The work of Hale,Hayward,Wahidin and Wincup - CRIMINOLOGY (2005) Chapter 11 page 228-235 :
Although the work of Larry Ray is referring to violent crime and crime in general (and not murder); it can provide insight into explanations of murder. Ray writes that the British Crime Survey suggests that perpetrators and their victims often know each other- either as intimates or acquaintances. The pattern is clearly gendered; with men being represented highly in incidents of stranger violence and domestic violence
Ray further uses the work of Croall (1998: 137) to give ratios of certain crimes committed by Male and Females:
Ratio (M:F)
Sexual Offences 75:1
Common Assault 7:1
Violence Against the Person 5.7: 1
Ray adds that Gender patterning of crime is not a new trend as Males have been over-represented in all major violent crime categories since the collection of crime statistics began.
In 1992 only 8.7% of convictions for violence against a person were conducted by Females; in 2002 the % was 10%
Thus; we could safely state that Claudia's perpetrator was most likely Male
Similarly Larry Ray offers explanations about the nature of masculinity and its relationship with domestic violence. Although he is suggesting risk factors associated with Domestic violence. There are common risk factors associated with perpetrators of murder and domestic violence. These are: Alcohol abuse,Depression/Personality Disorder and low educational attainment