Parricide refers to the murder of immediate family members, including parents, siblings, and other close relatives. Offenders have various reasons, including mental illness and abuse. Patricide is more common than matricide, and other types include fratricide and sororicide. Offenders are typically adults, and males are more likely to commit these crimes. Throughout history, there have been several examples of patricide, including the Greek myth of Oedipus. Punishments for patricide have been severe, but today, they are not as creative. Famous cases of patricide include the Tochigi patricide case in Japan in 1968 and Sarah Marie Johnson’s case in Idaho in 2003.
Parricide refers to the murder of one’s immediate family. While this typically refers to a person’s parents, it can refer to any close adult relative, such as brothers or sisters. Offenders have a variety of reasons for committing this type of crime, including mental illness and abuse. There have been several cases of patricide in literature, as well as throughout history.
Matricide refers to the act of a person killing their own mother. Even if it does happen, matricide is a little less common than patricide, or a person killing their own father. Some other types of patricide include fratricide and sororicide, or the killing of one’s brother and sister, respectively. These usually refer to adult victims, as infanticide is the term used to describe the killing of young children.
Individuals who commit these types of crimes are typically adults, rather than children. Research also suggests that males are more likely than females to commit this crime. Offenders who aren’t mentally ill usually come from an abusive home filled with abuse, including sexual abuse and physical abuse.
Throughout history, there have been several examples of patricide, especially patricide, in well-known literature. One such example is a Greek myth of Oedipus. In this story, Oedipus leaves home after an oracle predicts he will kill his father and marry his mother. During his journey, he meets a man who, unbeknownst to him, is his real father. After solving the riddle of the Sphinx, Oedipus obtains the queen’s hand in marriage, only to discover that she is actually his mother.
Tacitus, a senator and historian of ancient Rome, referred to the punishment for patricide as the fate of patricide. This punishment involved severely flogging the offender before sealing him in a leather bag filled with a snake, rooster, dog, and monkey. The leather bag was then thrown into a river. Today, the punishment for patricide is not as creative.
One of the most famous cases of patricide occurred in Japan in 1968, and is often referred to as the Tochigi patricide case. After being repeatedly raped for years, 22-year-old Chiyo Aizawa strangled her father to death. This case was not only unusual because the perpetrator was a woman, but it also forced Japan to change its strict guidelines for punishing patricide. After hearing the events leading up to the case, Aizawa received an unusually lenient sentence.
Another famous patricide occurred in Idaho in 2003. In September of that year, 16-year-old Sarah Marie Johnson shot and killed both of her parents. As of the 16th, she was serving a life sentence in a women’s correctional facility in Idaho. This case has been so publicized for a few reasons. First, Johnson was a young woman and the individuals who commit these types of crimes are adult males. Furthermore, she committed both matricide and patricide at the same time, which is also considered relatively rare.
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