MURDER-SUICIDE - AN EXTENDED SUICIDE

The author reviews the syndrome of murder-suicide, focusing particular ly on the jealous-paranoia type. After touching upon statistical data and psychoanalytical, sociological, and psychiatric theories, he propo ses that a better name for this syndrome would be extended suicide. Th e author contends that the murderer acts primarily out of a realistic sense of loss, which might be, at times, compounded by psychological a nd sociological factors. In his view, the aggressor/killer is unable t o accept the failure of what he thought was a good and satisfactory re lationship. The killer is viewed as a fragile, dependent, ambivalent, aggressive individual who hides behind a facade of self-assertion, and is unable to withstand the reality of an unexpected rejection and, po ssibly, a drastic life change. He commits suicide after killing his ex tended Self.