Filicide
Filicide is the act or fact of a parent, especially a father, killing his or her own son or daughter. The term can also be applied to the parent who has committed such an act. Suspected filicides are usually fathers, and their victims are usually sons under 10 years of age. In some cultures, killing a daughter who has disgraced the family is a common occurrence. The word filicide derives from the Latin word filius (meaning "son").
Compare with child murder (the killing of an unrelated child), infanticide (systematic killings of a large number of children), patricide (the killing of a parent by his or her child), and fratricide (the killing of one's sibling). Also consider filial cruelty (cruelty toward one's own child) and child cruelty (cruelty toward an unrelated child).
Sometimes there is a combination of murder and suicide.
Known or suspected filicides
- Marvin Pentz Gay, Sr. (deceased) - Shot his son (singer) Marvin Gaye during an argument in Los Angeles, California, in 1984. He was sent to a rest home for the rest of his life.
- Susan Smith - Drowned her two sons Michael and Alex in a maroon Mazda Protegé in Union, South Carolina, in 1994. She was sentenced to life in prison in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1995.
- Andrea Yates - Drowned her five children in a bathtub in 2001, in Clear Lake City, Houston, Texas. She was sentenced to life in prison in Gatesville, Texas in 2002.
Filicides in fiction
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
- Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare - Title character kills his daughter Lavinia. This is an attempt to restore her honor after she was raped, her hands were amputated, and her tongue cut out. Titus previously kills her attackers, marking this play as Shakespeare's most gruesome.
- La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) - This Hispanic American folktale tells of a woman, Maria, whose husband is unfaithful. In her rage, she throws their children into the river, where they are drowned.
See also
