Child Homicide Flashcards
(16 cards)
Filicide
Purposeful killing of one’s child of any age
Who is most at risk of perpetrating filicide?
Single mothers and biological parents
How are fathers more likely to commit filicide?
Stab, squeeze, or beat their children to death
How are mothers more likely to commit filicide?
Drown, suffocate, or gas their victims
Revenge filicide
Occurs when a parent murders one or more of their children to cause emotional pain and suffering in the child’s other parent
Filicide offender characteristics
mean age 36.5, 53% male; 47% female, 63% white, 51% had some degree of high school education, and only 56% were employed at the time of the homicide
Filicide victim characteristics
Mean age 6.1, 53% male, 50% of the cases only one child killed
Most common killing method for child homicides
Asphyxiation = strangling, smothering, drowning, or carbon monoxide poisoning. Second most common was by firearm
Filicide offender proximity
Most child homicides are committed by someone within the victim’s household or social network
Most common location of child homicides
In the child’s home, occurring during family conflict or child discipline incidents
Stepchild risk factor
Research suggests stepchildren are disproportionately targeted in domestic homicides compared to biological children
Loyalty killers
Often commit familicide, believing they are saving their family from suffering
Jealous rage killers
Commit intimate partner homicides driven by infidelity fears
Neglect-based killers
Kill through prolonged abuse, starvation, or medical neglect
What percentage did filicide account for all homicide incidents?
7%
What percentage of filicides were motivated by revenge?
4-9%
