Medicine's Susan Hatters-Friedman offers insights on patterns in cases of filicide

When parents kill: Forensic psychiatrists examine the motives behind unthinkable murders

CNN: Susan Hatters-Friedman, the Phillip J. Resnick Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at the School of Medicine and adjunct professor at the School of Law, explained that filicide—while incomprehensible—follows identifiable patterns. Researchers classify motives into five categories, including fatal maltreatment, "unwanted child," spousal revenge, altruistic killing and acute psychosis. As Hatters-Friedman noted, categorizing these crimes helps us "understand it, and think about prevention."