Reproductive age women are over-represented among perpetrators of husband-killing

Younger women, relative to older women, incur elevated risk of uxoricide. Some evolutionary theorists attribute this pattern to men's evolved sexual proprietariness. Other evolutionary theorists propose an evolved homicide module for wife killing. An alternative to both explanations is that young women experience elevated uxoricide risk as a byproduct of marriage to younger men, who commit most acts of violence. We used 13,670 uxoricides to test these explanations. Findings show that (1) reproductive age women incur elevated risk of uxoricide; (2) younger men are over-represented among uxoricide perpetrators; and (3) younger women, even when married to older men, still incur excess risk of uxoricide. Discussion examines competing explanations for uxoricide in light of these findings. WIFE-KILLING AND WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE STATUS According to the reports of battered wives, battering husbands, and friends and family of both parties, physical violence is a punishment inflicted by husbands on wives they suspect of sexual infidelity (Daly & Wilson, 1988; Dobash & Dobash, 1979). Male sexual jealousy or "male sexual proprietariness" is the most common cause of wife battery, cross-culturally (Daly & Wilson, 1988). Men worldwide think, feel, and act as if their wife is their exclusive sexual property. Sexual intercourse with another man