish study [18].

Previous articles state that the existence of other mortal victims is not common in

intimate femicides [24,37]. We found 4 cases, most of them children. It was also found in

previous research that children are frequently killed in H-S events [14], being the second

most common victims [37], which is comparable with our findings. One of the possible

explanations for these deaths, all of them in the F-S group, can be a desire of the

perpetrator to not leave orphaned children behind.

Some studies define F-S as a premeditated and cautiously planned act [7,34],

supported by the existence of suicide notes and the fact that the suicide of the perpetrator

and the homicide of his intimate partner occur within a short time interval [7]. This is

confirmed in our study, where suicide notes were present in 40% of the cases, and the

period of time between the two occurrences was mostly very short (less than one hour in

60%). In two F-S cases, the perpetrator suffered from a known physical condition which

caused him substantial anxiety; this could be an additional factor contributing to the

perpetrator’s emotional strain, leading to the occurrence of the fatal events.

Most victims in the F-S group were killed by gunshot (73.3%), especially

handguns, whereas in the F-SA cases, sharp and chop trauma were more frequent (40%).

These findings are consistent with the ones of a previous study [8]. This difference in the

chosen method can be explained by the fact that the one used for the subsequent suicide

was also most frequently gunshot (73.3%). A study on suicide in Portugal demonstrated

that firearms were responsible for only 11.1% of the suicides on men [38], which is not in

accordance with our findings. The prevalent use of handguns in suicides was also

demonstrated in previous research [33] and the common use of firearms in suicides can

be explained by their very high lethality [39] and because it requires little preparation [40].

An European study on suicide methods demonstrated that suicides in Portugal had a



great proportion of jumping from a high place and a low proportion of using a moving

object [41]. We only found 1 case of suicide by jumping from a high place, involving a car

fall from a cliff; however, we did find 1 case of death by running against a moving train. In

78.6% of the cases the method of death used for the suicide and the homicide was the

same. The lower percentage of firearm use in the attempted suicides (28.6%) when

compared to the F-S group (73.3%) can be explained by their more impulsive nature as

opposed to the more carefully planned H-S events. Other methods may reflect this

inherent impulsivity; for example, we found 2 cases of attempted suicides by jumping in

front of moving vehicles. The method chosen may also reflect the underlying magnitude of

the suicidal intent; for instance, hanging (1 suicide attempt case in our study) carries a

high suicide mortality as opposed to cutting (2 in our study) [42].

In the F-SA group, most female victims were fatally injured in the thorax (45%),

while in the F-S group the most frequent location was the head (31.3%) as in the suicide

cases (38.5%), which is consistent with previous studies [43]. Various studies also

showed that head, face and thorax were the most common locations of fatal wounds on

female homicide victims [44,45], which can be explained by the fact that these anatomical

regions contain vital organs.

In 44.8% of the cases a single lethal lesion was found on the female victims. Our

findings were consistent with an study on female homicides that concluded that single

lesions were more frequent [44]. One Swedish study showed that the presence of more

than ten wounds (13.8% of the cases in our study) carried a lower probability that the

perpetrator and victim were strangers to each other [46]. Defense lesions were found in

27.6% of the cases, consistent with findings of a study on homicidal deaths in general

(33%) [45].

Legal outcomes

Few articles have been published on the role of forensic evidence on legal

outcomes. A South-African study on female homicides showed that police basic

investigations were the key factors for convictions, which were more likely when an a

murder weapon was found, a history of IPV was known, or when the woman was killed in

her home, and were achieved for nearly half of those prosecuted [47]. These figures

generally contrast with our research, in which every perpetrator who was alive at the time

of the trial was convicted.

The maximum prison sentence in Portugal is 25 years for qualified murder [48].

Most perpetrators were convicted of qualified (41.7%) and simple (33.3%) murder, and

sentenced to between 10 and 15 years of prison (83.3%), which is in accordance with the



Portuguese law. In only 1 case the perpetrator was considered inimputable and convicted

to security measures.

Limitations of the study, recommendations in intimate femicide-suicide cases and

further research

The major limitation of this study was the reduced number of cases available;

however, it was made based in a national setting (related to the population of Portugal)

and there is a lack of national studies in this matter. It was only possible to include cases

occurred until 2007 in order to obtain all records and legal documents necessary for the

study.

Another limitation was the lack of documented information on official police reports,

namely related to the history of substance abuse, mental illness, previous suicide

attempts, criminal records or family history of suicide, that precluded a thorough

characterization of the victims and perpetrators.

A fundamental method for the prevention of femicide-suicide is the availability of

mental health resources for abusive partners who are experiencing depression [12].

