Parricide

Last week I had an appointment with my favorite doctor. It was a medicine maintenance visit. Very often when we "visit" we talk about topics of interest in our lives which sometimes take an interesting side road. Such was the case that day. Why do Kids Kill Parents -- a topic he delves into in his occupation and a topic of interest to me from experiences in my profession. Stories hit the news on a semi regular basis wound tightly around this issue.
I have had an interest in this topic since having taught a young man who killed his mother over a credit card. I had taught him in fifth grade and my memories of my time with him were vivid when he at age nineteen committed this heinous act. I remembered well my struggles trying to get him to do his work, to motivate him, and draw him into class activities and events. He was obnoxious and did many things just to annoy me and his classmates. He was into dressing in black and wearing the same clothes to school each day plus non-cooperativeness - if that is a word. His Mother was a really sweet lady who was finishing a masters degree at NC State in counseling and pursuing a doctorate in education. She used every skill and trick she had learned trying to manage his behavior and to get him to be a productive student and family member. I well remember their family compromise on the clothing issue. It went like this : you can wear the same clothing to school each day (if you insist) with one qualification -- it must be washed each night. So he complied and washed it each evening for the following day. I need to mention that this young man was a gifted student having met all of the qualifications that entitled him to the services of that program. He couldn't have cared less!
As I recall there were two boys in the family, one younger than he. The mother and their father had divorced earlier and she had remarried. The stepfather had either found work or had been transferred to the west coast. Her younger son had gone with him with plans for the mother to join them when she completed her work at NC State. During this time the older son here had stolen her credit card. (This seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back among numbers of other incidences he had with the law.) She turned him in to the police and he was arrested and put in jail. He got out of jail with the help of a girl friend returned to the home and killed his mother. He then wrapped her body in bed clothing and a tarp and stashed it on a balcony outside her bedroom. In the meantime he partied in the house with his friends as if all was well. All was discovered when the father could not reach the mother by phone. When he sought help her body was discovered. Later the young man killed himself in a stand off with police.
My doctor told me there are three main reasons children kill parents and loaned me a book which I am reading on the topic. More later.......stay tuned.