Paternal Filicide in Québec

Method

This retrospective clinical study is based on the examination of coroners’ files on domestic homicide pertaining to children killed by their fathers in the province of Québec from 1991 to 2001. The study was conducted with the Québec Coroner Head Office. Access to the relevant material was granted authorization by the Quebec Coroner Head Office. The information reported herein is a matter of public record and is exempted from review by an Institutional Review Board. Collection and analysis of the data were performed in an anonymous manner. Seventy-seven cases of paternal filicide were identified, representing the total number of victims of paternal filicide that occurred during this 11-year period. In each case, the coroners’ files typically contained information on the victim’s characteristics, the circumstances of death, the spatial location of the homicide, and the type of weapon used; the coroner’s report for the particular death, including opinion and recommendations; the police investigative report; the autopsy report; and biochemical laboratory findings. Medical records were also part of the files when available and appropriate. From these files we extracted information about circumstances surrounding the homicides, and demographic and clinical factors of victims and perpetrators, to enable categorization according to our classification system.²⁴ All records were reviewed and compiled by the same two investigators, coroners with a medical specialty in psychiatry.

Results

The frequency of cases of paternal filicide in Québec between 1991 and 2001 is shown in Table 2. Incidences of paternal filicide increased substantially between 1991 and 1996. The frequency of cases fluctuated over the next five years, with highest incidences taking place in 1998 and 2001.

Discussion

In this 11-year review (1991–2001) of coroners’ files in Québec, we identified a total of 77 cases of paternal filicide. Fifty-six of the cases occurred between 1991 and 1998. In that same time period, there were 34 cases of maternal filicide in Québec.²⁴ While several older lines of evidence support the assertion that mothers are more likely to be the perpetrators in child murder^2–14 our results support data indicating that fathers commit filicide more often than do mothers.^15–23

Compared with previous reports of factors characteristic of paternal filicide, an analysis of the data shows several similarities. Twenty-three percent of all of the victims in our sample were less than one year of age, in agreement with indications of a high risk of being a homicide victim in this age group^{1,17,20,41–47} and mirroring the number of infants killed by their fathers according to a recent examination of 70 filicides in Finland.⁴⁸ In two (3%) cases, the victim was a newborn. Neonaticide, the killing of an infant in his or her first day of life, is rarely committed by fathers.² Consistent with results of some studies,^6,30,48 a higher proportion of children killed by their fathers were male, but the difference between genders in this sample was not statistically significant. Rodenburg⁶ demonstrated that perpetrator gender correlated with victim gender, with fathers more likely to kill boys and mothers tending to kill girls.⁶ Violent methods of killing (i.e., shooting, beating, stabbing, and strangulation) were used in 85 percent of cases, characteristic of other reports of a high frequency of violent means employed by male perpetrators of filicide.^{2,10,19,36,49,50} Our results were also similar to those of other studies reporting a high frequency of completed or attempted suicides following homicides by fathers.^{20,36,43,48,51} In our sample, perpetrators attempted to kill themselves after murdering their children in 60 percent of cases. In the instances involving multiple sibling victims, the majority (86%) of fathers committed suicide after murdering their children.

Analysis of the data additionally reveals differing results compared with those of other studies of paternal filicide. Eleven (18%) of the 60 men in our sample also killed their spouses at the time of the filicide. Other researchers have reported substantially higher incidences of this type of offense (termed familicide) by filicidal men.^30,36,52 Only 25 percent of cases in our sample were fatal abuse filicides, inconsistent with several reports of a high proportion of cases of fatal abuse by fathers.^2,32,52,53 By contrast, in a review of 32 deaths of children of families in the U.S. Air Force, Brewster et al.⁵³ reported that 84 percent of infants aged between one day and one year were victims of fatal child abuse. Our findings also differ from reports of related substance abuse in cases of paternal filicide,^11,21,36 as use of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of the offense was indicated in only two cases. Marleau et al.³⁶ found that 7 of the 10 filicidal men in their sample had a history of drug and/or alcohol abuse, with four of these men under the influence of psychoactive substances at the time of the offense. Somander and Rammer²¹ also noted a high frequency of alcohol abuse in their review of 41 paternal offenders, particularly in the 30 men who committed suicide following the homicide.

