[MURDER STEMMING FROM INSANITY: DEMOGRAPHIC, CRIMINAL, PSYCHIATRIC AND FORENSIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PERPETRATORS]

Violence among individuals with mental disorders and murder while in a psychotic state have been studied extensively worldwide.

To examine the socio-demographic, psychiatric, criminal, forensic and other characteristics of people who committed murder in Israel and were not prosecuted for reasons of insanity. This is the largest such study to date conducted in Israel.

The files (medical and legal documents) of all patients (N=80) hospitalized in the maximum-security division of Sha'ar Menashe Mental Health Center by court order following murder, were examined.

Ninety percent of the participants were diagnosed with schizophrenia and 70% had prior psychiatric hospitalizations before committing murder. Most participants had documented substance abuse and previous violence stemming from mental disorders and did not regularly attend psychiatric follow-ups or take medication between hospitalizations. The motives were usually paranoid delusions. The victims were generally known to the killer, usually family members, and most perpetrators remained at the scene after the murder.

Therapeutic sequence and preventive actions should be implemented in the treatment of this high-risk group.

Findings delineate characteristics of homicide perpetrators stemming from mental disorders, from which a risk group may be described.