Child murder

For practices of systematically killing very young children, see infanticide. For the killing of one's own children, see filicide.

Homicide
Murder
Note: Varies by jurisdiction
Assassination · Child murder Consensual homicide Contract killing · Felony murder rule Honor killing · Human sacrifice (Child) Lust murder · Lynching Mass murder · Murder–suicide Proxy murder  · Lonely hearts killer Serial killer · Spree killer Torture murder · Feticide Double murder  · Misdemeanor murder Crime of passion  · Internet homicide Depraved-heart murder
Manslaughter
in English law Negligent homicide Vehicular homicide
Non-criminal homicide
Note: Varies by jurisdiction
Justifiable homicide Capital punishment Human sacrifice Feticide Medicide
By victim or victims
Suicide
Family
Familicide · Avunculicide Prolicide (Filicide • Infanticide • Neonaticide) Fratricide / Sororicide Mariticide / Uxoricide Parricide (Matricide • Patricide)
Other
Friendly fire Genocide / Democide Gendercide Omnicide Regicide / Tyrannicide Pseudocide Deicide
v · d · e

The murder of children is considered an abhorrent crime in much of the world; they are perceived within their communities and the state at large as being vulnerable, and therefore especially susceptible to abduction and murder. The protection of children from abuse and possible death often involves disturbing the child's family structure, as tenuous as this may be. In 2008, there were 1,494 child (under 18 years) homicides in the United States. Of those killed 1,035 were male, while 453 were female, .^[1]

By other children

In most countries, there are very few cases where children are killed by other young children. According to the U.S. Department of Justice statistics for 1996,^[2] one in five murders of children are committed by other children. Several murders by children have gained prominent media exposure. One was the killing on 12 February 1993 of the almost three-year-old boy James Bulger by two ten-year-old boys in Liverpool, England, UK. He was beaten and stoned before his unconscious body was left on train tracks to make it look like a train hit him. Also, in 1968 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England there was the trial of 10-year old Mary Bell. She was convicted of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility in the deaths of toddlers Martin Brown and Brian Howe. She was released in 1980 at the age of 23.^{[citation needed]} In 1998, 8 year old Madelyn Clifton was killed by a 14 year old boy.

Although the United States certainly has an unusually high number of killings of children by other children, it is most often the case that the perpetrators and victims are teenagers, rather than young children. In many such cases, the youthful perpetrator is tried as an adult for their crime.

In 1992, after the fatal shooting of 7-year-old Dantrell Davis as he left the Cabrini–Green public housing project for school, the Chicago Tribune put every child murder on the front page (generally no murders were front page news). 62 child murders were reported that year.

18th century illustration of William York, age 10, murdering Susan Matthew, age 5, on 13 May 1748, from The Newgate Calendar.

Multiple deaths in one incident, such as the 1999 Columbine High School massacre tend to gather the most media attention but are statistically scarce.

Genocide and child soldiers

Main article: Military use of children

The military use of children refers to children being placed in harm's way in military actions, in order to protect a location or provide propaganda. This is sometimes referred to as child sacrifice, though not equivalent to the religious variety. It may also refer to the use of children as child soldiers or saboteurs.

Red Hand Day on 12 February is an annual commemoration day to draw public attention to the practice of using children as soldiers in wars and armed conflicts.

Muti killings

Muti is a practice of human sacrifice and mutilation associated with some traditional cultural practices, such as Sangoma, in South Africa. Victims of muti killings are often children. Organs and/or body parts are usually taken while child is still alive. An unknown child (referred to as Adam), whose decapitated torso was found in the River Thames in London in 2002 is believed to have been the victim of a muti killing.^[3]

See also

• Cinderella effect

• In historical stories
  • Albert Fish
  • Alphabet murders
  • Bloody Mary
  • Empress Wu of China
  • Gilles de Rais
  • Hansel and Gretel
  • La Llorona
  • Maria Goretti (canonised as a saint)
  • Massacre of the Innocents
  • Medea

References

1. ^ United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2009). Crime in the United States: Uniform Crime Report, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/offenses/expanded_information/data/shrtable_02.html
2. ^ http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/cvvoatv.txt
3. ^ "Torso murder reward offered". BBC News. 21 December 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1723795.stm. Retrieved 28 April 2010.