My maternal grandfather got himself hammered to death in a drunken brawl...never knew him. My first Mother in Law was stabbed about 30 times during a home invasion....long after I left. Maybe it's good I never stand in a field during thunderstorms?

@MsHoliday, seriously, I drove public transport for 42 years. I have no recollection of any murders on a bus. A few heart attacks, some squabbles, but never even a serious assault. Must lead a charmed life. No friends or family members. Two suicides, but no murders. And my one cousin was a cop (I’m sure he saw plenty).

No I can not agree with that. Few, if any, murder victims are kindly given a lethal whiff of gas while they sleep or something similar. Most murders are carried out in ways that cause great fear and pain, sometimes unimaginably, and deliberately so. Not only that, but murder often causes a great deal more pain and grief to friends and family than other forms of death. The murder stats of less than 1% year after year, still represent a huge ongoing vollume of pain and misery for the human race.

It is almost certainly true that most murder victims are male, but it is good to be wary about the percentages. Since in many countries of the world, especially those where the births of girl children are not counted or valued, niether are the deaths of women, many communities not even bothering to report such births or murders, or the murders are left uninvestigated by the authorities. A friend of mine from a third world country, informs me that in the rural villages, the deaths of unwanted wives are simply described, to the police as. "Fell down the well." And no investigation is ever carried out.