Abstract
Parricide is a rare type of homicide in which mental illness is often an important factor. The aims of this study were (a) to describe the characteristics of parricide offenders with a focus on mental illness and clinical care and (b) to examine Heide's widely used typology of parricide through a data-driven approach. We analyzed all homicides in England and Wales between 1997 and 2014. Parricide offenders in our sample were most often male, unmarried, and unemployed, with a third of offenders diagnosed with schizophrenia; 28% had been in contact with mental health services before the offense. The latent class analysis resulted in three types of parricide offenders: middle-aged with affective disorder, previously abused, and seriously mentally Ill, which confirmed, to an extent, Heide's typology. Health and social care services should actively engage with carers of people with mental illness and support to those caring for older relatives and victims of abuse.
Highlights
Compared to other homicide offenders, parricide offenders are less likely to have a lengthy history of offending and delinquencyParricide is defined as the killing of a parent by their child (Baxter et al, 2001).(Hillbrand, Alexandre, Young, & Spitz, 1999)
Twenty‐one incidents involved more than one victim; 10 (3%) parricide offenders killed both parents
This is the first large‐scale study of parricide to include clinical data obtained from mental health services and psychiatric reports
Summary
Compared to other homicide offenders, parricide offenders are less likely to have a lengthy history of offending and delinquencyParricide is defined as the killing of a parent by their child (Baxter et al, 2001).(Hillbrand, Alexandre, Young, & Spitz, 1999). Compared to other homicide offenders, parricide offenders are less likely to have a lengthy history of offending and delinquency. A distinction if often drawn between adolescent and adult offenfor 2–4% of all homicides worldwide (Holt, 2017; Sahin ders, with the former more likely to have been abused by the parent, et al, 2016). Biological parents are more often victims compared to step Magalhães, 2014; Hillbrand et al, 1999). This distinction has or adoptive parents, with more fathers being victims than mo- been challenged recently, with recognition of significant overlaps in the thers (Heide & Petee, 2007). Parricide offenders are usually male characteristics of adolescent and adult offenders. Researchers have (83–87%), between 23 and 32 years of age
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