Influence of the alcohol intoxication and type of alcoholic beverage on the features of homicide

Alcoholic intoxication is closely connected to homicide. Features of alcohol consumption vary greatly in the regions of Russia. Aim of the article - to study the influence of the state of intoxication and the type of alcoholic beverages on the characteristics of murders. Materials and Methods. We analyzed 485 murders committed by 504 killers (men - 406, women - 98) in Chuvashia in 2011-2020 and passed a forensic psychiatric examination in the Republican Psychiatric Hospital of Cheboksary. The age of the killers ranged from 15 to 83 years (mean age 35.8±13.4 years). Clinical-social and forensic-psychiatric indicators were taken into account. Mathematical and statistical processing was carried out using descriptive statistics and χ2 -distribution using the SPSS program. Results. 82.9% were in a state of alcoholic intoxication at the time of the murder, including 12.2% in a mild degree, 83.3% in an average degree, and 4.5% in a severe degree. In women, a mild degree of intoxication was more often observed, while in men it was medium. In 94% of cases, homicide were committed in three ways: with the help of piercing objects (61.3%), by beating (“blunt object”) (19.8%) and strangulation (12.9%). The victims were acquaintances (50%), spouses (22.8%), relatives (15.7%), strangers (6.3%) and children (5.2%). Predominantly strong alcoholic beverages (mainly vodka) were used by 60.1% of the aggressors before the murder, alcohol surrogates - 32.5%, only beer - 5.5%, fortified wine (port wine) - 1.9%. Those who used strong alcoholic beverages and surrogates were more often in moderate and severe intoxication, and beer and wine were in light (100% of their victims were intoxicated). Among the beer drinkers there were more young and mentally healthy individuals, women and city dwellers. Wine drinkers were more likely to live in rural areas and suffer from mental retardation. Criminals suffering from alcohol addiction, compared with other groups of murderers, were more often in a severe degree of intoxication. They more often killed their acquaintances by strangulation, who themselves were in a state of extreme intoxication. 73% were in a state of simple alcohol intoxication; dysphoric variant was observed in 18.7% of killers, paranoid - in 3.4%, alcohol intoxication with hysterical features - in 4.9%. Alcohol surrogates were significantly more often accompanied by a dysphoric form of intoxication and intoxication with hysterical features, and the use of beer and wine by aggressors less often led to altered patterns of intoxication. The paranoid form was more often observed in patients with alcohol dependence, the dysphoric form - in organic mental disorders (MD) and comorbid MD, the usual form of intoxication - in mentally healthy subjects; intoxication with hysterical traits was significantly more often found in aggressors with comorbid MD. In a state of intoxication, murders were significantly more often committed by patients with alcoholism, mental retardation, and comorbid MD; patients with schizophrenia and mentally healthy people were more sober. The group of criminals who committed murders while intoxicated more often had a hereditary burden, criminal experience, repeated convictions (including for murders and grievous bodily injuries with a fatal outcome); they killed their acquaintances more often. The aggressors, who were in a sober state when committing murders, were more often recognized as insane, sent to a stationary examination, committed so-called post-homicidal suicides, killed fathers and children, and killed two or more victims. Among the sober killers were more minors and people with higher education. Conclusion. The study confirmed the significant role of alcohol intoxication, its degree and form, in the commission of murders, which depends on the dose of alcohol consumed and the type (quality) of the drink. The formation of violent behavior that ended in death is influenced by the presence of MD and their structure, gender, age, criminal experience and organic brain deficiency of the offender. The victims of murders are most often acquaintances of the aggressor (drinking buddies), who at the time of the crime are often also intoxicated, which increases the risk of conflict and its fatal outcome.