Editor’s Note: This was a hard article to read, much less edit. Unfortunately, it’s a reality that we, as law enforcement professionals, have to deal with. We have to see it; respond to it; investigate it, etc. MOST of us are parents ourselves and can’t fathom this type of crime. None of us is truly prepared for the emotional impact of exposure to this type of crime. If you have to deal with it and feel overwhelmed, don’t hold that in. Don’t let the emotional trauma of the job drag you down or create negativity in your mind, heart or life. TALK to someone you trust and can confide in. Seek out assistance in sorting out your reactions, thoughts, feelings and confusions. Above all, stay safe and keep yourself in as clean a state of mind as is possible in our profession today. There IS a life after and you don’t want the dirt of the street you encounter staying with you.
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What led Glen Hochman, a 52 year old retired White Plains NY police officer, and seemingly normal father, to kill two teenage daughters, the family dogs and himself on February 21, 2015? And then, to add insult to injury, he had attempted to leave his remaining daughter and wife completely destitute.
On January 27, 2015 the bodies of a veteran, Kisha Holmes (age 35) and her three children were discovered in Atlanta, Georgia. Holmes had been identified as a suicide risk by the Veterans Administration. She had missed two mental health appointments in the month prior to the carnage. She killed her 10-year-son, 4-year-old son and 9-month-old daughter, and then herself.
What about Megan Huntsman? The 39 year old meth addict who strangled or suffocated at least newborns from 1996 to 2006; their bodies were hidden until just last year. She told authorities didn't want to deal with the responsibility of raising them. She has pleaded guilty, and will be sentenced next month.
Then there’s Matthew Scott, of Cuyahoga Falls Ohio, a 29 year old father who was arrested on 2/5/15 and charged with murder in the death of his 3-month old daughter Alivia. Scott shook the infant so violently that he caused fatal head injuries as well as neck and left leg,
Filicide, or the murder of one’s children, while an unthinkable crime by most people, is a crime seen globally, and within every social class. Stories of mothers and fathers who kill their children continue to shock and bring about a level of complete disbelief and disgust each time they are reported. Child murder is not common, but it is a leading cause of child death in developed countries. 60% of all childhood homicides occur among children under age five. In over 55% of these cases the perpetrator was the child's primary caregiver. It is estimated that there are 500 filicides annually in this country. In the United States there are only two crimes that women commit as frequently as men. The first is shoplifting. The second is the murder of their children.
What would cause anyone to kill their child(ren)?
Five theories for the motives behind filicide have been identified:
- Altruistic filicide is the murder of a child committed out of love. It is seen as a rational act by the parent, primarily the mother. Altruistic mothers are invested in being good mothers but because of a delusional perception may believe that by killing their children they’re saving them from some awful fate or suffering. These mothers are frequently suicidal and are afraid of what will happen to the child or children after their intended suicide. Sometimes the parent kills to relieve the perceived suffering of the child; or the child has a disability, either real or imagined, that the parent finds intolerable. The fact that they kill out of love is the most important feature that distinguishes this type of filicide from all other homicides. This is a likely motive in the Kisha Holmes case.
- Acute psychotic filicide: Infanticide (killing of an infant) is most often associated with postpartum psychotic episodes. The woman experiences command hallucinations to kill the infant. She frequently has delusions that the infant is possessed. Postpartum psychoses this severe occurs in one out of 500-1000 deliveries. 21% of all filicides are committed by parents during a period of severe mental illness or during a psychotic episode. Postpartum psychosis usually follows postpartum depression. In a landmark case Andrea Yates drowned her five children (aged 7 years to 6 months) while in an acute psychotic state in 2002.
Postpartum depression affects 10-22% of adult women within the first year after the baby’s birth. Postpartum depression signs and symptoms include: depressed mood, crying, severe anxiety, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, changes in appetite or sleep, extreme fatigue, difficulty concentrating, impaired decision making skills, and thoughts of suicide. They may also experience delusional thoughts, especially related to the infant, which significantly increases the risk of abuse.
The statistics on how mental illness impacts a mother’s ability to kill her offspring are staggering. 75% of filicide parents displayed symptoms of mental illness prior to the child s death, 40% had seen a psychiatrist shortly before the crime, and almost half of the filicidal mothers had received inpatient psychiatric treatment. Additionally, approximately half of all mothers who kill their children make suicide attempts after the homicide.
