As you are reading the news papers and watching the news and CNN, you learn that there are children who kill their parents. You may be sitting there wondering why would a child kill his or her parents. You may be asking yourself “What is going on in this child mind that has caused them to act in such a way? Did his or her parents abuse them? Are they acting out for their friends? ” The first thing you want to know is, why do kids kill their parents. Well according to USA Today, there is an article from 2008 titled: “Experts: Abuse often behind kids killing parents” (Amanda Lee Myers, Associated Press Writer).
More than likely abuse could possibly be the number one reason of this kind of thing happening. The main question now is “why? ” Child psychologists say that many factors could cause a child to kill a parent, the most common in other cases has been severe abuse. “These are head-scratchers, especially when you have young people,” said defense attorney Paul Mones, who has represented children accused of killing their parents and written a book called “When a Child Kills. He said that when it does happen, the overwhelming majority do so for one of a handful of reasons — mental health issues within the family, or physical, emotional or sexual abuse in the home (Amanda Lee Myers, Associated Press Writer). Now in most cases when a child has mental issues, some parents don’t know how to care for them correctly and that could cause the child to act violently. If a child is sexually abused and you, the parent is the one who is sexually abusing your child, he or she will not love you because they are afraid of you and want you to stop.
The only way they could possibly think you will stop is if you were dead or seriously injured. They may not even realize what they are doing when they take that knife or that gun and stab or shoot you. It’s out of fright and anger that caused them to do so. “Many of these kids who commit homicides suffer from some level of traumatic stress disorder,” Mones said. “They’re living in an environment that is oftentimes extremely dysfunctional, oftentimes violent. ” In Ohio, for instance, a 13-year-old boy told a judge in a 2000 case in Cleveland that he shot his father with a revolver in self-defense because of years of abuse hat included beatings with hangers and mop handles (Amanda Lee Myers, Associated Press Writer). Using items such as hangers and mop handles can leave marks and is abuse, not discipline. Discipline is punishment (no television, no outside, no video games, no computer, no company, etc. ) or a whooping using a belt. At times using a belt is abuse if the parent is mad about something because they could easily take all of their anger out on the child and forget what they are doing. Sometimes parents don’t realize what they are doing and regret doing so.
But then there are those who just do not care or have remorse for what they did and the child feels the same way when they want to retaliate. Have you ever thought about killing your mom or dad because you were being disciplined? No because you knew better and you were not abused. These children who kill their mom and dad’s are abused in some way, shape or form. The only thing they can do to stop the abuse is to get rid of their parents. Another question you may ask yourself is, Why don’t these children tell someone that they are being abused? If it were that simple, there would be so many more children alive today.
There are many cases where abused children are found dead or where there are children act out the way they do in school. Do these abused children speak up about what they did to receive such abuse? Do they tell what happened to their parents when they are dead? “Heide has interviewed more than 150 children who either killed someone or tried to and consulted on hundreds more cases. As an internationally recognized authority on the topic, she is frequently summoned by attorneys as an expert witness in court to explain the inner workings of a child’s mind” (Edecio Martinez).
It is safe to say that Dr. Kathleen Heide understands the mind of an abused child and know how to help them out. In Edecico he said “She’s talked to reporters about the Adam Walsh slaying and why the Menendez brothers would kill their millionaire parents. A British production company sought her out for a documentary about the 1974 killings in Long Island, N. Y. , by Ronald DeFeo Jr. The 23-year-old’s slayings of six members of his family preceded the alleged haunting that became the subject of “The Amityville Horror. “
There are millions and millions of stories of abused children. There are stories that date back centuries ago. In the Time. com article by Anastasia Toufexis, there is a story of a young man who killed his parents. The article states “Abuse is a mild term for the torture that parents inflict. When he went on trial for murder last August in Olympia, Washington, Israel Marquez, 17, recited a litany of abuse that began when he was seven years old. His stepfather, a deputy sheriff and martial-arts expert, liked to punch him in the chest and slap him on the head.
When he went through a bed-wetting period between the ages of seven and 12, the stepfather beat him with a 2-in. -wide belt. After hearing the boy’s tale, the jury found Marquez guilty of the reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. He is expected to be released from prison in April. ” There is a story about a girl in this same article: “Donna Marie Wisener’s suffering at her father’s hand started at age two and continued into her teens. To mark his displeasure, he threw oak logs at her; for amusement, he handcuffed her to a chair.
Just as bad for the Tyler, Texas, girl was the sexual abuse. Her father would send her lewd Valentines — “I would like your heart and I assume the rest of you will follow” read one message — and give her “rubdowns. ” The agony culminated one evening when her father threw her against the wall, hitting her on the head over and over. He also beat her mother until she fell unconscious to the floor, then he threw Donna Marie out of the house. In despair, she returned and took a loaded revolver from her parents’ nightstand.
When her father came at her again, she shot him dead. Last February she was found not guilty of first-degree murder by reason of self-defense. ” The things these parents do to their children. Being abused starts at very young ages as you can see. Age 2, the child is just learning right from wrong. Age 7 the child know some of right from wrong. But who knows, he could have been abused younger than that age. It’s amazing how a child’s step parent abuse them, where are the birth parents. Did Israel Marquez have a weak bladder and that caused him to wet his bed? Probably not!
Because he wanted amusement he threw a log at a little girl. Does not state that she did anything wrong, just displeasure and for amusement she was abused. Sexual abuse at a young age can cause a girl to have a lot of anger and rage in a later age. Her reason for killing her dad was simply because he abused her several times as well as her mom and she was tired of it. Not to say that kids killing parents is acceptable but in some cases, that is all the child has. Abuse to anyone is not right and the person doing the abusing should know that it wont last long.
As you see, in both cases above, these two abused individuals did not receive harsh sentencing because of their actions. But not all cases in kids killing their parents are as such. There are those kids who kill just to kill and have nothing behind their reason for killing. In the Time article about the girl and boy, there are more stories about them and other kids. This article has how they coped with the abuse they received. “Most abused children suffer quietly. The lucky ones find other supportive adults who nurture them, typically a no abusive parent, grandparent, teacher or coach.
Some manage to cope by emotionally numbing themselves or by taking out their repressed anger on someone other than the abuser. Others find the torment intolerable. They may run away or try to commit suicide. Donna Marie Wisener once had a gun in her mouth when she was discovered by her father, who told her, “Next time do it right. ” Some seek outside help, but often to no avail. “I spent my whole childhood trying to get help, and none ever came,” says Roy Rowe, 19, who last year was sentenced to four to 12 years for killing his stepfather.
Neighbors in Vestal, New York, sometimes called the police when the screams grew too loud from the beatings — with a paddle, a belt and a two-by-four — that Roy’s stepfather gave him, his younger sister and brother, and his mother. Teachers reported their suspicions of abuse; relatives tried to intervene. But each time, police officers and social workers left the children in the home. On his 17th birthday, Roy shot and killed his stepfather on their front porch as he came home from work” (Anastasia Toufexis). There are some sad people in the world who will do anything to anyone because they are unhappy.
Children should not kill their parents and parents should NOT abuse their children. Children in most cases are innocent and does not know why they are receiving the attention and treatment they are getting. The moral of the story and the answer to the questions asked. Yes these children were abused in some way, shape or form. No they were not acting out for their friends, probably because they didn’t have any because they were abused. It’s unfair punishment on these children and they did not deserve to be treated the way they were.
