Homicide Witness | Victimization

People who wit ness th e murder of an individual, whether a family member or acquaintance, often experience their loss as a psychic trauma. This describe trauma is revealed by the symptom complex defined in the DSM-IlI-R as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Children, in particular, frequently suffer from debilitating grief, which hinders their emotional and cognitive development. This grief may masquerade as a learning disability, hyperactivity, or an attention deficit disorder. Witnessing murder and being victimized (i.e , rape incest , and physical abuse) are equivalent experiences in their potential for generating massive intrapsychic conflict. Being poor is a predisposing factor which puts some groups at risk more than others. Further, the lack of therapeutic interventions enhances the likelihood of symptomatology and the perpetuation of intergenerational transmission. Few case reports have bee n written on the homicide witnesses' vulnerability to PTSD...

Abstract

Examinations of homicide have used both micro and macro level data to account for the interaction between victims and offenders. Missing from such analyses, however, is an examination of the role of witnesses or third parties present at homicide events. These individuals may play a variety of roles in homicide events including instigating, mediating, escalating, or facilitating fatal violence. Using St. Louis homicides for the years 1985–1989, this study provides a classification scheme for the roles of witnesses in homicide events...