Murder of Older Women

• In Event: Roundtable: When Men Murder Women

Abstract

We first consider the sparse research regarding the murders of older women and then present evidence from the Murder Study. Of the adult women victims, 40 (17%) were age 65+. Twenty one were sexual - 19 involved a burglary. Two thirds were committed by an acquaintance, the remainder by a stranger. Sex murders were committed by strangers, burglaries mostly by men “acquainted” to the victim. However, circumstances were similar, the murders: occurred in the woman’s home after a break-in; many perpetrators were drunk; few were intent on murder but when the woman reacted the assault they “changed the project” and used brutal violence. The ages of the women ranged from 65 to 89 and nearly three-quarters of the 80+ women were killed during a sexual murder. The lifecourse of these men usually involved a childhood characterized by problems in their family, disrupted care, early onset of offending, drinking, problems at school and for a few violent behaviour. As adults, most were undereducated, unemployed, had problems with alcohol, sexual problems, and extensive criminal careers – often involving sexual violence. Overall, the murderers of older women were the most dissipated of all the murderers.

Author

• Russell P. Dobash, University of Manchester