Medwire (4/11, Grasmo) reports that “study findings published in PLoS One reveal that over one-third of parents and step-parents who murder their children – known as filicide – have a mental disorder.” For the study, researchers analyzed “a national index of homicide perpetrators to identify 297 filicides and 45 filicides that were followed by suicides that occurred in England and Wales during 1997 through 2006.” Investigators found that “a history of mental illness was present in 40% of perpetrators, and this was more common in mothers than in fathers (66 vs 27%).”
Related Links:
— “Mental disorders prevalent among parents who commit filicide, “Ingrid Grasmo, Medwire News, April 10, 2013.