Family Annihilators- Psychological Profile
This is the general psychological profile of the family annihilator killer. Further on, I will be writing articles about specific family annihilators such as Chris Watts, John List, etc. This will allow us to gain an in-depth understanding of this type of killer and where he fits in the profile.
The phenomenon of familicide is a rather new and unexplored area within the Criminology field.
Professor David Wilson:
“Family annihilators have received little attention as a separate category of killers often treated like spree or serial murderers, a view which presupposes traits, such as the idea that the murderer ‘snaps’, or that after killing their partner or children the killer may force a standoff with the police.”
Scholars identified 4 common areas which might be considered to be the cause of these murders : a breakdown in the family relationship and issues in getting access to the children, financial hardship, cultural honour killings or mental illness.
A study made in 2013 has shown that out of 71 family murder cases, in 59 the perpetrator was the male and 50% were between the ages of 30–40 years old when they committed the crime (Yardley, 2013). The M.O. (Modus operandi) in 32% of the cases was stabbing and in 15% of the cases, carbon monoxide poisoning from the car…
