Abstract
During the 25-year period 1946–1970, 21 criminal homicides occurred in Iceland, that is 0.07% of all deaths in the country. This rate is very low compared to other countries, even neighbours in the North Atlantic such as Greenland. The 21 homicides involved 18 incidents and 19 known perpetrators; only one killing is unsolved. The motives and the methods of the killings are listed. In all but one case the victims and the perpetrators were known to one another. In 26% of the cases the offender committed or tried to commit suicide. Alcohol is of great importance in homicidal criminality in Iceland as 77% of the cases involved persons under the influence of alcohol. A short historical review of homicide in Iceland is presented and it is stressed that the latest known case of infanticide occurred in the nineteen-twenties.
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