A Review of Maternal and Paternal Filicide

Article Figures & Data

Table 1

Characteristics of Paternal Filicide Relative to Maternal Filicide

Method of Killing	Victim Characteristics	Filicidal Motive
More violent (firearm, knife, severe head trauma)	More often older children	More fatal abuse
	Higher proportion of males	More retaliation
	More often multiple victims

Table 2

Rates of Mental Illness and Parental Motives in Filicide and Filicide‐Suicide: Comparison of Coroners' Studies

Study	Sample	% Mental illness	% Suicide	Filicidal Motive
Bourget and Gagné¹² (Quebec, 1991–1998)	27 Mothers	67% Depression; 15% psychosis	56%	68% Mental illness; 9% fatal abuse
Bourget and Gagné²⁸ (Quebec, 1991–2001)	60 Fathers	52% Depression; 10% psychosis	60%	66% Mental illness; 25% fatal abuse; 1% retaliation
Hatters Friedman et al.⁶¹ (Ohio, 1958–2002)	10 Mothers	70% Depression; 30% psychosis	100%	90% Altruism; (10% psychotic altruism)
	20 Fathers	50% Depression; 25% psychosis	100%	60% Altruism (20% psychotic altruism); 10% acute psychosis