Children Who Kill: A Case Study of Matricide

Abstract

Only a small number of children who murder have been reported in the literature. Matricide in particular is infrequently mentioned. The examination and treatment of a 9-yr-old boy who intentionally killed his mother is presented. No severe family conflicts or other psychogenic factors which could explain the action were found. Apart from some indications of possible epilepsy in the EEG (not confirmed clinically) no somatic pathology was verified. During one year's stay in the child psychiatric department after the homicide the boy was psychotic, probably suffering from a schizophrenic disorder which is presumed to have developed in the years preceding the matricide.

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).…”

Matricide and schizophrenia in the 21st century: a review and illustrative cases

“…6,14 Both of these patients had longstanding history of schizophrenia but they were poorly compliant with medications and it is not unlikely that in the months preceding their fatal attacks on their mothers, they had been hibernating a simmering psychosis which would boil over in the perpetration of matricide.…”

“…5 This was presented as an alternative to early psychoanalytic thinking that hatred of the mother was a derivative of the oedipal complex.5 Most of the available studies have examined schizophrenic sons who killed their mothers 6,7,8 with very few mentioning maternal homicide by daughters. 9,11 In this report, we have presented a schizophrenic son and daughter who killed their mothers.…”

“…Since his curious impression, several studies and case reports in the last century had attempted to substantiate or repudiate his claim. 5,6,7,8 Research evidence within the first decade of the 21st century also seems to suggest that matricide although rare, still occurs within the context of schizophrenia 9,10,11,12 and other psychotic disorders. 11,13 Here, we present two case reports which highlight the psychodynamic, phenomenological and contextual issues involved in the perpetration of matricide by schizophrenic patients.…”