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A familicide is a type of murder or murder-suicide in which at least one spouse and one or more children are killed;[1] or in which a parent or parents and possibly other relatives such as siblings and grandparents are killed.[2] In some cases all of the family members' lives are taken. If only the parents are killed, the case may also be referred to as a parricide.
Of 909 cases of mass murder (defined as 4 victims within a 24 hour period) in the US from 1900 to 2000, more than half occurred within an immediate family. So that although the total number of familicide cases are relatively rare, they are the most common form of mass killings. However, statistical data is difficult to establish due to reporting discrepancies.[3]
Familicide differs from mass murder in that the murderer kills family members or loved ones rather than anonymous people. This has a different psychodynamic and psychiatric significance, but the distinction is not always made. [4]
A study of 30 cases in Ohio found that most of the killings were motivated by a parent's desire to stop their children's suffering.[3]
In Australia, a study was done of seven cases of filicide followed by suicide in which marital separation followed by custody and access disputes were identified as an issue. Some common factors such as marital discord, unhappiness, domestic violence, sexual abuse, threats of harm to self or others were found in varying degrees. It was not clear what could be done in terms of prevention.[5]
Famous familicides
- Steven Sueppel, March 23-24, 2008, killed his wife, four children, and himself.
- Chris Benoit, June 24, 2007, killed his wife, son, and himself.
- Scott Peterson, December 24, 2002, killed his pregnant wife and eight-month fetus
- Kip Kinkel, May 20, 1998, killed his parents before school shooting spree, two additional dead and 25 wounded.
- Charles Stuart, October 23, 1989, killed pregnant wife and blamed it on imaginary black hijacker; seven-month fetus delivered alive but died in 17 days; committed suicide less than three months after murders.
- Ronald DeFeo, Jr., November 13, 1974, killed his father, mother, two brothers and two sisters.
- Jeffrey MacDonald, February 17, 1970, killed his wife and two pre-school daughters.
- John List, November 9, 1971, killed his mother, wife and three teenage children.
Related terms
- Infanticide - The killing of one's child, or children up to 12 months of age.
- Filicide - A parent or parents killing their own child or children.
- Mariticide - The killing of one spouse by the other, most used to refer to wives killing husbands.
- Uxoricide - The killing of a wife by a husband, almost always used rather than "mariticide."
References
- ^ Familicide : The Killing of Spouse and Children http://psych.mcmaster.ca/dalywilson/FamilicideSpouseChildren.pdf
- ^ Familicide at Wiktionary.
- ^ a b Berton, Justin. Familicide: Experts say family murder-suicides, though rare, are most common mass killing. San Francisco Examiner, June 20, 2007
- ^ Malmquist, Carl P., MD. Homicide: A Psychiatric Perspective. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, 1996, ISBN 978-0880486903
- ^ Johnson, Carolyn. Familicide and Custody Disputes - Dispelling The Myths. University of Western Australia, FamilicideAbstract_CarolynJohnson.pdf
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