Homicides of women are a relevant phenomenon but one that has not yet been adequately documented in Germany. In particular, the specific crime of femicide has hardly been studied in medical and legal research to date. The term was introduced by Diana Russell in 1974 (Federal Criminal Police Office, Bundeskriminalamt 2017) and later comprehensively defined in the social sciences (Bundeskriminalamt 2016). Current demands by international organizations, such as the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), and by researchers in the field of femicide are aimed at achieving a uniform recording and definition (Aldridge and Browne 2003; Belfrage and Rying 2004; Bundeskriminalamt 2018). As part of this retrospective analysis, 28 cases of female homicide victims from the autopsy records of the Institute of Legal Medicine in Greifswald (2004–2020) were examined, taking forensic, criminal and psychiatric documentation into account. The aim was to qualitatively classify femicides, perpetrator characteristics and forensically relevant methods of committing the crime. The most common types of homicide were blunt force trauma (29.6%), neck compression (25.9%) and sharp force trauma (11.1%). In 18.5% of cases there was overkill. Femicide according to the EIGE definition (2022) was identified in 18 cases, almost exclusively by (ex)partners. In more than half of these cases, domestic violence was already known according to witness statements. Mental health issues were identified in 63% of perpetrators, in particular alcohol dependence and affective disorders. In 22.2% of cases, there was an extended suicide. The most frequent court convictions were for manslaughter (section 212 of the German Criminal Code), bodily harm resulting in death (section 227 of the German Criminal Code) or murder (section 211 of the German Criminal Code), whereby the criminal responsibility was sometimes restricted. The results highlight the need for interdisciplinary, systematic recording of femicides for prevention and legal processing.
