The study examines developmental processes in criminal homicides and assaults that are not committed in conjunction with other offenses (e.g., robbery and rape). A procedure for analyzing official reports identifies actors, actions, and targets of these actions in the sequence in which they occur. The implications of the principle of retaliation for these incidents is discussed. The findings suggest three stages in homicides and assaults. Verbal conflict is the first stage in which identities are attacked and attempts to influence an antagonist fail. The second stage involves threats and evasive action. Mediation, when it occurs, tends to occur at this point. Instigation of the conflict may occur during either the first or second stage. The third stage involves physical attack. Retaliation appears to be a key principle. Aggressive actions on the part of the victim are associated with aggressive actions by the offender. In addition, an aggressive victim is more likely to be killed than a nonaggressor. The victim's behavior appears to be important in determining the outcome of these violent incidents. In fact, all the differences between homicide and assault are related to the victim. Victims in primary relations are more likely to be killed. The possession of a weapon by the victim results in a greater likelihood of homicide. Moreover, intoxication on the part of the victim increases the probability of homicide, while the intoxication of the offender does not. In both homicides and assaults third parties are more likely to participate as antagonists than as mediators. When third parties do attempt to mediate, they do not appear to affect whether or not the victim is killed. This research suggests that these violent offenses reflect both strategic and identity concerns. The moderately strong relationship between identity attack and identity counterattack supports the notion that altercasting a person into a negative situational identity results in retaliatory actions that attempt to reinstate favorable identity. Social structure may have an impact on criminal violence, not only because it affects individual socialization, but also because it affects situational factors related to aggression and its escalation. Tabular data and 25 references are appended.