Homicide between Inpatients in a Mental Institution Ward

Although violence in psychiatric hospital wards is of increasing concern, homicide is a rare event. Among the exceptions is a chronic schizophrenic patient, who murdered a fellow demented inpatient. Overcrowding, staff organization, and poor compliance with therapy are among the known risk factors for violence occurring in this case. A further precipitating circumstance was a period of legal uncertainty in Italy owing to a change in the law.