Deviant Homicide: A New Look at the Role of Motives and Victim-Offender Relationships

Like all crimes, homicide has a normative character. That is, homicide is characterized by a certain level of social organization that creates routine expectations about the “appropriate” combination of motives and victim offender relationships, as well as situational characteristics. Previous homicide research has found that stranger violence most often has an instrumental motive, whereas homicides within primary relationships are expressive in nature. Using data from homicide events in St. Louis, nonnormative or deviant homicides are examined. These events are of particular relevance to understanding homicide and public reactions to homicide.