When you think about murder, what are the words and images that come to your mind:
...horror, death, tragedy, blood, crime scenes, attacks, weapons, strangers...
How many of us picture being assaulted by a masked stranger? Shot in an armed robbery? Attacked by a mugger in a dark alley?
Sadly, these are not the most common types of murder. According to statistics from the Bureau of Justice, the victim and offender were strangers in only 14 percent of all murders between 1976 and 2005. Did you get that? Go back and read it again. Only 14 percent.
It is actually far more common to be murdered by someone you know. More than half of all murders are committed by a spouse, family member, or aquaintance.
The victim/offender relationship is undetermined in more than one-third of homicides.
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