Matricide and Stepmatricide Victims and Offenders: An Empirical Analysis of U.S. Arrest Data

Abstract

Almost all of the clinical and empirical literature on female parricide victims focuses on mothers killed, with only little information available on stepmothers murdered. This study is the first to compare the victim, offender, and case correlates in incidents when mothers and stepmothers were killed. Supplementary Homicide Report Data for 1976-2007 were used to investigate similarities and differences between the two female victim types in the United States. Similarities between stepmothers and mothers included that more than 70% were White and killed in single victim, single offender incidents. Their killers were adult sons in between 67% and 87% of incidents. Several significant differences emerged with respect to age, involvement in multiple offender incidents, and weapon use. Stepmothers and their stepchildren, relative to mothers and their offspring, were significantly younger. Sixty-four percent of stepchildren, compared with 35% of biological children, were under age 25 at the time of their arrest for murder. A higher percentage of juveniles than adult killers was involved in multiple offender (MO) incidents involving mothers. Relative to their male counterparts, higher percentages of female juveniles were involved in MO incidents involving the deaths of mothers and stepmothers. A higher proportion of female adults, relative to their male counterparts, were involved in MO matricide incidents. Offenders who killed stepmothers, relative to those who killed mothers, were significantly more likely to use guns. Juvenile matricide offenders were significantly more likely to use firearms than their adult counterparts. Possible reasons for the differences are discussed in the conclusion.

Customary Homicides in Diyarbakir Province

“…In our study, 46.4% of victims (13 cases) died as a result of penetrating or penetrating–crushing type of trauma. Firearm injuries are one of the most common using homicide methods . In our study, three homicides (10.7%) were resulted from firearm injuries.…”

Double Parricide: An In‐Depth Look at Two Victim Homicides Involving Parents as Victims

“…These research efforts have examined thousands of cases over extended time periods. Due to limitations in this data set, however, these studies have focused almost exclusively on parricide incidents in which a child or stepchild acting alone has killed one parent or step‐parent (see Heide, ,, ,, ; Walsh, Krienert, & Crowder, ). Incidents of this nature are the norm; approximately 84% of all parricide and step‐parricide offenders arrested during the period of 1976 to 2007 were involved in single‐victim, single‐offender incidents (Heide, ).…”

The epidemiology of homicide perpetration by children

“…Offspring-perpetrated familicide: examining family homicides involving parents as victims. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol 2017 ; Heide and Petee 2007 ), murder by brothers (Walsh and Krienert 2014 ), sibling homicide (Underwood and Patch 1999 ), patricide and steppatricide (Heide 2014 ), and matricide and stepmatricide (Heide 2013 ).…”