While intimate partner violence, physical and emotional abuse, and family violence have been extensively studied, there has been relatively little attention paid to the influence of mental illness on instances of intimate partner violence. The current retrospective study examined mental illness, intellectual functioning, psychoactive substance use, and the presence of setting circumstances in the commission of 28 intimate partner homicides. All 28 individuals were forensically evaluated patients seen during 10 years of clinical experience in Tennessee for a heterosexual intimate partner homicide. A retrospective case review methodology was employed. Results indicated a wide range of educational and intellectual attainment, as well as a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses that included schizophrenia and psychotic disorders. Prior abuse of the victim was common and the use of firearms was more common among female perpetrators than among male perpetrators. The findings suggest the need for vigilance among psychiatric practitioners seeing dyads where risk factors are present. References