Degré d'organisation du crime de parricide pathologique : mode opératoire, profil criminologique. À propos de 42 observations

Abstract

This descriptive study concerns 42 men who committed parricide and were admitted under compulsion to the maximum-security hospital for dangerous insane patients in Cadillac, near Bordeaux, between 1963 and 2003. Mean age was 29.9 years. Most were single, living with their parents and had no profession. There were 35 cases of schizophrenia (83.3%) usually of paranoid type, six cases of persistent delusional disorder (14.3%) and one case of substance-induced psychotic disorder (2.4%). The disorder had lasted in general from 1 to 5 years (40.5%) or in some for more than 10 years (33.3%). Auditory hallucinations were frequent and the delusions were mostly of the persecution or influence type. The act of homicide often seemed to be an emotional reaction of defence, with no apparent motive, impulsive, very violent and committed within the family household. The weapon used was frequently the one that just came to hand at the time. The modus operandi of the crime was as follows: totally disorganized in 30 cases (71.4%), mixed in nine (21.4%) and moderately organized in three (7.1%). There was no real difference between schizophrenics and paranoiacs regarding degree of organization of the crime. Typological analysis of the acting out revealed that most of the crimes were of the behavioural type: aggressive, affective, expressive. The 49 victims were in decreasing order the mother (49.0%), the father (40.8%) and the grandparents (10.2%). Mean age of the victims was 61.8 years. While homicide is usually described as occurring in a paroxystic state of delusion and sudden emotion, many psychotic express a former feeling of relational blockage, being stifled, frustration, failure and persecutory homicidal hate towards the future victim. The forensic consequences are then envisaged with frequent application of the former article 64 or the present article 122-1 of the French Criminal Code.