Data collected by precinct detectives were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods within the context of the literature on the illegal drug business, female homicide victims, and women and drugs. The analysis also used Goldstein's framework, which characterizes drug- related crimes in three ways: (1) psychopharmacological, (3) economic-compulsive, and (3) systemic. Results revealed that the female victims were murdered mainly within the context of the drug business by a husband, boyfriend, or drug dealer. This systemic violence resulted form the normally aggressive patterns of interaction within the systems of drug use and distribution. The victims were classified as cocaine-crack addicts working in the drug business, relatives of cocaine-crack addicts, or robbery victims of cocaine-crack addicts. Findings indicated that drug-oriented relationships, not always outside the family, are increasingly important in understanding homicides involving female victims. Findings also revealed the importance of social circumstances surrounding the homicide, as well as the drug-relatedness of the event, for understanding the relationship between drugs and violence against women. 61 references (Author abstract modified)