"Understanding Parricide is the most comprehensive book available about juvenile and adult sons and daughters who kill their parents. Dr. Heide moves far behind the statistical correlates of parricide by synthesizing the professional literature on parricide in general, matricide, patricide, double parricides, and familicides. As a clinician, she explains the reasons behind the killings. Understanding Parricide includes in-depth discussion of issues related to prosecuting and defending parricide offenders. The book is enriched with its focus on clinical assessment, case studies, and follow-up of parricide offenders, as well as treatment, risk assessment, and prevention."--Back cover.

Foreword / George B Palermo -- Part I. Clinical and legal issues : The phenomenon of parricide -- Child maltreatment and parricide -- Parricide: basic facts and literature -- Matricide: basic facts and literature -- Patricide: basic facts and literature -- Prosecuting and punishing parricide offenders -- Defending parricide offenders -- Part II: Case studies : Forensic assessment of parricide offenders -- Patty Smith: no way out but murder -- Peter Jones: repeating the past -- James Holt: the making of a murderer -- Daniel Culbreath: fantasy becomes reality -- Ben Simpson: an over-indulged child -- Part III: Society's response : Treating severely abused parricide offenders / with Eldra Solomon, Ph. D. -- Follow-up studies of parricide offenders -- Risk assessment and prevention -- Afterword / Irene Sullivan.