Partnercide in Family Homicides: Anatomy of a Relational Trauma. ONOF Report from September 25th to October 1st, 2025
Abstract
This article analyzes the data on family crimes collected by the National Observatory on Family Homicides (ONOF) of AIPC Editore in the week from September 25th to October 1st, 2025, through the exclusive lens of relational psychotraumatology. It is important to state that, as specified in the methodological note of the reference document, the analyzed data are collected from articles published in newspapers and not from institutional sources. The ONOF's weekly column, curated by experts such as Dr. Tiziana Calzone, Dr. Caterina Ventura, and Dr. Massimo Lattanzi, delves deep. The analysis of victim and perpetrator profiles reveals specific patterns that, when interpreted from a psychotraumatological perspective, suggest that the homicidal act is not an isolated event, but the catastrophic outcome of chronically dysfunctional and traumatic relational systems. The variable of the couple relationship (Partner) forcefully emerges as the epicenter of risk, where the attachment bond transforms into a theater of mortal threat. The perpetrator's profile, a man in 100% of cases, often of mature age (50% in the 54-71 age group), suggests the implosion of unprocessed relational traumas over a lifetime. The analysis of the specific case of a double family homicide in Campobasso illustrates the total disintegration of the care system, highlighting the need for early interventions based on scientific protocols such as the A.S.V.S. (AIPC Scientific Violence Screening) to prevent fatal escalation.
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1. Introduction: Beyond the News, Inside the Relationship
The analysis of family crimes, as defined by A.I.P.C., goes beyond mere criminological classification to investigate the underlying dynamics that transform "familiarity" bonds – from acquaintanceship to kinship and affection – into contexts of lethal violence. The approach of the Italian Center for Relational Psychotraumatology (CIPR) and the Italian Association of Psychology and Criminology (AIPC), coordinated by Dr. Massimo Lattanzi and Dr. Tiziana Calzone, posits that such extreme acts are the culmination of a relational traumatic history.
This contribution aims to interpret the data from the week in question not as cold statistics, but as indicators of traumatic processes. The underlying hypothesis, in line with the studies of Panksepp, is that within these family systems, there is a chronic hyper-activation of the primary emotional systems related to threat (FEAR, RAGE) and a parallel hypo-activation of pro-social systems (CARE, PLAY), leading the individual to a state of emotional dysregulation that makes the homicidal act possible.
If you prefer to browse the weekly column's ebook, download it and read it whenever you want. Click on ONOF Report week September 25_October 1, 2025
2. The Victim's Profile: When the Bond of Care Becomes a Threat
The data reveals a victim profile with statistically high and alarming characteristics: she is a woman (60%), killed by her Partner (in 67% of cases where the victim is a woman and the relationship is with a partner/ex-partner), predominantly in Central Italy (67%).
From a psychotraumatological perspective, these data are devastating. The couple relationship, the archetype of the attachment and security system in adulthood, proves to be the context of maximum danger. This reversal transforms the attachment figure into a source of mortal threat, generating a complex and incurable trauma. The victim, before being such, was likely immersed in a cycle of relational violence (physical, psychological, emotional) that progressively eroded her defenses and her ability to perceive danger. The CARE system, which should provide comfort and safety, has been completely subverted and replaced by a chronic activation of the FEAR system. Homicide becomes, in this tragic light, the final act that confirms the impossibility of escaping a traumatic bond.
The weapon used, classified as "Other" in 100% of cases against female victims, which includes being run over or the use of fire and stones, reinforces the idea of an impulsive act, dominated by dysregulated rage, where the intent is not only to kill but to annihilate the object of one's unbearable psychic pain.
3. The Perpetrator's Profile: The Implosion of Unprocessed Trauma
The profile of the homicide perpetrator is even clearer: it is a man in 100% of the cases. The prevalent age is 54-71 years (50%) and the relationship with the victim is equally distributed between Partners and Relatives (both at 40%).
The gender data, absolute in this week, cannot be ignored. From a psychotraumatological perspective, it can be read as the result of cultural models that inhibit access to and processing of one's own vulnerabilities and traumas, especially in men. The inability to regulate overwhelming emotions (such as shame, helplessness, fear of abandonment) leads to a single, catastrophic outlet: the violent act. The RAGE system, no longer modulated by reflective processes or pro-social systems, takes over.
The mature age (54-71 years) suggests that the homicidal act is not the result of a recent conflict, but the final explosion of decades of unprocessed relational traumas, of chronic dysfunctional dynamics, of psychic pain that has accumulated until it became intolerable. The murder of a partner or relative represents the extreme and pathological attempt to eradicate the source of this pain, while simultaneously destroying one's own system of bonds.
4. Case Study: The Disintegration of the Family Nucleus in Campobasso
The case of the father in Campobasso who confessed to killing his wife and son, and seriously injuring his daughter, represents the quintessence of relational catastrophe. In line with the vision of ONOF and CIPR, this event cannot be dismissed as a "fit of madness." It is, on the contrary, the implosion of an entire family system, the point of no return in a spiral of trauma.
- From the perpetrator's point of view: The act of annihilating one's own family nucleus (partner and children) represents the physical destruction of one's internal world and attachment bonds. It is an act that signals the total failure of the ability to mentalize and regulate one's emotional state. The killing of the children, in particular, is the ultimate attack on the CARE system, the very denial of one's parental role, transformed from a source of life to a source of death.
- From the victims' point of view: The wife is a victim of partnercide. The children are victims twice: of direct violence and of the ultimate betrayal by the figure who should have protected them. The surviving daughter will carry an unimaginably severe complex trauma, which will require highly specialized psychotraumatological intervention to be even partially processed.
This case embodies the transgenerational transmission of trauma, where unresolved dysfunctional dynamics are acted out destructively, perpetuating the cycle of violence in its most extreme form.
Listen to the podcast on the AIPC Editore Channel on Spotify MIND|CRIME|TRAUMA "Partnercide in family homicides: Anatomy of a relational trauma. ONOF Report from September 25th to October 1st, 2025" click on the link:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/37EBWvHD79xY5V83yGzXbc?si=TWzOH6M3TKOqmXCPlozhEg
5. Conclusions: Preventing the Relational Catastrophe
The analysis of the data from the week of September 25th - October 1st, 2025, although limited to a short period, offers a powerful confirmation of the relational psychotraumatology paradigm. Family homicide emerges not as a bolt from the blue, but as the predictable outcome of histories of traumatic attachments, emotional dysregulation, and the failure of care systems. The overwhelming prevalence of partnercides committed by men highlights a critical area for intervention.
It is imperative to shift the focus from emergency management alone to structured prevention. Protocols like the A.S.V.S. (AIPC Scientific Violence Screening), which integrate clinical interviews, psychophysiological assessments, and psychotraumatological pathways, represent the main road forward. Intervening in dysfunctional relational dynamics before they reach a breaking point is the only effective strategy to prevent the bond that should give life from becoming the cause of death.
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Associations, organizations, professionals: if your mission is to combat relational trauma and violence, now is the time to join forces! AIPC (Italian Association of Psychology and Criminology) and CIPR (Italian Center for Relational Psychotraumatology) offer a specialized approach and advanced tools (such as biofeedback) for prevention, criminological analysis, and treatment.
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