Historically, patriarchy has been used to explain male aggression towards female partners. But does this theoretical framework adequately describe why partners are violent? More importantly, does it help predict lethal abuse? In this article, the authors describe research on the causes of partner violence. They also provide results from their study wherein they examine whether patriarchy alone can explain partner violence. They conclude that it cannot, especially in cases of female homicide. These findings have implications for state-certified interventions that are premised on the centrality of patriarchy as the cause of domestic violence.