Intimates, acquaintances or strangers? Profiling the victim–offender relationship in homicides through offenders’ behavioural patterns

Abstract

Aims

This study examined behavioural heterogeneity across three victim–offender relationship categories in a non-Western context to determine whether specific patterns can accurately predict intimate/family, acquaintance/friend and stranger homicides.

Methods

Analysing a nationwide sample of 419 homicide cases (2000–2022) sourced from China Judgements Online, the research employed multinomial and binary logistic regression to investigate these relational dynamics by examining demographic characteristics, situational factors and crime scene patterns.

Results

The results suggested that stranger homicides were behaviourally distinct from non-stranger cases, characterized by instrumental motives and predatory opportunism. However, while intimate/family and acquaintance/friend homicides demonstrated a degree of behavioural homogeneity, they can be effectively differentiated through four antecedent factors.