Familicide

Taking of the life of a family member—including the killing of intimate partners or spouses, parents killing children, sibling killings, and children killing their parents—is known as familicide. Some researchers define the concept familicide as the killing of an intimate partner but only if the act is accompanied by the killing of at least one child. Such events represent one form of mass killing, an event that often ends with the suicide of the offender. Familial homicide is best understood within the context of domestic violence, of which most killings are committed by the male partner. And while the female homicide offending rate is low, when women do engage in familicide it is usually in response to being a victim of physical abuse.

Familicide Statistics

Since the mid-1970s, federal statistics show that family homicide rates or the number of homicides per 100,000 population in the United States have declined, primarily due to the decreasing incidence of intimate partner homicides. The majority of familicides are committed by male adults, and most of the victims are intimate female partners or spouses. Because federal statistics report the number of homicides by individual victim and offender characteristics, most homicide data involve a comparison of one offender with one victim. Understanding familicide as a mass killing of family members entails using both anecdotal reports from media accounts and the national data. In analyzing such data, it is estimated that approximately one half of all mass homicides committed in the 20th century are related to familicide.

The incidence of family homicide declined during the period from 1976 to 2005. In 1976 intimate killings (killings by partners or spouses) numbered 2,246; by 2005 the number decreased to 810. Children comprise the next largest number of family homicide victims; in 1976 parents killed 551 children and, in 2005 parents killed 470 children. Sibling homicides represent the lowest incidence with 136 killings in 2005, while parental deaths accounted for 271 killings at the hands of their children during that same year.

Demographic Characteristics of Family Killings

In the United States, the majority of offenders and victims are young males, and black victims and offenders are disproportionately represented in national statistics. However, the general pattern of familial homicide trends is similar for both blacks and whites. For other racial and ethnic groups federal reports combine victimization–offending characteristics because these numbers are less than 1#x0025; of family homicide annually. However, family violence and family homicide crosses all socioeconomic categories and affects families of all races and ethnicities.

Almost one half of the victims and an equal portion of the offenders were between the ages of [Page 444]18 and 34 years of age, with 47#x0025; and 46#x0025;, respectively. Spousal/partner killings are the most common familicides; the next most common are killings of children by their parents. When a child kills a parent, it is most likely a teenage son who kills his father. Teenage or young adult brothers are most often involved in the killing of a sibling; it is extremely rare that a daughter or sister kills either a parent or sibling. Understanding the nature of such information requires some understanding of the dynamic nature of domestic family violence.

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