Understanding Parricide: When Sons and Daughters Kill Parents

by Kathleen M. Heide

Understanding Parricide is the most comprehensive book available about juvenile and adult sons and daughters who kill their parents. Dr. Heide moves far behind the statistical correlates of parricide by synthesizing the professional literature on parricide in general, matricide, patricide, double parricides, and familicides. As a clinician, she explains the reasons behind the killings. Understanding Parricide includes in-depth discussion of issues related to prosecuting and defending parricide offenders. The book is enriched with its focus on clinical assessment, case studies, and follow-up of parricide offenders, as well as treatment, risk assessment, and prevention.

Genres: Psychology

464 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2008

Reviews

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It just needs updated edition soon as author’s latest data runs 2007/2013.

[Eric Taipale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Heide's finest work to date.

[Wendy Beckman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids Who Kill Their Parents is suffering a little from multiple personality disorder (which I learned is now called "dissociative identity disorder"). Does it want to be read by people looking for gory, horrifying details about kids who commit parricide? Or is it trying to be a clinical, academic book? For example, when Dr. Heide cites her earlier work, she refers to herself in the third person. It's kind of jarring in a non-academic publication.

The information is presented the way we used to be instructed on how to teach: tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them. That model needed to die, but it is alive and well in this book.

As far as what I needed from it in researching my own true crime book, it was excellent. Heide includes examples (in the form of case studies), literary reviews (an academic phenomenon), and a fantastic examination of classifications, law history, and police/court procedures.