Criminologists identify family killer characteristics

BBC News reports: Men who kill their families can be separated into four distinct types.

British criminologists have made the assessment after studying newspaper records of "family annihilator" events over the period from 1980 to 2012.

A family break-up was the most common trigger, followed by financial difficulties and honour killings.
Writing in the Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, the team lists the four types as self-righteous, anomic, disappointed, and paranoid.

Each category has slightly different motivations and many cases also have a hidden history of domestic abuse. In four out of five cases the murderers went on to kill themselves or attempted to do so.

The research revealed the most frequent month for the crime was in August, when fathers were likely to be with their children more often because of school holidays.

Read more here to uncover the four types of family killer.