Adolescent Parricide and Psychopathy

Abstract

Most cases of juvenile parricide are believed to be the result of child abuse, yet the vast majority of abused children do not kill their parental abusers. This study explored the role of psychopathy in 10 adolescent parricide offenders tried in adult court who were referred for pretrial psychiatric evaluation. In addition, psychopathological findings, crime-related behaviors, and judicial outcomes are described. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnoses, most commonly posttraumatic stress disorder, and chronic, severe child abuse were prevalent. Psychopathic traits were not found to have played a role in the traumatized youths' parricidal behavior. Killings occurred in the family homes, usually through a surprise attack with parent-owned firearms. There was an average of 1.7 victims per event, with fathers being the most likely victim. Bodies were commonly covered or wrapped and moved postmortem. Confessions were often incredible in quality. One half received sentences of 40+ years, and the modal sanction was a life sentence, despite 90% premorbidly described as good youth. Further studies of adolescent parricide are needed to better understand this unusual population.

Double Parricides in South Korea

“…60 Our work empirically supports such conjectures of previous researchers. That is, first parricides unfold without planning as a result of domestic squabbles over trivial and nontrivial matters or in calculated ways; thus, the beginning, evolution, and termination of first parricides can be explained by findings reported in existing works.…”

“…For example, Myers and Vo noted that second parricides were carried out in order to hide evidence of a crime (first parricide). 42 This revelation means that the dynamics of first and second parricides in double parricides must be disaggregated in accordance with the offender's intent, weapon usage, and on-scene behavior. In prior works on double parricides, temporal sequencing of the killing does not become an analytically relevant factor for two reasons.…”

“…45 (3) Does the second killing represent an attempt to cover up the first killing by eliminating a potential witness, thereby supporting the conjecture that others have already made? 46 Therefore, in order to uncover the dynamics and intent behind double parricides, the temporal sequencing of attacks as well as the dynamics of double parricides must be disaggregated and examined temporally, in sequence.…”

A descriptive and follow-up study of 40 parricidal patients hospitalized in a French secure unit over a 15-year period

“…The groups are radically different in terms of clinical features and psychopathology (Devaux et al, 1974;Hillbrand et al, 1999;Mouridsen & Tolstrup, 1988;Myers & Vo, 2012;Weisman et al, 2002).…”

“…The future victim is usually described as a domestic tyrant, chronically abusing the future perpetrator of parricide (Mouridsen & Tolstrup, 1988;Myers & Vo, 2012).…”