---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most murders are committed by someone who…"
description: "\"Most murders are committed by someone who is known to the victim. In fact, you are most likely to be murdered by a member of your own family on Christm..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/mark-haddon-1056_christmas_most-murders-are-committed-by-someone-wh_2511277.png"
---

#  Most murders are committed by someone who is known to the…

![“Most murders are committed by someone who is known to the victim. In fact, you are most likely to be murdered by a member of your own family on Christmas day.” quote by Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/mark-haddon-1056_christmas_most-murders-are-committed-by-someone-wh_2511277.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/mark-haddon-1056_christmas_most-murders-are-committed-by-someone-wh_2511277.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/mark-haddon-1056_christmas_most-murders-are-committed-by-someone-wh_2511277.png)

> “Most murders are committed by someone who is known to the victim. In fact, you are most likely to be murdered by a member of your own family on Christmas day.”

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Violent crimes often occur within familiar circles, especially during holidays, highlighting hidden domestic risks.

**In simple terms:** Violence often happens at home, especially holidays.

Key Takeaway

Stay vigilant with close ones.

Themes

violence family holiday risk

Mood

concerned serious

Type

cautionary informative

When to use this quote

- family gatherings
- holiday planning
- personal safety
- crime prevention

Key Concepts

criminology psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you feel safe during holidays?
- How can families improve safety?

A Different Perspective

Statistical rarity may be overstated.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Christmas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/) [Christmas day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas-day/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/)

## Related quotes

> [“emperor is dead, and has been all these years, then the murders we committed are not his responsibility. They are our own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/emperor-is-dead-and-has-been-all-these-years-then-the-murders-we/)

[Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/)

> [One good reason to only maintain a small circle of friends is that three out of four murders are committed by people who know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/one-good-reason-to-only-maintain-a-small-circle-of-friends-is-that/)

[George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/)

> [Except for cases that clearly involve a homicidal maniac, the police like to believe murders are committed by those we know and love, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/except-for-cases-that-clearly-involve-a-homicidal-maniac-the-police/)

[Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/)

> [“Footsteps out of the room. The side and rattle of a kitchen drawer. Lounds had covered many murders committed in kitchens where things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/footsteps-out-of-the-room-the-side-and-rattle-of-a-kitchen-drawer/)

[Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/)

> [Way over half the murders committed in this country are by close friends or relatives of the deceased. A gun makes a loud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/way-over-half-the-murders-committed-in-this-country-are-by-close/)

[John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/)

> [“More murders have been committed for respectability than one would believe possible! The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/more-murders-have-been-committed-for-respectability-than-one-would/)

[Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/)

> [25 States allow anyone to buy a gun, strap it on, and walk down the street with no permit of any kind: some say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ford/25-states-allow-anyone-to-buy-a-gun-strap-it-on-and-walk-down-the/)

Andrew Ford

> [“Seated opposite me in the railway carriage, the elderly lady in the fox-fur shawl was recalling some of the murders that she had committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/seated-opposite-me-in-the-railway-carriage-the-elderly-lady-in-the/)

[John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/)

> [According to FBI statistics for 2008, only 22 percent of murder victims were killed by strangers. More than 30 percent were slain by family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alafair-burke/according-to-fbi-statistics-for-2008-only-22-percent-of-murder/)

[Alafair Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alafair-burke/)

> [How many murders are committed in Gauteng, or in the Western Cape, in a month? A week? A day? An hour? But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/how-many-murders-are-committed-in-gauteng-or-in-the-western-cape-in-a/)

[Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/)

> [Have you ever slept with a member of a race of another color? Have you ever committed culpable homicide? Have you ever bombed anything?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/have-you-ever-slept-with-a-member-of-a-race-of-another-color-have-you/)

[L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/)

> [People were murdered for the camera; and some photographers and a television camera crew departed without taking a picture in the hope that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/people-were-murdered-for-the-camera-and-some-photographers-and-a/)

[Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/)

> [Hatchet murders were the house speciality of the Journal, whose front page was a virtual abattoir of murder most foul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-israel/hatchet-murders-were-the-house-speciality-of-the-journal-whose-front/)

Lee Israel

> [If you think of most murders as being between people who know each other, it's very easy to figure out who the killer is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-fukunaga/if-you-think-of-most-murders-as-being-between-people-who-know-each/)

[Cary Fukunaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-fukunaga/)

> [Film your murders like love scenes, and film your love scenes like murders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-hitchcock/film-your-murders-like-love-scenes-and-film-your-love-scenes-like/)

[Alfred Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-hitchcock/)

