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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Police agencies in the Phoenix area have responded to at least seven murder-suicides since March 30. One forensic psychologist believes some of these acts of violence may have similarities.
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The incidents have crossed the Valley, from Mesa, Phoenix, Glendale and Surprise. Victims have included spouses, children and non-family members.
But John Delatorre, who is a forensic psychologist, says in many cases the killer is someone who had planned a suicide but for some reason could not go through with it; instead, they committed a separate act of violence. The suicide may be a way to avoid the consequences of the murder.
Delatorre says there is a contagion effect, which prompts people to go through with murder-suicides after they have seen others commit them.
“It’s this weird phenomena where when someone sees someone else do an act, so therefore they believe themselves now OK, they have given themselves the green light to engage in a very similar act. So mass murders we see like this. Suicides we often see like this where there’s this element of a contagion effect, it just kind of spreads out,” said Delatorre on this week’s episode of True Crime AZ Live.
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Delatorre also said there is no indication that the number of murder-suicides overall is increasing, although it is common to see temporary increases.
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