Earlier studies found that the men frequently didn’t receive appropriate treatment for

depression [49], or that the treatment alone was not sufficient [33].

The high prevalence of use of firearms in femicide-suicides shows the importance

of health workers’ training on anticipating these events in the presence of firearm

possession, especially in patients with mental illness [50]. Also, law restriction to firearms

is very important, particularly in those cases where there is an increased risk of H-S - for

example, when there’s a history of domestic violence or the subject has threatened to

commit suicide [1,12]. Stronger legislation on domestic violence may be an area of

intervention, with programs that help men dealing with separation and anger [1].

It would be interesting to study whether perpetrators in the F-S group had shown

previous attempts or a family history of a self-destructive act, both being risk factors for

suicide [51]. Although it would also be important to study more thoroughly the F-SA cases,

due to the difficulty in obtaining the data this was not possible. Future studies could focus

in these occurrences, and, for instance, see if there is a significant difference between

these and F-S events, or if they’re both variants of the same phenomenon.



CONCLUSIONS

The present study is the first national study on intimate partner femicide-suicide,

based in forensic autopsies and police records and proved by judicial decisions.

Our main conclusions were:

1. A total of 29 IPV-related femicide cases occurred during a 3-year period in

Portugal: 15 followed by suicide and 14 by a suicide attempt;

2. The rate of perpetrator suicide in the context of homicide in intimate

relationships was 24.2%;

3. Several of our findings were consistent with previous research on intimate

partner F-S, F-SA and H-S, specifically: the age of the victim; the employment

status and history of alcohol abuse of the perpetrator in the F-SA group; the

nature of the relationship at the time of the event; history of previous IPV; the

place of the suicide events; the alleged motivation; the method used for

femicides and suicides; the location and number of lethal lesions and the

existence of defense wounds in the victims;

4. Due to the lack of information it was difficult to draw conclusions, namely on

some of the perpetrators’ social, clinical and criminal aspects (history of

substance abuse, mental illness, criminal records, previous suicide attempts

and family history of suicide);

5. Some characteristics of the suicides after femicide and isolated suicides are

apparently not overlapping: the perpetrators of F-S are generally older,

employed, in a former or current marriage and not widowed, and commit suicide

by gunshot instead of jumping from a high place, unlike the perpetrators of

isolated suicides;

6. The profile of the victim of IPV related F-S is a young women (44 years old) and

employed; the perpetrator is, on average, 50 years old, employed and owns a

firearm; the perpetrator who attempts suicide has no previous criminal record, a

history of mental illness in 35.7% and of alcohol abuse in 28.6%;

7. The relationships were mostly marital, current, lasting less than 10 years, with

children in common and a history of previous IPV; in former relationships, more

than half of the events occurred less than 1 year after the separation;

8. Most of the suicides occurred shortly after the femicide and in 40% with a

suicide note; the fatal and non-fatal events frequently occurred in a residence,

triggered by jealousy and involving other mortal victims in 14%, most of them

children;



9. The suicides that follow a femicide were often a premeditated act;

10. The most common cause of death in the F-S group was gunshot trauma, for

victims and perpetrators, and both were most frequently fatally injured in the

head. The method of death, the location and the number of lethal lesions of the

perpetrator were usually the same of the respective homicide victim;

11. The method most commonly used for the suicide attempts was also gunshot

trauma, while the victim was mostly killed by sharp and chop trauma; victims

were typically injured in the head and the perpetrators in the neck;

12. Acute non-lethal IPV-related lesions were often found in the victims of the F-

SA group (64.3%);

13. None of the victims presented wounds suggestive of reiterated physical abuse

or sexual assault;

14. All the perpetrators alive at the time of the trial were convicted, most of them

by the crime of murder and sentenced to 10-15 years of prison.

Potential areas for intervention are the improvement of the availability of mental

health resources for abusive partners, an anticipation of these events in the presence of

firearm possession and its restriction, and a stronger legislation on domestic violence.



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work would not be possible without the help of many people.

I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Teresa Magalhães (MD, PhD), for all

the suggestions and invaluable assistance.

Deepest appreciation is also due to Dr. Ana Rita Pereira (MD), for her essential

guidance and availability to help.

I would also like to thank Dr. Maria João Alves and Dr. Ricardo Escada, for

facilitating all the bureaucratic work.

Special thanks are due to all the judicial employees whose help was fundamental

for obtaining all the data needed.

I am especially grateful to my family, friends and Artur for all the love, support and

understanding.

ETHICAL STANDARDS

All ethical issues were respected.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.



