Homicides by their nature are unfathomable to comprehend. There has been research over various topics of homicide and whether there might be clues that could lead to possibly preventing homicide or profiling the killer or traits that might indicate an individual is capable of committing a homicide. One type of homicide that is exceptionally hard to comprehend is that of family murder. The killings of one family falls under several categories of homicide. Depending on how and who was murdered, determines the type of killing it would be classified as. This paper will explore two of those factions, Parricide and familicide. It will look at the similarities and differences between these forms of murder.
In the United States there are over 200,000
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He would then disappear for decades, until later being caught and die just days after his arrest, at the age of 81. This type of murder is called familicide and is the first type of family homicide that will be explored. Familicide occurs when a killer’s spouse and children have been murdered. The concept of familicide has been seen in many movies and shows. Familicide is the more prominent of all forms of family murder, but it is still a rare occurrence when it comes to homicide. Between the years 2000-2009 there were 207 familicides with 583 victims in the United States (Liem, Levin, Holland, & Fox, 2013). The perpetrator make up of those who commit familicide have primarily been white males, in their 30’s and 40’s, and tend to be financially stable before the event happened. It is hard to pinpoint an exact motive for this type of crime, but one common factor was financial strain. Other factors include the termination of a relationship and jealousy. Most Familicide is committed with the use of a gun. Compared to countries with more strict gun laws, the United States has a higher rate of partner violence involving a gun. The amount of actual partner murder committed using a gun in the United States has been on the decline over the last 28