Murdered Elder Indigenous Women and Legal Outcomes

This qualitative descriptive analysis examines 33 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women aged 50 years and older. The cases encompassed single murders, multiple murders, and mass stabbing events. The study found that the offender was known and/or identified in the majority of cases, with a s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of interpersonal violence Vol. 40; no. 11-12; pp. 2700 - 2730
Main Authors: Burgess, Ann W., Petreca, Victor, Brucato, Gary, Hoblock, Courtney, Mars, Mak, Lamade, Raina V., Dowdell, Elizabeth B.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2025
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Alcohol abuse
Crime Victims - legislation & jurisprudence
Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data
Criminal pleas
Criminals - legislation & jurisprudence
Criminals - statistics & numerical data
Drug abuse
Female
Homicide
Homicide - ethnology
Homicide - legislation & jurisprudence
Homicide - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Indigenous peoples
Juries
Law enforcement
Male
Mental disorders
Middle Aged
Murders & murder attempts
Offenders
Sex crimes
Sexual violence
Substance abuse
Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology
Suicide
Victim offender relations
Victims
Violence
Women
sexual homicide
financial gain
domestic violence
familial violence
alcohol and drugs
elder abuse
ISSN:0886-2605, 1552-6518, 1552-6518
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This qualitative descriptive analysis examines 33 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women aged 50 years and older. The cases encompassed single murders, multiple murders, and mass stabbing events. The study found that the offender was known and/or identified in the majority of cases, with a significant portion resulting in guilty pleas or jury convictions. However, a notable portion of cases remained unsolved or ended with the offender’s suicide. Alcohol and/or illicit substance abuse was prevalent; known substance abuse history was identified in victim and/or offender for nearly 70% of cases. Most murders occurred off tribal land and were perpetrated by men, typically younger than their victims, with some form of relationship to them. Themes for the resolved cases varied, including familial violence, sexual violence, and financial gain. The findings underscore the need for intervention strategies such as addressing substance abuse in adolescence, intervening early in relationship conflicts, training law enforcement in elder sexual homicide investigations, and providing clinical care for mental illness in cases involving family and partners. Additionally, the study highlights the necessity for a national database to track homicides involving elder Indigenous women, facilitating more effective prevention and response efforts.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
content type line 23
ISSN:0886-2605
1552-6518
1552-6518
DOI:10.1177/08862605241280084