Prior abuse of a child by a parent is a clear indication of risk of filicide,^{17,41,43,45,48,53–55} particularly when the abuse is perpetrated by fathers.^53,55 In our sample, there was conclusive evidence of a history of family violence in 24 (40%) cases, with inconclusive evidence in another 18 cases. Of those 24 cases, 17 (70%) were classified as fatal abuse filicide. Although this might seem consistent with indications that many filicides are the outcome of anger that escalates into a fatal assault against the child,⁵⁶ as 30 percent of the cases in our sample involving previous family violence were not fatal abuse filicide, it seems important to consider the association of other factors, including existing psychopathology, in the perpetration of paternal filicide. Common forms of psychiatric disorders have been found frequently in both women and men who have murdered their children.^{2,6,8,11–12,15,21,24,29,35–39} While evidence is insufficient to identify a specific type of psychiatric disorder that increases the likelihood of the occurrence of filicide, depressive disorders and schizophrenia or other forms of psychosis have been found frequently in filicidal parents,^{2,12,15,24,29,36,39} and relations between the illness and homicidal motives are often observed in depressed and schizophrenic offenders.⁵⁷ In a study comparing parental and nonparental homicide, Bourget and Bradford¹¹ found that nearly 31 percent of parents who committed filicide had a diagnosis of major depression compared with none of the perpetrators of nonparental homicides. In our examination of maternal filicide cases,²⁴ we found that 22 (81%) of 27 mothers had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, or other psychosis. Resnick² found that schizophrenia occurred more often in maternal offenders and that depression with psychotic features was present more than twice as often in filicidal mothers (71%) as in fathers (33%). However, others have reported comparably higher frequencies of psychotic and depressive symptoms among filicidal fathers.^15,29,36 Campion et al.²⁹ and Adelson¹⁵ noted the presence of psychotic features in at least 40 percent of filicidal fathers in their studies.^15,29 Marleau et al.³⁶ found that 7 (70%) of the 10 filicidal fathers in their study had an Axis I disorder, according to DSM-III-R criteria,⁵⁸ including four mood disorders, one dysthymic disorder, one schizophrenia, and one psychosis. Four of the offenders were actively psychotic at the time of the offense. A similarly high incidence of psychiatric illness was characteristic of the fathers in our sample; in 37 (62%) of the 60 perpetrators, a depressive or psychotic disorder was present at the time of the offense. In cases in which the diagnosis was that of depression (31/37), psychotic elements were present in 12 (39%). In total, the presence of psychosis was established in 18 (30%) of 60 of the filicidal fathers or 28 (36%) of 77 of the total number of filicidal acts.

In the series, some cases revealed a very high level of distress and despair, such as the case of an immigrated man whose wife was the main provider for the family. The man’s wife had been seemingly healthy, but was urgently hospitalized for a stomach ache, found to have terminal cancer, and died within a week. The father became acutely delusional and killed his three children. Other cases revealed significant social deprivation and lack of coping skills in the parent, such as a poorly educated man with bipolar illness living on welfare. The man lost his temper and smothered his 8-month-old baby, who had been crying continuously. The young victim, who was born prematurely at 34 weeks, had suffered anoxic encephalopathy and was left with severe body deformities and developmental delays.

All three cases of retaliating homicide followed a separation, as did 27 (55%) of the 49 mentally ill filicides.

