Why Do Children Kill Their Parents?

Elliott Leyton is a professor and author at Memorial University, and some years ago, he wrote a book called Sole Survivor: Children Who Murder Their Families. It’s a very interesting read.

With the murder of Rob Reiner allegedly by his son Nick, I started to go down the rabbit hole of Hollywood children who kill. Of course, Nick Reiner is not the only one; there are Lyle and Erik Menendez and Christian Brando, Son of Marlon Brando, who fatally shot a man at the Brando family home in Los Angeles in 1990.

Lyle and Erik Menendez

The double killing of one's parents is known as parricide. Although it always makes big news, this happens rarely.

In the US, there are about 250 cases a year, and fewer than 20 are double murders where both the mother and father are killed. Usually, the killer is their male child over the age of 18.

Christian Brando

According to criminology experts, there are four types of children who commit parricide.

The first is the severely abused offender, usually a juvenile who is still living at home, where there is longstanding abuse, typically physical, maybe sexual, verbal, neglect and psychological abuse. Their motive is desperation; they want out, but don’t know how.

The second type is severely mentally ill. They have a longstanding history of mental illness, and when the killing happens, it's frequently because they've gone off their medication and they have delusions. They may not know what they are doing.

The third is classified as dangerously antisocial. They kill a parent to achieve a selfish end. They may want their parents' money, or their parents may object to a boyfriend. They manipulate and lie and are good at it. They have a pattern of breaking the law or being very oppositional. They want what they want, and they want it now.

The fourth type is the enraged offender. They kill their parents because of conflict in a state of rage. The rage may come from: abuse, neglect or overindulgence. The parent gives the kid everything and cleans up their messes, but then they tell them it's time to grow up. They act out of entitlement.

So, parents, ….. teach your children well.