title: Mental illness, violence and delusional misidentifications: the role of Capgras' syndrome in matricide.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Violent behavior has frequently been reported in cases of Capgras' delusion, a misidentification syndrome characterized by the false belief that imposters have replaced people familiar to the individual.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To better understand the relationship between Capgras' syndrome and violence.
  
  
  METHODS
  After a brief overview of the scientific knowledge of delusional misidentification syndromes, we present two cases of psychotic sons suffering from this kind of delusion who killed their mothers and we analyzed the phenomenology of Capgras' delusion in-depth, focusing on the role of this syndrome in the etiology of violence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Capgras' syndrome may be a specific risk factor for violence towards others, particularly the murder of the delusionally misidentified person.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Looking for the signs of Capgras' syndrome may be crucial to assessing the risk of violence in mentally disordered patients.
authors.affiliation: Section of Criminology and Forensic Psychiatry, DIM, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Felice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Carabellese
authors.affiliation: Section of Criminology and Forensic Psychiatry, DISSAL, University of Genoa, Italy. Electronic address: gabriele.rocca@unige.it.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rocca
authors.affiliation: Section of Criminology and Forensic Psychiatry, DIM, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Candelli
authors.affiliation: Section of Criminology and Forensic Psychiatry, DIM, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Catanesi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002194:Capgras Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D003702:Delusions / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D006708:Homicide / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers
keywords: Capgras' delusion; Forensic psychiatry; Matricide; Mentally disordered offenders; Risk assessment