A murder–suicide is an act in which an individual kills one or more other persons immediately before or at the same time as killing oneself. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms, including:

• Murder which entails suicide, such as driving a car with one or more passenger(s) off a bridge or suicide bombing;
• Suicide after murder to escape punishment;
• Suicide after murder as a form of self-punishment due to guilt;
• Joint suicide in the form of killing the other with consent, and then killing oneself;
• Murder before suicide with the intent of preventing future pain and suffering of others including family members and oneself, such as a parent killing their children before ending their own life;
• Murder followed by suicide by a mentally unstable person;
• Murder to prevent an individual from causing harm to others, leading to suicide.