Medicolegal evaluation of a maternal filicide attempt: a case report

Foto-Özdemir D, Balseven-Odabaşı A, Tekşam Ö, Karadağ F, Akçan F, Yılmaz E. Medicolegal evaluation of a maternal filicide attempt: a case report. Turk J Pediatr 2019; 61: 622-628. Filicide mainly refers to the murder of a child by his/her parents. Even though filicide is a rare event, outcome of filicide is more severe compared to other types of murders. In this report, we aim to discuss the factors in which the case of a woman who attempted to kill her 2.5-year-old daughter along with the demographical characteristics. Twenty-nine-year-old mother attempted to kill her daughter by hanging. Even though the victim did not die as the mother, regretted her action the triggers and the plot of the case discussed within the filicide framework. Therefore, the presented case report would contribute to the understanding of the nature of the filicide, and it might bring a different perspective, because of the different development process of filicide, sharing the disorder and interwoven motivations between the child and mother. In this respect, we aim to draw attention of pediatricians, child psychiatrists and forensic pathologists about the importance of filicide.