The epidemiology of abnormal homicide and murder followed by suicide.

A comparison of the homicide rate of mentally abnormal offenders and murderers who subsequently commit suicide, from a range of different populations, shows a uniform consistency when compared with the overall rates. 'Laws' are proposed which govern the rates within these subgroups in comparison with the population as a whole and which determine fluctuations. Qualitatively different psychiatric and sociological factors are thought to account for these findings and require further elucidation.