What Is Uxoricide? A Look At 'Romantic Ideology' After New Dehli Man Kills Wife

A New Delhi man was charged with killing his wife Wednesday, as reported by the Times of India. Vinod Bisht, 43, stabbed his wife over 30 times, injuring their teenage son when he tried to step in and help his mother.

The altercation started around 5:30 a.m. IST when Bisht returned to their Dilshad Garden home and had an argument with his wife. He allegedly stole a knife from the banquet hall where he worked. During the fight, he attacked wife Rekha with a knife, stabbing her face and chest until she was rendered unconscious.

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The couple’s 15-year-old son, Vineet, attempted to intervene, but his father stabbed him in the hand before he could do so, according to police officials. Bisht was apprehended Thursday after he returned home to check on his son.

“As per the medical report, the woman received around 20-25 stab wounds, including 11 major ones,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shahdara Nupur Prasad said.

Praveen Kumar, a neighbor, said he took Rekha and Vineet to the hospital. According to police officials, Bisht said that in April, his wife began having an affair. She wanted to end their marriage, but he forbade her from speaking to her lover and even took away her phone. Bisht also told police his wife said she would file a domestic violence complaint and kill both of their sons. Police are looking into these allegations. Prior to her death, Rekha explained the argument with her husband. Apparently, Bisht and Rekha argued regularly.

Uxoricide is defined as “the killing of one’s wife.” Throughout the years, many men have killed their wives. Ptolemy XI of Egypt sentenced his wife, Berenice III, to death shortly after their marriage in 80 B.C., King Henry VIII of England sentenced two of his six wives to death, Sid Vicious, bassist and vocalist of the Sex Pistols, admitted he killed Nancy Spungen in 1978 and O.J. Simpson was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson in 1994.

But why did they do it?

“Let’s say I committed the crime, even if I did, it would have to have been because I loved her very much, right?” asked Simpson.

About 40 percent of all female murder victims around the world are killed by a former or present partner, according to Psychology Today. Almost all the cases of men killing their wives occur after the wife ended the relationship or attempted to. However, almost all cases of women killing their husbands involved domestic violence.

Certain “complex conditions of risk” that may be part of “romantic ideology” could be contributing factors to why men kill their wives: The man believes the woman was his entire identity, the man lacked other reasons for living or the man attempted to preserve his masculinity in the relationship. Women’s lives are risked particularly when they are the center of their husband’s lives because when faced with the possibility of losing their life’s meaning, they may turn to violent measures to manifest their deep psychological complexes towards power and masculinity in relationships.

Although approximately 40 percent of female murder victims are killed by a former or present partner, few men actually kill their wives. In 2007, male partner violence towards their female partner (ages 18+) was 4.5 per 1,000; the rate of male partner homicide towards their female partner was 1.07 per 100,000 — 420 times smaller than domestic abuse rates.

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Vineet, the 15-year-old son who attempted to help his mother, and his younger brother, Sanchit, 7, will suffer from “immediate and devastating” effects from the uxoricide their father committed against their mother, according to a study titled “Uxoricide: a phenomenological study of adult survivors.” In uxoricide, the children lose both parents, as one parent enters the criminal justice system and the other parent is dead.

Bisht has been charged with murder and is currently awaiting criminal proceedings.