8 coercive control stages to murder of partner

Women account for more than 80% of victims killed by their partners - and most of the time, the partner [killer] is male.

Study ... looked at all cases on the Counting Dead Women website where the woman had had a relationship with the perpetrator - as well as several extra cases such as those of male victims killed by their male partners.

The eight steps discovered in almost every killing were:

1. A pre-relationship history of stalking or abuse by the perpetrator
2. The romance developing quickly into a serious relationship
3. The relationship becoming dominated by coercive control
4. A trigger to threaten the perpetrator's control - for example, the relationship ends or the perpetrator gets into financial difficulty
5. Escalation - an increase in the intensity or frequency of the partner's control tactics, such as by stalking or threatening suicide
6. The perpetrator has a change in thinking - choosing to move on, either through revenge or by homicide
7. Planning - the perpetrator might buy weapons or seek opportunities to get the victim alone
8. Homicide - the man kills his partner, and possibly hurts others such as the victim's children

The only instance where a stage in the model was not followed was when men did not meet stage one - but this was normally because they had not had a relationship before, she said.