WITNESSED SUICIDES

Suicides that take place in the presence of others have not been the t opic of systematic scientific inquiry. The so-called witnessed suicide s account for a small percentage of all suicides but offer a unique vi ew into the dynamics of self-destructive behavior. An epidemiologic an d forensic description of 50 witnessed suicides drawn from a 15-year s eries of over 1,000 cases is presented. A taxonomy is developed based on the role played by the witness and related to previous work on self -destructive behavior and its motivation. Brief vignettes are used to illustrate some of the interpersonal dynamics associated with these de aths.