Journal of Psychiatry

Toxicology in suicides and homicide-suicides

Euro Global Summit and Medicare Expo on Psychiatry

July 20-22, 2015 Barcelona, Spain

Carrie M Carretta1, Ann W. Burgess2 and Michael Welner3

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Psychiatry

Abstract:

Gaps in crises of mental health include differentiating between various types of lethal violence of people who suicide and those who murder and then kill themselves and the role, if any, that substance use has in the outcome. In this study, a sample of medical examiner investigative and toxicology reports from Los Angeles and Orange counties in California were available for analysis for 432 suicide cases and 193 homicide-suicide cases. Variables examined in the analysis included toxicology reports, cause of death, type of weapon used, race, age, sex of perpetrators and victims, and location of the homicide. Significant differences noted were levels of alcohol were higher in suicide victims than homicide-suicide perpetrators (p=.004). Homicide-suicide perpetrators had almost twice the level of stimulants in their system than suicide victims (p = .022) but did not have elevated levels of drugs or alcohol compared to suicide deaths.