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Summary Task 2 - Filicides
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Summary of Task 2 in Forensic and Legal Psychology in a Nutshell
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TASK 2: FILICIDEWHAT IS FILICIDE?
Filicide = homicides committed by a (foster-, step-) parent, with victim aged under 18
Infanticide = killing of a child younger than 12 months
Neonaticide = killing of infants in the first 24h of life
Familicide – includes spouse & child victims: 1/3 of filicide-suicide cases
Many samples are small findings are sample specific – WHAT DO ALL THESE
STUDIES SHARE???
CLASSIFYING FILICIDE (PUTKONEN ET AL.)
Filicide is a quite rare crime
Global homicide rates of children aged 0-4: 5.3 per 100,000 children
Global homicide rates of children aged 5-14 years: 2.05 per 100,000 children
Many cases are never reported true rate may be considerably higher
Several classifications of filicide
Resnick’s 5- Focused on motives: (1) altruistic, (2) acutely psychotic, (3) unwanted
category child, (4) accidental, (5) spousal revenge
classification Remains influential today – “unwanted child” most commonly
reported motive for neonaticide
Features that have to be taken into account to classify filicides: (1) family’s social
situation & domestic arrangements, (2) offender’s gender, (3) mental health status, (4)
criminal history, (5) substance-abuse history, (6) age of offender & victim, (7) method
of killing, (8) offender’s motives
None of the classifications of filicide in the past have been universally accepted
This study: create a classification scheme for filicide taking into consideration all
relevant features
METHODS
Data Register-based, comprehensive nationwide data from Austria & Finland
collecting Similar legal traditions & social systems
All recorded filicide cases between 1995 & 2005
Data on children were collected from coroner reports & death
certificates
Variables Selection of variables based on other studies on filicide, homicide &
homicide-suicide
Final variables: (1) offender’s history, (2) pre-offense circumstances, (3)
circumstances during the crime
, Data 124 offenders & 152 victims
description 63% mothers & 36% fathers
15% of mothers & 38% of fathers committed suicide at the crime scene
Fathers were sig. older (37.5) than mothers (31.6)
34% of children were younger than 1 year
RESULTS
5 classes of filicidal parents
Homicidal- Most common motive: extended suicide, jealousy as underlying motive
Suicidal 2nd most likely to be married, at highest risk for separation
Fathers Most likely to be employed, least educated
(14%) The oldest group
Intoxicated at the time of the crime more frequently than members of
another class
Victims were 2nd least likely to be infants
Previous incidents of domestic violence were 2nd most common
Have a lot in common with homicide offenders who have killed intimate
partners & familicide offenders
Method of killing: shooting more common than in any other class
Violent, Motive: highest incidence of filicide as impulsive act (“accident”)
Impulsive Less likely to have been working at the time of the crime
Parents More likely to have exhibited features of conduct disorder during their
(11%) childhood
2nd most infant victims
Most likely to have had a criminal record before & to have been
responsible for earlier incidents of domestic violence
Most similar with average homicide offender in Finnland
Method of killing: battering was more common than in any other class
Single, Motive: psychotic motives were 2nd most frequent, 3rd in terms of
Sober extended suicide
Parents Least often intoxicated at time of the crime & least likely to have acted on
(28%) impulse
Prior dealings with authorities on matters concerning their children
more often than any other class except Violent, Impulsive Parents
69% of this group were mothers
2nd oldest group
No infant victims
Prosocial, Motive: psychotic, 2nd in terms of extended suicide
, Psychotic Most were not working at the time of the crime
Parents Majority of people were married
(24%) Most highly educated
Almost no previous record of family violence & dealing with authorities
73% of the group were mothers
Infanticidal Motive: to get rid of unwanted child, no cases of psychotic / extended
Mothers suicide motivation
(23%) The youngest + had the youngest victims
Almost no previous dealings with authorities
Methods of killing: suffocation was most common choice
DISCUSSION
Some overlapping group characteristics
Important general characteristics of filicide offenders like depression
Among impulsive parents infants may be more likely to provoke (mis)perceptions of the
child’s behaviour & rage
STRENGTH & LIMITATIONS
Data more comprehensive in many ways than those used in earlier studies
Data from 2 countries enhances generalisability of results BUT only within Europe
Cultural issues could not be analysed
Statistical analyses were limited size of material quite small
Retrospective study no actual risk assessment / assessment of causality
THE WORLDWIDE INCIDENCE OF NEONATICIDE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW (TANAKA ET AL.)
METHODS
Computerised systematic literature search for studies reporting the incidence of
neonaticide
Only original population-based studies were selected 12 studies
RESULTS
24 nationwide, regional, or local estimates of neonaticide incidence in 13 countries
National rates – lowest in Finland & highest in Austria
Subnational level – highest in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, lowest around Paris
DISCUSSION
No reliable estimates of the dark number of neonaticides
Legal definition of newborn murder varies from country to country significantly
E.g., Finland has a very narrow definition – may account for the low figures
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