Child homicide in Oklahoma: a continuing public health problem

Homicide is a leading manner of injury to cause death in children. To assess this phenomenon in Oklahoma, the demographic characteristics and causes of death of the victims of child homicide in Oklahoma have been reviewed. One hundred eleven consecutive cases of homicide in children less than age 13 years were reviewed and the demographic characteristics of the victims were analyzed. The majority of homicides occurred in Tulsa and Oklahoma Counties (55.8%). The ratio of male to female victims was approximately equal. The races of the victims were 66.6 percent White, 24.3 percent Black, 8.1 percent Native American and 0.9 percent Asian. The most common cause of death was head injury (45.9%). An unexpected finding was that in 23.4 percent of cases, an additional fatality occurred in the family due to family violence. This fatality involved either suicide of the perpetrator or homicide of a sibling. These findings indicate a continuing family violence problem in Oklahoma.