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Intimate Femicide-Suicide in Portugal

ANNEXES

Annex 1.

Writing rules for publication in the reference journal: International Journal of Legal

Medicine

Instructions for Authors

GUIDELINES FOR PUBLISHING POPULATION DATA

In 1997 Prof. Bernd Brinkmann formulated guidelines for the submission of manuscripts on short

tandem repeat (STR) population data (Brinkmann 1997). These earlier guidelines have now been

extended to include haploid DNA markers, i.e. mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosomal

polymorphisms.

For specific information, see the Short Communication “Publication of population data of linearly

inherited DNA markers in the International Journal of Legal Medicine” (Parson and Roewer 2010;

DOI 10.1007/s00414-010-0492-y) published online in Int J Legal Med in July 2010.

All forensic population genetics papers should always contain information on the description of the

population, ethical requirements and quality control. For mtDNA papers, previous acceptance of

the dataset in EMPOP is required; for YSTR and YSNP data, previous inclusion of the data in the

YSTR/YSNP database is required.

EMPOP database

YSTR/YSNP database

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

Manuscript Submission

Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before; that it

is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; that its publication has been approved by

all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – at the institute

where the work has been carried out. The publisher will not be held legally responsible should

there be any claims for compensation.

Permissions

Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published

elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and

online format and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their

papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.

Online Submission

Authors should submit their manuscripts online. Electronic submission substantially reduces the

editorial processing and reviewing times and shortens overall publication times. Please follow the

http://www.empop.org/

http://www.yhrd.org/



hyperlink “Submit online” on the right and upload all of your manuscript files following the

instructions given on the screen.

TITLE PAGE

Title Page

The title page should include:

The name(s) of the author(s)

A concise and informative title

The affiliation(s) and address(es) of the author(s)

The e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author

Abstract

Please provide an abstract of 150 to 250 words. The abstract should not contain any undefined

abbreviations or unspecified references.

Keywords

Please provide 4 to 6 keywords which can be used for indexing purposes.

TEXT

Text Formatting

Manuscripts should be submitted in Word.

Use a normal, plain font (e.g., 10-point Times Roman) for text.

Use italics for emphasis.

Use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages.

Do not use field functions.

Use tab stops or other commands for indents, not the space bar.

Use the table function, not spreadsheets, to make tables.

Use the equation editor or MathType for equations.

Save your file in docx format (Word 2007 or higher) or doc format (older Word versions).

Manuscripts with mathematical content can also be submitted in LaTeX.

LaTeX macro package (zip, 182 kB)

Headings

Please use no more than three levels of displayed headings.

Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter.

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Footnotes

Footnotes can be used to give additional information, which may include the citation of a reference

included in the reference list. They should not consist solely of a reference citation, and they should

never include the bibliographic details of a reference. They should also not contain any figures or

tables.

Footnotes to the text are numbered consecutively; those to tables should be indicated by

superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data).

Footnotes to the title or the authors of the article are not given reference symbols.

Always use footnotes instead of endnotes.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, etc. should be placed in a separate section before the

reference list. The names of funding organizations should be written in full.

REFERENCES

Citation

Reference citations in the text should be identified by numbers in square brackets. Some

examples:

1. Negotiation research spans many disciplines [3].

2. This result was later contradicted by Becker and Seligman [5].

3. This effect has been widely studied [1-3, 7].

Reference list

The list of references should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been

published or accepted for publication. Personal communications and unpublished works should

only be mentioned in the text. Do not use footnotes or endnotes as a substitute for a reference list.

The entries in the list should be numbered consecutively.

Journal article

Gamelin FX, Baquet G, Berthoin S, Thevenet D, Nourry C, Nottin S, Bosquet L (2009)

Effect of high intensity intermittent training on heart rate variability in prepubescent

children. Eur J Appl Physiol 105:731-738. doi: 10.1007/s00421-008-0955-8

Ideally, the names of all authors should be provided, but the usage of “et al” in long

author lists will also be accepted:

Smith J, Jones M Jr, Houghton L et al (1999) Future of health insurance. N Engl J Med

965:325–329



Article by DOI

Slifka MK, Whitton JL (2000) Clinical implications of dysregulated cytokine production. J

Mol Med. doi:10.1007/s001090000086

Book

South J, Blass B (2001) The future of modern genomics. Blackwell, London

Book chapter

Brown B, Aaron M (2001) The politics of nature. In: Smith J (ed) The rise of modern

genomics, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York, pp 230-257

Online document

Cartwright J (2007) Big stars have weather too. IOP Publishing PhysicsWeb.

http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/11/6/16/1. Accessed 26 June 2007

Dissertation

Trent JW (1975) Experimental acute renal failure. Dissertation, University of California

Always use the standard abbreviation of a journal’s name according to the ISSN List of Title Word

Abbreviations, see

www.issn.org/2-22661-LTWA-online.php

For authors using EndNote, Springer provides an output style that supports the formatting of in-text

citations and reference list.

