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Revenge filicide: An international perspective through 62 cases
Author(s) -
Myers Wade C.,
Lee Erica,
Montplaisir Rose,
Lazarou Emily,
Safarik Mark,
Chan Heng Choon Oliver,
Beauregard Eric
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2505
Subject(s) - jealousy , poison control , culpability , suicide prevention , injury prevention , psychology , harm , psychiatry , human factors and ergonomics , mental health , occupational safety and health , medicine , criminology , medical emergency , social psychology , pathology
Filicide is the purposeful killing of one or more children by a parent, step‐parent, or other parental figure. Revenge filicide is a poorly understood, rare form of filicide in which a parent murders their child to cause emotional harm to the child's other parent. This descriptive study presents an international case series consisting of 62 revenge filicide cases from nine countries. Perpetrators were about equally likely to be male or female. Over half of the sample had an active mental disorder of any type, most often a personality disorder. A history of domestic violence was common. The mean victim age was 6 years. They were typically killed by asphyxiation, firearms, or knives, and preschool age children were targeted most frequently. In half of the cases, more than one child was murdered. Post‐crime suicidal behavior was commonplace, and one‐third of the sample died by suicide. Four revenge filicide subtypes were identified: rejection, custody/visitation dispute, infidelity/jealousy, and argument/conflict. These categories may prove useful in future research and for helping to identify children at high risk of becoming filicide victims. All surviving offenders were criminally convicted, and in only one case was a mental health defense successful in lessening culpability. Notable similarities and differences between the US and international cases are discussed.