The numerous reports of an association with preexisting psychiatric disorders clearly indicate the necessity of identifying existing psychopathology in filicidal parents. The importance of making such an identification is compounded by indications that a significant number of homicidal parents come to the attention of psychiatrists or other health professionals prior to the offense.^2,9,55 In an investigation of 48 cases of child homicide by parents or parent substitutes, Wilczynski⁵⁵ found that two-thirds of the male and female offenders had had contact with professional agencies prior to the homicide. While some of the offenders’ reasons for contacting agencies included concerns about their perpetration of physical abuse, the most frequent reason was concern over their mental health.⁵⁵ In our sample of 27 maternal offenders,²⁴ we reported that almost half of the women had contacted others regarding their problems prior to the offense, including doctors or psychiatrists. Similarly, over half of the fathers in our sample had had previous contact with doctors, psychiatrists, and/or other professionals. However, none had had treatment for a psychiatric illness.

Offenders with prior professional agency contact may be more likely to perpetrate violence on the child before the homicide. Wilczynski⁵⁵ found a history of previous violence in almost two-thirds of the cases with prior agency contact, while one-fourth of the cases had had no such contact.⁵⁵ Of the 19 offenders in our sample who were determined to have had agency contact prior to the filicide, 12 (63%) had a history of violence toward their children and 7 (37%) had not been violent toward their children.

To summarize our results, a high proportion of victims were aged less than one year, with more male than female victims. Neonaticide was rare. A history of family abuse was characteristic of a substantial number of cases, and most of the cases involved violent means of homicide. Filicides were frequently followed by the suicide of the perpetrator, particularly in cases involving multiple sibling victims. The abuse of drugs and alcohol was rare. At the time of the offense, most of the perpetrators were suffering from a psychiatric illness, usually depressive disorder. Nearly one-third were in a psychotic state. The proportion of fatal abuse cases was comparatively low. Many of the perpetrators had had contact with health professionals prior to the offense, although none had received treatment for a psychiatric illness.

Our findings provide insights into the nature of paternal filicide, a phenomenon that is not well understood. However, potential limitations of the study should be acknowledged. While it is based on a review of coroners’ files and includes all paternal filicides in Québec over a period of 11 years, the study is limited by the fact that it is a retrospective postmortem analysis. Because of missing data in some cases, we were unable to explore a possible relationship between the filicidal act and a history of family violence. Another shortcoming of our study concerns the relatively small sample size, which limits extension of results to the population of filicide perpetrators. In the same vein, as the study was conducted in Canada, it is possible that the findings are not generalizable to other countries.

Prevention of filicide begins with the identification of high-risk families and the delineation of precipitating factors involved in each particular situation. In our sample, most of the filicidal fathers had a psychiatric illness, mainly depressive disorder, and recent marital separation and a history of family abuse were common. While prediction is complicated by the fact that such factors are widespread in the population without leading to filicide and may result in significant overprediction, it is evident from our study that many of the filicidal fathers failed to get help, despite the fact that some had sought help from others, including health care professionals, prior to the killing. Filicide deserves a high level of professional attention to identify high-risk families and to develop appropriate intervention strategies. Early recognition of psychiatric illness is essential. The possibility of homicidal tendencies in depressed fathers, particularly when suicidal ideation is indicated, should be assessed systematically as part of any psychiatric evaluation. Direct questions as to the status of the marital relationship and family violence and child abuse may help to identify fathers at risk for filicide.

The importance of obtaining a clear understanding of paternal filicide is underscored by indications that a high proportion of child homicides are perpetrated by fathers. While additional research is necessary to enable the development of predictive criteria for paternal filicide, it is hoped that this review will be useful in the development of a clearer profile of men who commit filicide. To that end, we have attempted to extract relevant factors by using a classification system²⁴ that takes into account several characteristics of filicide and associated circumstances. Testing this system in a sample of paternal offenders may aid future research investigating parental filicide and increase its value to clinicians. As prevention and treatment of filicidal behavior implies the recognition of causes involved in each particular situation, a clear characterization of men who kill their children could facilitate the identification of risk and enable effective intervention strategies.