Child Killers

The act of homicide is sometimes difficult to accept and comprehend. The murder of a child, however, defies the concepts of civility and justice in the world. Even homicide investigators have shown greater amounts of post-traumatic stress disorder following the investigation of the murder of a child. The murder of innocent children has occurred throughout history and has been widespread across nations and cultures. The early sacrifice of children was accepted as routine, if not required in some cases, during the biblical era. Two examples of this reside in the core doctrine of the Judeo-Christian religion. First, the Christian God is reputed to have sacrificed his son, Jesus Christ, for the so-called eternal salvation of all people. Second, the biblical prophet Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to prove his faith. Fortunately for Isaac, Abraham was later commanded by God to desist before the sacrifice was completed. Moreover, even the military's use of the term “infantry” relates to the sending out of the youthful members of society to fight, and likely to die, in times of war.

During the mid- to late 1800s, the economic and social pressures of the time led some to rid themselves of children who were unwanted or considered “surplus” babies. During this time, children under the age of 1 year accounted for approximately 60% to 65% of all homicides in England. France at this same time only listed two criminal acts against children; abortion and infanticide. This was in response to the eventual depopulation of the country secondary to the very high numbers of induced abortion and infanticide of the times. Abuse, sexual molestation, abandonment, and malnutrition (even to death) were previously not considered crimes. Some believed that this form of killing was an acceptable method of fertility control, irrespective of the probable negative results to the woman's body and her future reproductive capability. Since that time, many child protection reforms, albeit slowly, have been enacted.

The murder of children has historically been condoned when it has made some adaptive sense for the parents, usually the mother, or the even the child. For example, these justifiable circumstances might include the illegitimate paternity of the infant or the unlikely survival of the child due to health problems. It was also somewhat common for parents over a brief period of time to consider the potential survival and reproductive fitness of the child before deciding whether to deprive the infant of his or her life. In other words, there may have been an unspoken “waiting period.” In contemporary societies, the murder of children is unacceptable in all circumstances and in all forms. Nonetheless, children in modern societies are still completely vulnerable and subject to the power of adults.

When a child is murdered within the first 24 hours after being born, the referring term is neonaticide. When the child is older than 24 hours and under the age of 5 years, the referring term is infanticide. Beyond the age of 5 years and up to the age of 18 years, the term is early filicide. Over the age of 18, the term is late filicide. There are no specific terms to delineate the gender of child murder. Because the Latin root word for a son [Page 79]is filius and the Latin root word for daughter is filia, filicide appropriately refers to either gender.

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