RJ Parker - Parents Who Killed Their Children

PARENTS WHO KILLED

THEIR CHILDREN

ISBN-13 978-1494787066

ISBN-10 1494787067

Authored by

RJ Parker

Copyrights 2014 by

RJ PARKER PUBLISHING, INC.

Published in the United States of America

eBook Edition

Edited by Deb Hartwell

( Hartwell Editing )

Cover design by Jacqueline Cross

License Notes

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the author and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author. All rights reserved. No parts of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written authorization from RJ Parker Publishing, Inc . The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment.

Prologue

We consider mothers to hold the highest status in our lives. For a son, there is no greater being on this planet than his mother. She gives birth to the child, cares for him when he is in his most vulnerable state, unable to eat or drink, and she feeds him her own milk. Suffice it to say, the role of a mother is one that cannot be explained properly in words. What she does for her child is the real example of true love; she does everything for him without ever wanting anything back.

However, throughout the history of time, we have learned that there is no end to the cruelty of mankind. We commit the most heinous crimes, sometimes the most unthinkable acts and yet, we never seem to learn. The bond between a mother and her child is a sacred one. The powers of love, care, and trust that bind this bond are so strong that it is a virtually unbreakable bond. A mother cannot lose her child, and if she does, she is heartbroken. Similarly, a child cannot lose his mother. If he does, through any incident, he will forever miss her. Children look up to their mothers, considering them to be a shelter for them. The minute she gives birth, the status of an ordinary woman is elevated to a sacred one: that of a mother. Certain expectations are attached to her role; her responsibilities increase and in virtually every religion, the position of a mother is an exalted one. Throughout our lives, we have read stories of the bravery of mothers to support and help their children. We have read of single mothers who bore all of the hardships of life just so that they could provide for their children. You might have heard of numerous women out there who have even sold their bodies just so that they could earn enough to support their young ones. However, the stories you are about to read are true, albeit very different than what we have grown up believing about our mothers. It is a sad instance of how deep one can fall as a victim to drugs, addictions, and insanity.

The term filicide is a funny one. Sometimes, I doubt whether this word should even exist in the dictionary or not. Filicide is the killing of a child by his or her own parent. Can man be capable of doing such a thing? We grow up being loved and adored by our parents. Sure, not everybody has the perfect life. Some children are born and raised in broken families, having to move from one place to another, switching houses between father and mother. Sometimes, things are worse: the parents may be drunk and abusive and may use violence as a means of venting out their frustrations, beating the children and abusing their rights as parents.

Even though bad parenting is a pretty big issue, most parents still show undying love for their children. And that is how it should be, of course. We have all received the occasional spanking from our parents, yet biologically, the mind of a child is engineered in such a way that he only finds relief, security, and safety when he is in the arms of his mother. This is how its supposed to be; it feels natural and automated. Even if you take a cursory look at the news, you will find that the number of stories regarding struggling single mothers who are willing to go to any extent to support their children and help them in any way possible are much higher. Stories regarding the abuse of children by their own mothers are obviously fewer in comparison, and that is what our society is like; it's how our minds are engineered to be.

Whenever we hear about instances of cruelty from parents on their children, we are often confused. Why would a parent hit his or her own offspring? Or abuse them? More often than not, the blame goes to their mental conditions. Most parents often become mentally unstable whenever things tend to get out of hand. Imagine a single mother, tired of fighting with society for herself and her child, jobless, trying to support two people. How long would you expect her to keep it together? Often times, the parents release their frustration on the child, and as a child grows, she eventually realizes that. Yet, it is a heartless, shameful act to subject one's own child to cruelty. The stories that follow go against everything we have been taught and have learned. We perceive mothers to be the epitome of care and support, yet mankind teaches us cruel lessons.

Filicide

Filicide is the intended act of a parent killing his or her own child. The act is also regarded as an offence since it amounts to murder. To most of society, filicide appears very unnatural and inhumane, yet a small percentage of parents exist who do kill their offspring. Many researchers and scholars have associated these tragedies as being caused by domestic violence. According to Jill Proudfoot of the Auckland Safer Homes, threats of violence are a common occurrence in relationships and it is the use of such threats that keeps a woman in a given relationship. However, this does not mean that all parents who commit filicide have mental problems.

The Causes of Filicide

Researchers point to numerous possible reasons behind incidents of filicide. Some of them are as follows:

Altruism

In this instance, a parent murders his or her child in order to end some form of suffering that the child may be experiencing. The suffering of the child may be in form of incapacity both of the mind or body. A parent may thus become so depressed by the condition of the child and cannot stand the idea of leaving the child to suffer, hence reasoning that ending the childs life is the only way of helping. Other times the child may not be really suffering but exhibits the signs of suffering or incapacitation.

Acute Psychosis

In some instances, a parent commits filicide because of a defect of reasoning or because the parent is mentally ill. This mainly happens when there is no reasonable explanation to account for the murder of the child. In the 2001 case of Andrea Yates, who was accused of drowning her children in a bathtub, she was found to be laboring from insanity and found not guilty for killing her five children. She psychically believed that upon maturity, her babies will come to harm and that she was helping by saving them from that harm.

An Unwanted Child

This is quite self-explanatory. If a parent does not like or love his or her child and feels that the child is a big drawback to the goals of his or her life, this may push the parent to get rid of the child so as to be set free.

Child Maltreatment