Female Offender Parricides: the Asymmetrical Distribution of Homicide for Parents and Stepparents

Research suggests that parricides parallel other homicides in that they too >uctuate with shifts in social structure and patterns. Research also suggests that their declination is largely attributable to the decrease in homicides committed by juvenile males. Absent from the literature, however, is an examination of parricides committed by female offenders. In this study, we use the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) to examine the parricides committed byfemales in the U.S.from 1976 to 1999. Our analyses reveal two noteworthy findings: (l) consanguineous relationship does not necessarily mitigate violence and (2) parents do not face the greatest risk of homicide in their eldest years, as evolutionary psychology ofviolence suggests.