Policy and Reports
Statistics
Between 2009 and 2016 in Utah:
- There were 84 incidents of intimate partner-related homicide, where the suspect is a current or former intimate partner
- Among these cases, approximately half (49%) were murder-suicide cases—where the homicide suspect died by suicide after murdering their current or former intimate partner
- 59.9% of victims were female (Note: 85.9% of all homicide victims were female)
- 23% of homicide suspects threatened use of weapons prior to the homicide
- Escalation in violence prior to the homicide was evident in 26% of the cases
- 39% of perpetrators had a criminal domestic violence history
- In 44% of the cases, one or both individuals involved had financial problems prior to the incident
- A known intimate partner violence history was reported to authorities by friends, family, neighbors, etc., in 54% of the cases
- 44 children were directly exposed to the intimate partner violence incidents (i.e., saw it, heard it, or discovered the body)
Source: Utah Department of Health, Violence and Injury Prevention Program
Reports
Statewide domestic violence statistics are tracked by Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ). Utah Department of Health’s Violence and Injury Prevention Program (VIPP) also collects and reports statewide data specific to domestic and intimate partner violence fatalities.
Note: Some data is not collected on an annual basis.