'Till death do us part’: an integrated approach to identify predictors of intimate partner homicide and femicide

This research aims to explore the factors associated with a lethal outcome in cases of intimate partner violence. We used four hypotheses – offender characteristics, victim vulnerabilities, environmental context, and crime escalation – to theoretically frame this study. The sample used in this study consists of 1485 cases of attempted or completed intimate partner homicide that occurred in the province of Quebec, Canada. Bivariate analysis as well as sequential binary regressions and conjunctive analysis of case configurations were computed. Findings showed that all four of these hypotheses were valid in explaining the lethal outcome of IPV, and they interacted with each other in complex ways. Results also revealed that the overall theoretical pattern held true, but there were some specific differences. From a theoretical standpoint, this study offers an initial empirical examination of the role and interplay of different theoretical approaches in explaining cases of completed intimate partner homicide.