Citation

Shields LB, Rolf CM, Goolsby ME, Hunsaker JC. Am. J. Forensic Med. Pathol. 2015; 36(3): 210-215.

Affiliation

From the *Norton Neuroscience Institute, Norton Healthcare, Louisville, KY; †State Medical Examiner Office, Anchorage, AK; ‡Office of the Associate Chief Medical Examiner, Frankfort, KY; §Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Tulsa, OK; and ∥Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PAF.0000000000000173

PMID

26087315

Abstract

Homicide-suicides or "dyadic deaths" refer to a homicide followed by the suicide of the perpetrator within 1 week of the homicide. A unique subset is filicide-suicide: a parent kills his/her child before committing suicide. Shooting is the preferred method for both the homicide and suicide. The perpetrator has depression in most cases.We present 3 cases of filicide-suicide. In case 1, a divorced mother with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder shot her son and herself. In case 2, a father shot his son and himself while involved in a child-custody dispute. In case 3, a father, experiencing a divorce and financial difficulties, and his daughter with Angelman syndrome succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning.The forensic pathologist should be aware of the psychosocial dynamics that interplay in filicide-suicide. Diligent attention to a parent's life stressors may aid in determining risk factors for filicide-suicide.

Language: en