Citation

Catanesi R, Rocca G, Candelli C, Solarino B, Carabellese F. Forensic Sci. Int. 2012; 223(1-3): e13-7.

Affiliation

Section of Criminology and Forensic Psychiatry, Department of Internal Medicine and Public Medicine, University of Bari, Policlinico, Piazza Giulio Cesare, 70124 Bari, Italy. Electronic address: (r.catanesi@criminologia.uniba.it).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.forsciint.2012.08.025

PMID

22981214

Abstract

In the Western world, cases of fatal child neglect due to starvation are extremely rare. When they do occur, particularly at the hands of a parent, such crimes are considered to be caused by mental disorders or personality disorders with severe affective impairment. The present report describes the peculiar case of a couple with a total of four children to care for, who starved a 16-month-old female to death, while all the other children were found to be healthy. After a forensic psychiatric assessment of their criminal responsibility, the couples were both judged guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison. After a brief overview of the scientific knowledge about filicide, the authors propose a framework that may help to understand and explain the motivations underlying this dreadful crime that shocked the nation, and emphasize the role of the forensic psychiatric investigation into cases of filicide, which may contribute to gain a greater insight into the different motivational factors underlying this phenomenon.

Language: en