Parents who kill their children

Patterns of Unnatural Deaths Among Children and Adolescents: Autopsy Study (2011-2018)

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The problem of unnatural death in children is still relevant because of their vulnerability. This work aimed to describe the epidemiological profile and patterns of these medicolegal deaths in children and adolescents in northern Tunisia.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study from January 2011 to December 2018, within the Forensic Department of Charles Nicolle Hospital in Tunis. All children who died of unnatural causes were included (767 cases).

RESULTS

An overall male predominance was observed (sex ratio = 2.4). Accidental deaths represent the most common manner of death (81.4%) involving most frequently domestic accidents occurring in children aged between 1 and 4 years. In cases of suicide, the highest risk profile was a female child aged between 15 and 18 years. The suicide occurred most often in the victim's home with hanging representing the common means of suicide. For the criminal form, the most common means in those cases were stabbing and blunt injuries.

CONCLUSION

Our study delivered a broad picture of unnatural deaths among children in Tunisia. These deaths, largely absent from child survival initiatives presently on the global agenda, can be prevented if they are addressed strategically, as their injury prevention strategies differ from adults.

An Epidemiologic Examination of Perpetrators of Fatal Child Maltreatment Using the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)

Fatal child maltreatment in the United States increased 12.9% from 2013 to 2016. Parents are the predominant perpetrators, underscoring the need to examine risk factors associated with this class of offenders. This study examined the relationship between three primary forms of fatal child maltreatment (neonaticide, infanticide, and filicide) and perpetrator characteristics. Using the National Violent Death Reporting System, we employed a retrospective observational study to examine fatal child maltreatment in decedents aged 10 years and below from 2011 to 2015. Multinomial logistic regression of 1,023 maltreatment-related deaths was used to evaluate perpetrator characteristics. Perpetrators were most often male (58%) and the parent of the child victim (53%). Intimate partners represented 22% of perpetrators. The odds of fatal maltreatment were modified by perpetrator age, sex, and relationship to the victim. Results underscore a need for male-focused interventions and research examining the etiology of violence against children perpetrated by the intimate partner of a parent.

Child murder by parents and evolutionary psychology

This article explores the contribution of evolutionary theory to the understanding of causation and motive in filicide cases and also reviews special issues in the forensic evaluation of alleged perpetrators of filicide. Evolutionary social psychology seeks to understand the context in which our brains evolved, to understand human behaviors. The authors propose evolutionary theory as a framework theory to meaningfully appreciate research about filicide. Using evolutionary psychology as a theoretical lens, this article reviews the research on filicide over the past 40 years, and describes epidemiologic and typologic studies of filicide, and theoretical analyses from a range of disciplines.

Death by starvation. Seeking a forensic psychiatric understanding of a case of fatal child maltreatment by the parent

In the Western world, cases of fatal child neglect due to starvation are extremely rare. When they do occur, particularly at the hands of a parent, such crimes are considered to be caused by mental disorders or personality disorders with severe affective impairment. The present report describes the peculiar case of a couple with a total of four children to care for, who starved a 16-month-old female to death, while all the other children were found to be healthy. After a forensic psychiatric assessment of their criminal responsibility, the couples were both judged guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison. After a brief overview of the scientific knowledge about filicide, the authors propose a framework that may help to understand and explain the motivations underlying this dreadful crime that shocked the nation, and emphasize the role of the forensic psychiatric investigation into cases of filicide, which may contribute to gain a greater insight into the different motivational factors underlying this phenomenon.

Mothers who kill: evolutionary underpinnings and infanticide law

Women who kill their children present a profound challenge to accepted notions of motherhood and the protection offered by mothers to their children. Historically, societies have varied in the sanctions applied to perpetrators of such acts, across both time and place. Where penalties were once severe and punitive for mothers, in modern times some two dozen nations now have infanticide acts that reduce the penalties for mothers who kill their infants. Embedded within these acts are key criteria that relate (a) only to women who are (b) suffering the hormonal or mood effects of pregnancy/lactation at the time of the offence which is (c) usually restricted to within the first year after delivery. Criticisms of infanticide legislation have largely centered on inherent gender bias, misconceptions about the hormonal basis of postpartum psychiatric disorders, and the nexus and contribution of these disorders to the offending in relation to issues of culpability and sentencing. Important differences between female perpetrators relative to the age of the child victim have also highlighted problems in the implementation of infanticide legislation. For example, women who commit neonaticide (murder during the first day of life) differ substantially from mentally ill mothers who kill older children. However, despite these shortcomings, many nations have in recent years chosen to retain their infanticide acts. This article reviews the central controversies of infanticide legislation in relation to current research and fundamental fairness. Using evolutionary psychology as a theoretical framework to organize this discussion, it is argued that infanticide legislation is at best unnecessary and at worst misapplied, in that it exculpates criminal intent and fails to serve those for whom an infanticide defense might otherwise have been intended.