Today in El Diario: Murder-Suicides More Common Among Men Than Women
Women who kill the entire family much rarer than men
Murder-suicides and multiple murders are common among victims of domestic violence and their abusers, according to experts interviewed by Spanish-language daily.
The news comes shortly after Lashonda Armstrong, 25, drove her car into the Hudson River, killing herself and three of her children, the paper notes. Only her 10 year-old son, who escaped through a window and swam to shore, survived.
There is not a lot of research on multiple murders and murder-suicides in relation to domestic violence, because a lot of abuse is not reported, Mireia Cruz, director of "New Dawn" program, told the paper.
Cruz, who has been in domestic violence prevention for 20 years, said murder-suicides and multiple murders are more common among men. That's because male abusers tend not to reflect upon their actions, according to the newspaper.
"They kill the whole family," she told the paper. "They end it thinking: This is mine, and if I'm not going to have it, nobody is."
Women, on the other hand, have a maternal instinct, so they focus on protecting the family. This might explain why fewer women commit murder-suicides and multiple murders, she told El Diario.
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