Giving birth to a son, raising him with love, tirelessly working to provide him comfort, being his biggest cheerleader only to be mercilessly murdered by the apple of your eye. Such was the case with Suraj’s parents. Their son Suraj, roused by the ruckus, stabbed his father, and his mother warned him about who was sleeping in the same room, yet he stabbed her once, too, police said (Venkataraman). Unfortunately, this is not the only case of a child killing their parent(s).

Killing your mother or father is known as parricide. Peculiarly killing your father is known as patricide, though killing your mother is known as matricide. The number of Parricide cases in India accounts for 1-4% of all homicide cases. The number of patricides exceeds the number of matricides in society. Children and adults alike are part of this percentage. Although chances are rare, what drives someone to cause harm to their birth giver? Why does the person think it is okay to kill their blood? What thoughts go into a mind to wreak such havoc? The article seeks an answer to these very questions. While nothing in the sphere can justify this atrocious act of murder, it is essential to understand what leads to this and is solely an attempt at preventing it in future. The basis of parental love, relationships, and maternal instincts are feelings. These various feelings are the culprits and can build bridges while destroying mountains simultaneously. Hence, the root cause is the mind and brain, wherever psychology comes into the picture.

History has seen several incidents of parricide. One well-known story is that of Oedipus, who unknowingly killed his father to marry his mother. Sigmund Freud’s theory describes a child going through a stage of being attracted to the parent of the opposite sex in alignment with this concept. It could account for patricidal tendencies in some individuals.

A 19-year-old stabbed his father in Goregaon (East) on Wednesday night, using a screwdriver, allegedly because he suspected his father of having extramarital affairs. (HT Correspondent) In the case of 2019, it points strongly to Oedipal tendencies. After Freud, Wertham talked about the Orestes Complex, which says that the Oedipal Complex arises from the hatred of the mother. Orestes killed his mother to avenge his father, which could be because the attachment to the mother could result in rage.

Broadly, there are two kinds of parricide: Reactive Parricide and Psychotic Parricide. Reactive parricides show no underlying disorders and primarily involve an abusive or dysfunctional family. Psychotic Parricides are due to the presence of psychotic disorders and delusions caused by them. Various reasons could cause a person to murder their parent(s). The most common one is an abusive household. Parents sometimes unknowingly disrupt the well-being of a person through absenteeism, social and emotional causes, and constantly dominating and putting the person down. 

The case of Jennifer Pan is a well-known one. Burdened with expectations, Pan faced tiger parenting, and this is not the only case where parricide has occurred due to restrictions placed on the child. The family environment plays an essential role in these cases. Sometimes, the child feels burdened with the pressure to perform rigorously or abused by either parent, which leads to a hatred of the parent-victim. Adolescents account for mostly reactive parricides because they have a small social circle or are overly attached to either parent. Another cause could be a lack of control over aggression. Parricides also occur for selfish reasons, such as wanting freedom or parental wealth.

Along with this, antisocial personality, Paranoia, and Schizophrenia are also leading causes of this. As far as psychotic parricides are concerned, people with psychotic disorders commit murders as a consequence of conflict between parents and child or over-dependency on parents, delusions, or wrong or no treatment of the illness. As opposed to this, substance-induced psychosis led to murders due to a perceived threat to masculinity in men.

The main reasons for these murders thus found are dependence on the victim-parent, illness and family dynamics. Parricides, hence, could be prevented by improving child-parent relationships, healthy communication, encouraging socialising, providing therapy, getting treatment in cases of psychotic disorders and learning to control aggression and impulses. 

One research in Psychiatry (2010) by Sara and Mendel observed that sons who kill their single parent (mother or father) showed symptoms of Schizophrenia in common, and the parent was dominant and aggressive. They reported that daughters who kill their parents had strained relationships, and even parent was violent and hostile towards the daughter. Family system theory mainly explains offenders’ chronic hatred for parent victims. There are a few cases of Parent victims who mistreated their child excessively and may pushed towards explosion. Men mostly commit more crimes as compared to women, and cases of patricides are higher in number than those of Matricides.

Now, picture this: Jennifer Pan can live as she wishes. Her parents have a genuine conversation with her, listen to what she says, accept her as she is and may feel happy to have reconciled with her parents. Both she and the child must have been alive. The World can become a better place through one step, one idea, one conversation, and one helping hand. 

Dr Nisha Khanna is a leading Mental Healthcare Professional with two decades of experience as a Psychologist. She is among the best marriage and family counsellors in Delhi and India. She provides online, telephonic, and face-to-face counselling services. If you are in Delhi, India or any other part of the World, you can approach us through any of these mediums. For further, visit Bye Tense or call us at +91-9818211474