EndNote style (zip, 2 kB)

Authors preparing their manuscript in LaTeX can use the bibtex file spbasic.bst which is included in

Springer’s LaTeX macro package.

TABLES

All tables are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.

Tables should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.

For each table, please supply a table caption (title) explaining the components of the

table.

Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a

reference at the end of the table caption.

Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for

significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the table body.

ARTWORK AND ILLUSTRATIONS GUIDELINES

For the best quality final product, it is highly recommended that you submit all of your artwork –

photographs, line drawings, etc. – in an electronic format. Your art will then be produced to the

http://www.issn.org/2-22661-LTWA-online.php

http://www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/SpringerBasicNumber.zip?SGWID=0-0-45-943237-0



highest standards with the greatest accuracy to detail. The published work will directly reflect the

quality of the artwork provided.

Electronic Figure Submission

Supply all figures electronically.

Indicate what graphics program was used to create the artwork.

For vector graphics, the preferred format is EPS; for halftones, please use TIFF format.

MS Office files are also acceptable.

Vector graphics containing fonts must have the fonts embedded in the files.

Name your figure files with "Fig" and the figure number, e.g., Fig1.eps.

Line Art

Definition: Black and white graphic with no shading.

Do not use faint lines and/or lettering and check that all lines and lettering within the

figures are legible at final size.

All lines should be at least 0.1 mm (0.3 pt) wide.

Scanned line drawings and line drawings in bitmap format should have a minimum

resolution of 1200 dpi.

Vector graphics containing fonts must have the fonts embedded in the files.



Halftone Art

Definition: Photographs, drawings, or paintings with fine shading, etc.

If any magnification is used in the photographs, indicate this by using scale bars within the

figures themselves.

Halftones should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.

Combination Art

Definition: a combination of halftone and line art, e.g., halftones containing line drawing,

extensive lettering, color diagrams, etc.

Combination artwork should have a minimum resolution of 600 dpi.

Color Art

Color art is free of charge for online publication.

If black and white will be shown in the print version, make sure that the main information

will still be visible. Many colors are not distinguishable from one another when converted to

black and white. A simple way to check this is to make a xerographic copy to see if the

necessary distinctions between the different colors are still apparent.



If the figures will be printed in black and white, do not refer to color in the captions.

Color illustrations should be submitted as RGB (8 bits per channel).

Figure Lettering

To add lettering, it is best to use Helvetica or Arial (sans serif fonts).

Keep lettering consistently sized throughout your final-sized artwork, usually about 2–3

mm (8–12 pt).

Variance of type size within an illustration should be minimal, e.g., do not use 8-pt type

on an axis and 20-pt type for the axis label.

Avoid effects such as shading, outline letters, etc.

Do not include titles or captions within your illustrations.

Figure Numbering

All figures are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.

Figures should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.

Figure parts should be denoted by lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.).

If an appendix appears in your article and it contains one or more figures, continue the

consecutive numbering of the main text. Do not number the appendix figures, "A1, A2, A3,

etc." Figures in online appendices (Electronic Supplementary Material) should, however, be

numbered separately.

Figure Captions

Each figure should have a concise caption describing accurately what the figure depicts.

Include the captions in the text file of the manuscript, not in the figure file.

Figure captions begin with the term Fig. in bold type, followed by the figure number, also

in bold type.

No punctuation is to be included after the number, nor is any punctuation to be placed at

the end of the caption.

Identify all elements found in the figure in the figure caption; and use boxes, circles, etc.,

as coordinate points in graphs.

Identify previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a

reference citation at the end of the figure caption.

Figure Placement and Size

When preparing your figures, size figures to fit in the column width.

For most journals the figures should be 39 mm, 84 mm, 129 mm, or 174 mm wide and not

higher than 234 mm.

For books and book-sized journals, the figures should be 80 mm or 122 mm wide and not

higher than 198 mm.



Permissions

If you include figures that have already been published elsewhere, you must obtain permission

from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online format. Please be aware that some

publishers do not grant electronic rights for free and that Springer will not be able to refund any

costs that may have occurred to receive these permissions. In such cases, material from other

sources should be used.

