Homicide by sharp force in two Scandinavian capitals

In the Oslo and Copenhagen capital areas, 141 homicides by sharp force were committed in the ten-year period 1985-1994. This method accounted for 33% of the homicides in this period. Thirty-five percent of the victims were fe male, and most of the victims were between 20 and 50 years of age. The majo rity of the male victims were killed by an acquaintance, the females by the ir spouse. Sixty-five percent of the male and 37% of the female victims had alcohol in their blood. The majority of the female victims had lesions in 3-4 anatomical regions, while the males most often had lesions in only one anatomical region. Seventy-nine percent of the females and 36% of the males had self-defence injuries in the upper extremities. In 21 cases (15%) the offender was a woman, 19 of their victims being male; the weapon in these c ases was most often a kitchen knife. Seventy-eight percent of the females a nd 49% of the males were killed in their own home. The most common circumst ance was family row when the victim was female, while a fight was the most common circumstance when the victim was male. Three offenders committed sui cide after having committed homicide(s) (seven victims; three offenders). ( C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.