Matricide

Matricide (or maternal homicide) is the act of killing one's own mother. The word matricide is derived from the Latin word mātricida, from māter (mother) and the suffix -cida (cutter or killer). Matricide is a sub-form of parricide. Throughout human history, matricide has been culturally considered one of the most heinous crimes. Matricide is a rare form of murder, accounting for around 0.68% of homicides. In the United States, matricide represented less than 2% of homicides committed between 1976 and 1998. In the western world, matricide is less common than patricide, which accounts for less than 4% of murders in North America and Europe. In the majority of cases, matricide is committed by adult sons, with psychotic disorders, most often schizophrenia. Matricides are usually not premeditated and take place in the mother's bedroom following a trivial dispute. Relationships between perpetrators of matricide and their mothers are usually ambivalent with frequent conflicts, typically described by perpetrators as a hostile-dependent relationship with a domineering mother. Male perpetrators of matricide, regardless of age, most often act alone. Daughters under the age of 18 are the least common perpretrators of matricide and female juvenile perpetrators usually kill their mothers with an older male accomplice. The killing of stepmothers by stepchildren represent only 5% of overall matricides. In these cases, perpetrators are usually younger, with 64% being under the age of 25, compared to 35% of perpetrators in matricides of biological mothers. In Israel, matricide accounted for 20-33% of all femicides in 2025.