title: Double Parricide: An In-Depth Look at Two Victim Homicides Involving Parents as Victims.
abstract: The majority of studies examining the killing of parents and step-parents by biological and stepchildren involve a single victim and single offender. Little is known when parricide incidents involve multiple victims or multiple offenders. Using the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), this study examined double parricide incidents involving single or multiple offenders over the 20-year period 1991-2010 with the aim of investigating juvenile and adult involvement. Forty-five incidents of double parricide were identified and verified; in 35 of these cases, the offenders acted alone. Frequencies reported include offender, victim, and incident characteristics. The results indicated that the typical double parricide offender who acted alone was a White male approximately 30 years of age. When multiple offenders were involved, the offenders tended to be younger and were more likely to include a female accomplice. Newspapers were utilized to augment available case information. Study limitations, implications, and directions for future research are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, U. S.
authors.forename: Averi R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Fegadel
authors.affiliation: Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, U. S.
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Heide
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D054041:Weapons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data