## More by Mark Haddon

> [But I said that you could still want something that is very unlikely to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/but-i-said-that-you-could-still-want-something-that-is-very-unlikely/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“So often these days she seemed to hover between worlds, none of them wholly real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/so-often-these-days-she-seemed-to-hover-between-worlds-none-of-them/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery…and I was brave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-i-know-i-can-do-this-because-i-went-to-london-on-my-own-and/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [And what he meant was that maths wasn't like life because in life there are no straightforward answers in the end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-what-he-meant-was-that-maths-wasn-t-like-life-because-in-life/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [You love someone, you've got to let something go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/you-love-someone-you-ve-got-to-let-something-go/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“when you describe something by using a word for something that it isn’t. This means that the word metaphor is a metaphor. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/when-you-describe-something-by-using-a-word-for-something-that-it-isn/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/they-are-very-logical-but-you-could-never-work-out-the-rules-even-if/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“Places remained and time flowed through them like wind through the grass. Right now. This was the future turning into the past. One thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/places-remained-and-time-flowed-through-them-like-wind-through-the/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [I suffer depression only in the sense that I am a writer. We don't have proper jobs to go to. We are on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-suffer-depression-only-in-the-sense-that-i-am-a-writer-we-don-t/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [I better make the plot good. I wanted to make it grip people on the first page and have a big turning point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-better-make-the-plot-good-i-wanted-to-make-it-grip-people-on-the/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“And it was strange because he was calling, "Christopher. . . ? Christopher. . . ?" and I could see my name written out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-it-was-strange-because-he-was-calling-christopher-christopher-and/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [A lot of roles for people with disabilities are quite patronising. It's a real pity when they are just used to give dull PC…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/a-lot-of-roles-for-people-with-disabilities-are-quite-patronising-it/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before. They are hard to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-do-not-like-strangers-because-i-do-not-like-people-i-have-never-met/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“Lots of people wrote to the magazine to say that Marilyn vos Savant was wrong, even when she explained very carefully why she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/lots-of-people-wrote-to-the-magazine-to-say-that-marilyn-vos-savant/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

[Explore all 278 Mark Haddon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

## More Christmas quotes

> [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/)

[Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/)

> [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-manning/i-once-bought-my-kids-a-set-of-batteries-for-christmas-with-a-note-on/)

[Bernard Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-manning/)

> [May you have the spirit of Christmas which is Peace, the gladness of Christmas which is Hope, and the Heart of Christmas which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-you-have-the-spirit-of-christmas-which-is-peace-the-gladness-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [To my future children; you will know the true meaning of Christmas just not you get gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-my-future-children-you-will-know-the-true-meaning-of-christmas/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [No sane local official who has hung up an empty stocking over the municipal fireplace is going to shoot Santa Claus just before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-smith/no-sane-local-official-who-has-hung-up-an-empty-stocking-over-the/)

[Al Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-smith/)

> [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [Santa Claus has nothing to do with it," the latke said. "Christmas and Hanukah are completely different things." "But different things can often blend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/santa-claus-has-nothing-to-do-with-it-the-latke-said-christmas-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [For Christmas one year I bought my son a BB gun. He bought me a t-shirt with a bulls eye on the back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/for-christmas-one-year-i-bought-my-son-a-bb-gun-he-bought-me-a-t/)

[Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/)

> [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/)

[Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/)

> [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/)

[Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/)

> [“I stopped keeping an eye out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve because, when I was five, my mother told me that Santa was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/i-stopped-keeping-an-eye-out-for-santa-claus-on-christmas-eve-because/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

> [On Hanukkah, the first dark night, Light yourself a candle bright. I'll you, if you will me invite To dance within that gentle light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-gordon/on-hanukkah-the-first-dark-night-light-yourself-a-candle-bright-i-ll/)

[Nick Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-gordon/)

[Browse all 5,100 Christmas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Most murders are committed by someone who is known to the victim. In fact, you are most likely to be murdered by a member of your own family on Christmas day.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mark Haddon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/most-murders-are-committed-by-someone-who-is-known-to-the-victim-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Christmas"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/most-murders-are-committed-by-someone-who-is-known-to-the-victim-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/mark-haddon-1056_christmas_most-murders-are-committed-by-someone-wh_2511277.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/mark-haddon-1056_christmas_most-murders-are-committed-by-someone-wh_2511277.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb7/mark-haddon-1056_christmas_most-murders-are-committed-by-someone-wh_2511277.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Most murders are committed by someone who is known to the victim. In fact, you are most likely to be…” — Mark Haddon",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Mark Haddon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Most murders are committed by someone...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/most-murders-are-committed-by-someone-who-is-known-to-the-victim-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/most-murders-are-committed-by-someone-who-is-known-to-the-victim-in/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