- Accidental filicide: The parent unintentionally kills the child as a result of abuse. Battering is the leading cause of paternal filicide (fatal child abuse). Fathers generally kill older children. They frequently have a history of drug and/or alcohol abuse, previous criminal records, and very high levels of environmental stress, and the murdered children often have had previous injuries. Paternal batterers tend to have a very low frustration tolerance (such as a baby crying), and may view the baby or child as a threat or as being willfully malevolent. Battering is the second leading cause of maternal filicide. These deaths are almost always accidental; and happen in the context of increased psychosocial stress (marital problems, housing/financial problems) combined with limited support. The mother had no clear impulse to kill but acted impulsively and aggressively with the unintentional death of the child. This category includes the rarely occurring Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Example: Mathew Scott shaking his infant daughter to death.
- Unwanted child filicide: The parent kills the child, who is regarded as a hindrance. This usually happens immediately after birth. Crimes of neonaticide (homicide within the first 24 hours of life), are almost always committed by younger, unmarried, mothers who are poorly educated. They usually have no history of criminal behavior, and they don’t attempt suicide after the murders. These women generally don’t seek out abortions. They frequently conceal or don’t acknowledge their pregnancies. These women are motivated prominently by a feeling of horror over the shame and guilt that frequently accompanies pregnancy and child rearing out of marriage.
This category also includes parents who benefit from the death of the child in some way. Motives include inheriting insurance money, marrying a partner who does not want step-children, or the child simply interferes with the parent’s preferred life-style. From the previous examples, this was the motive for Megan Huntsman to kill her newborns.
- Spousal revenge filicide: the parent kills the child as a means of exacting revenge upon the spouse, perhaps secondary to infidelity, abandonment or other perceived failing. Custody disputes sometimes trigger killings. Men who kill their children feel they have lost control of their finances, families and relationships. They often kill in retaliation for something their wives or lovers have done or are about to do. This is most probably the motive for the recent killings by Officer Glen Hochman.
Methods of Filicide
Parents only use firearms in 20% of filicides, whereas more than 60% of murder defendants use a gun to commit homicide. Parents frequently do not plan on killing the child, and there is a sense of intense passion during the act. Children were more likely to be drowned, shaken, beaten, poisoned, stabbed or suffocated than shot. Women usually kill children in a method that involves close and active physical contact with the child, such as shaking, manual battering, suffocation or drowning. They may use more indirect methods such as poisoning or drowning while the children are asleep or sedated. Whereas, fathers are more likely to strike, squeeze or stab the child. They are also more likely than women to use weapons. Suffocation, strangulation and drowning are the most common methods used to kill neonates.
Filicide & the Legal Process
Juries are generally more lenient with female filicide offenders than males. The jury may have a hard time placing an accused mother in the common perception of a murderer. Or they may feel that the guilt and shame she has experienced has been punishment enough. Men are much more likely to be convicted and sent to prison. There are 30 countries around the world, including Canada, Britain and Australia, where murder charges are ruled out and women are allowed to plead to lesser charges if the murders are committed during the first year after birth.
Because of the nature of the crime, a plea of insanity is presented in about 20% of maternal filicide defense cases. The insanity plea is used in less than 1% of all other criminal cases. However, the success of insanity defenses isn’t guaranteed in cases of filicide: It was a voluntary act, frequently premeditated, and often a methodical crime. The bottom line is the same for all insanity defenses: Did the parent know that the act violated a law? Did they have the ability to refrain from the act? Was the act morally justified?
For Law Enforcement Officers
Filicide remains as one of the most unimaginable crimes; from the officer who arrives first on the scene, to a motherly juror, or to the average citizen watching the evening news. Cases where parents kill their children continue to shock communities and nations. Prediction of a filicide is extremely difficult, but warning signs do exist. If you are on patrol and see a young woman who maybe attempting to conceal a pregnancy, talk to her, discuss options and give community referrals.
If you respond to a family disturbance call and there are children in the house, take some extra time to ask a few questions. Remember: Children under the age of 6 months are at the greatest risk for filicide. Does the mother have a history of mental illness? Is she getting treatment? Have Child Protective Services been involved with either parent in the past? Use your instincts. Is the father intoxicated? Does he have a short fuse? Do the children look well and fed? Is their behavior age-appropriate? Is either parent capable of suicide? If so, are they also capable of homicide?
If the hairs on the back of your neck are standing up, assess if you have enough probable cause for an involuntary commitment to a mental health facility. If not, put the house on extra patrol list, and follow up if you can. Make a referral to CPS if you have any suspicions about the child’s or children’s welfare. Parental filicide can be prevented with early and appropriate intervention and treatment.
