The relationship between schizophrenia and homicide is complex and cannot be reduced to a simple causal link.

The objectives of this study were to describe the characteristics of homicide in Moroccan patients suffering from schizophrenia and to determine the correlated socio-demographic, clinical and toxic variables.

The study included two groups of patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia who attended the “Ibn Nafis” university psychiatric hospital of Marrakech in Morocco. The first group was composed of 30 patients hospitalized for homicide in the forensic unit between the first January 2005 and the 31st of August 2015. The second group included 90 patients without any criminal record. These two groups have been matched according to age and gender. Demographic, clinical and therapeutic variables were analyzed and compared between the two groups.

The mean of age in the first group was 37.03 and in the second group was 31.4. No significant difference was found between the two groups regarding the different socio-demographic variables and the age of onset of disease. Significant difference was found between the two groups regarding: personal antecedents of attempt of homicide a (P < 0.003), personal antecedents of attempt of suicide (P < 0.001), a history of previous violence (P = 0.005), untreated psychosis before the act (P < 0.001) poor medication compliance and a low familial support (P < 0.001), antisocial behavior (P < 0.001), addictive behavior (P = 0.007).

Awareness of these factors will allow us to provide improved prevention of violence within schizophrenic subjects.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.