Quadruple pact suicide attempt involving a man and three adolescents

Pact suicides involving families have been reported in the scientific literature, but reports have been few from India. We report the case of a family, in which the father and three children had entered into a suicidal pact and executed it due to social reasons. A 41-year-old man, with no past psychiatric or substance use history, had reportedly come to know that his wife had been involved in an extra-marital affair. As expressed by him in a suicide note, he could not bear the humiliation due to this and also did not want his children to face disrespect from the society. He along with his daughter and 2 sons, aged 14, 12 and 11 years respectively, thus entered into a suicide pact to end their lives and wrote a suicide note. Man and two of his children consumed aluminum phosphide. However, the youngest son did not consume the poison and raised alarm, following which they were rushed for medical care. The father died, but the three children recovered completely. The case highlights the rare phenomenon of suicide pacts involving an adult and children.