Why Men Kill Women Is Not A Mystery

[Recursion]

16. A British criminologist identified four archetypes of male family annihilators

(Female family annihilators exist -- they're about 40% of the cases studied -- but do not fit these archetypes, and almost never kill their partners, only their children.)

1. "Self-righteous". This man holds his victim responsible for a perceived breakdown in the family.

2. "Disappointed". This is generally "honor killing", so-called.

3. "Anomic". The killer kills his family to hide his failures from them.

4. "Paranoid". The killer kills his family to "protect" them.

All four types are an extension of some aspect of the patriarchy: the family is seen as an extension only of the father's persona, particularly wives and daughters (sons are the most likely child not to be killed in all cases). The self-righteous and disappointed killers consider their judgment of their families more important than their families' lives. The anomic killer is in some ways the most horrifying, to me; they apparently rationalize the act to themselves as "well, they wouldn't be able to live with themselves if they knew I had these debts" (or whatever). And the anomic killers are the least likely to commit suicide in the process.