Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-9q27g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-21T20:28:48.820Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Matricide in psychotic patients: About 3 case reports

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

S. Kolsi*
Affiliation:
Psychiatry A, CHU Hédi Chaker Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
S. Hentati
Affiliation:
Psychiatry A, CHU Hédi Chaker Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
I. Baati
Affiliation:
Psychiatry A, CHU Hédi Chaker Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Introduction

Matricide is the murder of the mother and it is one the rarest reported homicides with rates varying between 1% and 4% of all murders. In our country, few studies have focused on this issue.

Objectives

To precise circumstances of matricide in psychotic patients and the offender and victim’s profiles.

Methods

We report three clinical cases who were hospitalized in the department of Psychiatry “A” at the Hedi Chaker university hospital in Sfax, Tunisia, because of non-judicial proceedings for dementia during the year of 2019.

Results

Among 3 cases, two patients were male and they were aged respectively 26 and 48 years old. The third was female. All of them had very low educational and income levels and they lived with the victim. In 2 cases, the victim-offender relationship was conflictive and there was already exhibited violent behavior towards victim.Two patients had a psychiatric follow-up and many hospitalizations. The diagnoses were schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. However, it was a poor compliance and an interruption of treatment. In the third case, the medicolegal procedure was inaugural. His diagnosis was schizophrenia.All the victims were illiterate and unemployed. Their middle age was 64 years.In all cases, the crime was not premeditated, motivated by persecution delusions including the mother. It was committed in the family house while using a blunt object. The post homicide reaction was marked by coldness.

Conclusions

Matricide has always been considered one of the most abhorrent crimes. Regular evaluation of psychotic patients’ dangerousness signals is needed to reduce the acting out.

Conflict of interest

No significant relationships.

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.