Evaluation of Adult Parricide Defendants in Türkiye

Objective: Parricide is a rare but severe form of intrafamilial violence, often associated with complex psychiatric, social, and environmental factors. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of adult parricide defendants and compare the similarities and differences between patricide and matricide defendants in Turkey. Materials and Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed the reports prepared by the 4th Specialization Board of the Council of Forensic Medicine from 2012–2014.Results: This study included 99 parricide defendants: 55.6% of the cases were patricides, 35.4% were matricides, and 9.1% were double parricides. The motivation for parricide for more than half of the defendants was a family conflict (n=63, 63.6%). Generally, the most common method for murder was the use of a sharp object (n=56, 56.6%). Prior perpetration of violence was present in 47.5% of defendants, while 35.4% had a history of being victims of domestic violence. The majority of the defendants had a history of psychiatric illness. However, almost all of the perpetrators had criminal responsibility for the murder. Patricide cases showed significantly higher firearm use, more frequent rural occurrence, and higher exposure to domestic violence than matricide cases (p