Juvenile and Adult Involvement in Familicide in the U.S.: An Empirical Analysis of 20 Years of Data

• In Event: Violence

Abstract

The killing of parents and stepparents by biological and stepchildren is a rare event. Incidents involving multiple parricide victims and/or multiple parricide offenders are an even rarer occurrence. The majority of studies on parricide involve a single victim and single offender. Using the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), this study examined familicide incidents involving single or multiple offenders over the 20 year period 1990 to 2010 with the aim of investigating juvenile and adult involvement in familicide. Fifteen cases of familicide were identified. Frequencies reported include victim, offender, and incident characteristics. The results indicated that the typical parricide offender was a white male approximately 26 years of age. A firearm predominated as the weapon choice for these incidents; however, when a biological mother was one of the victims, the offender used more diverse methods. Only one case of familicide involved a female offender. None of the fifteen familicide cases involved multiple offenders. Study limitations, implications, and directions for future research are also discussed.

Authors

• Averi Rebekah Fegadel, University of South Florida

• Kathleen M. Heide, University of South Florida