title: A case series of twenty one maternal filicides in the UK.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study reports a case-series study of 21 women from the United Kingdom convicted of the murder or manslaughter of their child (maternal filicide: MF). These cases were reviewed using data provided from police forces and from publicly available resources.
  
  
  METHODS
  Content and thematic analysis and multidimensional scaling techniques were used to analyse the relationships between the variables present in the commission of the crimes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mothers who killed their children could be categorised as emotionally driven and in despair at their situation, or rejecting their children due to perceiving them as a threat. Mothers who killed their babies (neonaticides) appeared to form two distinct subgroups: reluctant and detached neonaticidal offenders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings offer an insight into the factors that may be of relevance in understanding how a mother may come to commit MF, and are interpreted in terms of disturbed attachment processes.
authors.affiliation: Edenfield Centre, Prestwich Hospital, Bury New Rd, Manchester M25 3BL, UK.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McKee
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Egan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D057237:Criminals; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000523:psychology / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007237:Infanticide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000639:trends; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Child murder; Female offenders; Infanticide; Maternal filicide; Parental homicide