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Characterization of mentally ill maternal perpetrators of filicide assigned to a single psychiatric-forensic facility, including previous access to mental health services. A cross-sectional, retrospective analysis of medical records and legal documentation of maternal filicide patients at a single psychiatric-forensic facility (1990–2021) was performed. Socio-demographic, relationship, psychopathological, and criminological characteristics were collected. Data were compared according to previous perpetrators' access to mental health services or not and access within 1 year prior to filicide or not. All 55 detainees (mean age 34.8 ± 6.2 years) were included. There were 64 victims; 15 (23%) were ≤ 1 year old and most (77%) were single victims. Some mothers had history of violence/abuse (29%), an aggressive parent (45%), and violent relationships with their intimate partner (46%) and were socially isolated (49%). Most crimes were motivated by altruism (53%). Women had attempted suicide in 39% of filicide cases. Previous psychiatric diagnoses were available for 56%; 71% had accessed services for ≤ 1 year. Patients unknown to mental health services were less likely Italian, with children below preschool age and with no history of physical abuse/violence, aggressive parent, or suicide attempts. Patients lost to mental health services (> 1 year) were less likely Italian or assuming psychopharmacological therapy, were in shorter relationships, and were mostly diagnosed with personality disorders. Female perpetrators of filicide are often unknown/lost to mental health services prior to the crime. Multifactorial historical and current characteristics aid in identifying mothers at risk. Communication of the availability of mental health services must be multi-lingual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female offenders of filicide have been found to receive more lenient legal handling than male offenders. We aimed to discover these possible gender differences in the legal outcome of filicide cases. This was a binational register-based study covering all filicide offenders in Austria and Finland 1995-2005. We examined the legal outcomes of the crimes of all living offenders (64 mothers and 26 fathers). Mothers received a conviction of murder and life imprisonment less often than fathers. Within psychotic and personality-disordered offenders, infanticides, and offenders convicted for life, gender differences were less evident. Even though there seems to be some gender differences within the legal outcomes of filicide, ruling seemed more consistent than expected within distinct subgroups of offenders. Gender-based assumptions should not hinder equal and just handling of filicide cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although filicide is of serious concern, it is poorly understood in Malaysia. Our interviews with health and policy professionals revealed that they attribute responsibility for filicide to women's failure to comply with social norms and religious teachings. This research sought to understand the meaning of and background to filicide from the perspectives of women who have been convicted of filicide in Malaysia. In-depth interviews were conducted in person with all eligible and consenting women convicted of filicide and incarcerated in prisons or forensic psychiatric institutions. Women's accounts were translated into English and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis and interpreted using narrative theory. Interviews with nine women convicted of filicide yielded evidence that others were implicated in the crime but punished less severely, if at all, and that the women had experienced lifelong gender-based violence and marginalisation with minimal access to health and social care. These findings illuminate an inadequately understood phenomenon in Malaysia and reveal why existing strategies to reduce filicide, which reflect key stakeholders' views, have had little impact. They reveal the pervasive harm of violence against women and children and its link to filicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to identify differences between single and repeat perpetrators of filicide by using register-based data. The study used register-based, comprehensive, nationwide data from both Austria and Finland. The current study covers 23 perpetrators, 20 single and 3 repeat perpetrators, with a total of 28 victims. All victims had a maximum age of 24 h and all perpetrators were women. Every third victim of neonaticide was a victim of a repeat case. The repeat perpetrators were older; had a higher number of children over their lifespan, some of whom lived with them; were more likely to live within established family structures; had higher levels of education and employment; had a higher proportion of personality disorders; and were more likely to identify stress factors during pregnancy. One unexpected finding was low levels of awareness about pregnancy within the perpetrator's circle remain a risk factor, especially for repeat perpetrators. Arguably, the quality of interpersonal relationships these women have may be affected by their own mental health issues and life experience and vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A national mixed-methods study of English Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) was carried out to better understand the characteristics and circumstances of maternally perpetrated filicides, to compare these with paternally perpetrated cases, and to identify learning points for mental health professionals. Published reports for all SCRs of children in England dying as a result of abuse or neglect from 2011 to 2014 were subject to qualitative analysis using a system of layered reading and inductive thematic analysis, along with descriptive and comparative quantitative analysis. There were 86 deaths directly attributable to child maltreatment within the immediate family. The mother was the suspected perpetrator in 20. Twelve of the mother perpetrators were victims of domestic violence, while 15 of the father perpetrators were known to be perpetrators of domestic violence. Those deaths resulting from impulsive violence or severe, persistent cruelty are almost exclusively perpetrated by males, while those with an apparent intent to kill the child are slightly more likely to be perpetrated by mothers. Four key themes were identified through the qualitative analysis: domestic violence, maternal mental illness, separation and maternal isolation, and the invisibility of the child. These findings highlight the important role of domestic violence and its interaction with maternal mental health. Professionals working with mothers with mental health problems need to adopt a supportive but professionally curious stance, to be alert to signs of escalating stress or worsening mental ill-health, and to provide supportive and accessible structures for at-risk families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the frequency of suicide and filicide in a literature of over 4000, and personal series of 321, childbearing psychoses. Suicide is rare during the acute episode, but the rate is high later in the mother's life and in first degree relatives. The filicide rate is high in depressive psychoses (4.5 %), but lower in episodes without overt depression (less than 1 %), and some of these appear to be accidental, without intent to kill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes ten cases of filicides committed by mothers who intentionally killed one or more of their children within 12 months after delivery. The data were collected from police and court records, forensic psychiatric records, autopsy reports, and other medical records. The mean age of the mothers was 28.5 years and of the victims 4 months. The symptoms of depression were clear: an irritable, severely depressed mood with crying spells, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, preoccupation with worries about the baby’s well-being and the mother’s caring abilities, suicidal ideation, or even psychotic thoughts. Most mothers had had house calls from the public health nurse or psychologist. The mothers’ conditions deteriorated rapidly, and the filicide was committed when the mother was left alone with the baby against her will. The babies were well taken care of, not neglected or abused. The majority of the mothers had felt that their own parents, especially their mothers, were very demanding, rejecting, and emotionally unsupportive. All the mothers had also had traumatic experiences in their childhood or in adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]