Accessibility

In order to give people of all abilities and disabilities access to the content of your figures, please

make sure that

All figures have descriptive captions (blind users could then use a text-to-speech software

or a text-to-Braille hardware)

Patterns are used instead of or in addition to colors for conveying information (color-blind

users would then be able to distinguish the visual elements)

Any figure lettering has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1

ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Springer accepts electronic multimedia files (animations, movies, audio, etc.) and other

supplementary files to be published online along with an article or a book chapter. This feature can

add dimension to the author's article, as certain information cannot be printed or is more

convenient in electronic form.

Submission

Supply all supplementary material in standard file formats.

Please include in each file the following information: article title, journal name, author

names; affiliation and e-mail address of the corresponding author.

To accommodate user downloads, please keep in mind that larger-sized files may require

very long download times and that some users may experience other problems during

downloading.

Audio, Video, and Animations

Always use MPEG-1 (.mpg) format.

Text and Presentations

Submit your material in PDF format; .doc or .ppt files are not suitable for long-term viability.

A collection of figures may also be combined in a PDF file.

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheets should be converted to PDF if no interaction with the data is intended.

If the readers should be encouraged to make their own calculations, spreadsheets should

be submitted as .xls files (MS Excel).



Specialized Formats

Specialized format such as .pdb (chemical), .wrl (VRML), .nb (Mathematica notebook), and

.tex can also be supplied.

Collecting Multiple Files

It is possible to collect multiple files in a .zip or .gz file.

Numbering

If supplying any supplementary material, the text must make specific mention of the

material as a citation, similar to that of figures and tables.

Refer to the supplementary files as “Online Resource”, e.g., "... as shown in the animation

(Online Resource 3)", “... additional data are given in Online Resource 4”.

Name the files consecutively, e.g. “ESM_3.mpg”, “ESM_4.pdf”.

Captions

For each supplementary material, please supply a concise caption describing the content of

the file.

Processing of supplementary files

Electronic supplementary material will be published as received from the author without any

conversion, editing, or reformatting.

Accessibility

In order to give people of all abilities and disabilities access to the content of your supplementary

files, please make sure that

The manuscript contains a descriptive caption for each supplementary material

Video files do not contain anything that flashes more than three times per second (so that

users prone to seizures caused by such effects are not put at risk)

INTEGRITY OF RESEARCH AND REPORTING

Ethical standards

Manuscripts submitted for publication must contain a declaration that the experiments comply with

the current laws of the country in which they were performed. Please include this note in a separate

section before the reference list.

Conflict of interest

Authors must indicate whether or not they have a financial relationship with the organization that

sponsored the research. This note should be added in a separate section before the reference list.

If no conflict exists, authors should state: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.



Animal Welfare

If applicable, the author attests that experiments conducted on animal subjects complied with all

applicable laws, regulations, and standards in the country where the studies were performed.

In general, it is expected that animal experimentation published in the International Journal of Legal

Medicine complies with prevailing standards in either the European Union or the United States.

European Union standards

United States standards

AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Upon acceptance of your article you will receive a link to the special Author Query Application at

Springer’s web page where you can sign the Copyright Transfer Statement online and indicate

whether you wish to order OpenChoice, offprints, or printing of figures in color.

Once the Author Query Application has been completed, your article will be processed and you will

receive the proofs.

Open Choice

In addition to the normal publication process (whereby an article is submitted to the journal and

access to that article is granted to customers who have purchased a subscription), Springer

provides an alternative publishing option: Springer Open Choice. A Springer Open Choice article

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publicly through Springer’s online platform SpringerLink.

Springer Open Choice

Copyright transfer

Authors will be asked to transfer copyright of the article to the Publisher (or grant the Publisher

exclusive publication and dissemination rights). This will ensure the widest possible protection and

dissemination of information under copyright laws.

Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author.

In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under the Creative Commons

Attribution License.

Offprints

Offprints can be ordered by the corresponding author.

Color illustrations

Online publication of color illustrations is free of charge. For color in the print version, authors will

be expected to make a contribution towards the extra costs.

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http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/tutorial/

http://springer.com/openchoice



Proof reading

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accuracy of the text, tables and figures. Substantial changes in content, e.g., new results, corrected

values, title and authorship, are not allowed without the approval of the Editor.

After online publication, further changes can only be made in the form of an Erratum, which will be

hyperlinked to the article.

Online First

The article will be published online after receipt of the corrected proofs. This is the official first

publication citable with the DOI. After release of the printed version, the paper can also be cited by

issue and page numbers.

SCIENTIFIC STYLE

Please always use internationally accepted signs and symbols for units, SI units.

Genus and species names should be in italics.

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INTIMATE FEMICIDE-SUICIDE IN PORTUGAL