Matricide
Encyclopedia
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Matricide is the act of killing
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
one's mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
. As for any type of killing, motives
Motive (law)
A motive, in law, especially criminal law, is the cause that moves people to induce a certain action. Motive, in itself, is not an element of any given crime; however, the legal system typically allows motive to be proven in order to make plausible the accused's reasons for committing a crime, at...
can vary significantly.
Known or suspected matricides
- AmastrisAmastrisAmastris also called Amastrine, was a Persian Princess. She was the daughter of Oxyathres, the brother of the Persian King Darius III.-Marriages:...
, queen of HeracleaHeraclea PonticaHeraclea Pontica , an ancient city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor, at the mouth of the river Lycus. It was founded by the Greek city-state of Megara c.560-558 and was named after Heracles who the Greeks believed entered the underworld at a cave on the adjoining Archerusian promontory .The...
, was drowned by her two sons in 284 BC.
- Cleopatra III of EgyptCleopatra III of EgyptCleopatra III was a queen of Egypt 142–101 BC.Cleopatra III was also known as Cleopatra Euergetis while associated with her husband Ptolemy VIII or her son Ptolemy X. She is attested as Cleopatra Philometor Soteira while associated with her eldest son Ptolemy IX...
was assassinated in 101 BC by order of her son, Ptolemy X, for her conspiring.
- Ptolemy XI of Egypt had his wife, Berenice III, murdered shortly after their wedding in 80 BC. She was also his stepmother, or perhaps his mother.
- In AD 59, the RomanRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
EmperorEmperorAn emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
NeroNeroNero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
is said to have ordered the murder of his mother Agrippina the YoungerAgrippina the YoungerJulia Agrippina, most commonly referred to as Agrippina Minor or Agrippina the Younger, and after 50 known as Julia Augusta Agrippina was a Roman Empress and one of the more prominent women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
, supposedly because she was conspiring against him.
- Mary Ann Lamb, the mentally ill sister of essayist Charles Lamb, killed their invalid mother during an episode of mania in 1796.
- Sidney Harry Fox, a BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
man, hanged in 1930 for killing his mother to gain from her insurance.
- Battle of OkinawaBattle of OkinawaThe Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
, 1945: There are accounts in which Okinawan civilians killed their mothers to prevent them from being captured, raped, tortured, and/or killed by the invading American forces.
- The Parker-Hulme murderParker-Hulme murderThe Parker-Hulme Murder was a murder and subsequent court case that occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1954, achieving notoriety because a mother was murdered by two teenage girls: her daughter and her daughter's best friend...
case of 1954. This case was chronicled in the film Heavenly CreaturesHeavenly CreaturesHeavenly Creatures is a 1994 film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his wife Fran Walsh, about the notorious 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case in Christchurch, New Zealand. Filmed on location in Christchurch, it features Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their screen debuts...
.
- Jack Gilbert GrahamJack Gilbert GrahamJohn "Jack" Gilbert Graham was a mass murderer who killed 44 people by planting a dynamite bomb in his mother's suitcase that was subsequently loaded aboard United Airlines Flight 629.-Crime:...
killed his mother along with 44 people by planting a dynamite bomb in his mother's suitcase, that was subsequently loaded aboard United Airlines Flight 629 in 1955.
- Charles WhitmanCharles WhitmanCharles Joseph Whitman was a student at the University of Texas at Austin and a former Marine who killed 16 people and wounded 32 others during a shooting rampage on and around the university's campus on August 1, 1966....
killed his mother and wife before going on his killing spree at the University of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
that killed 14 people and wounded 31 others, as part of a shooting rampage from the observation deck of the University's 32-story administrative building on August 1, 1966. He was eventually shot and killed by Austin police.
- John Emil List murdered his mother, wife and his three children on November 9, 1971, making List also guilty of filicideFilicideFilicide is the deliberate act of a parent killing his or her own son or daughter. The word filicide derives from the Latin words filius meaning "son" or filia meaning daughter and the suffix -cide meaning to kill, murder, or cause death...
and uxoricideUxoricideUxoricide is murder of one's wife. It can refer to the act itself or the man who carries it out.- Known or suspected uxoricides:...
. He was a fugitive for 18 years. He was apprehended on June 1, 1989 after an episode of "America's Most WantedAmerica's Most WantedAmerica's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
" aired. On May 1, 1990 he was sentenced to 5 life terms in prison.
- Antony Baekeland murdered his mother, Barbara Daly BaekelandBarbara Daly BaekelandBarbara Daly Baekeland was a wealthy socialite who was murdered by her son, Antony Baekeland. She was the wife of Brooks Baekeland, who was the grandson of Leo Baekeland, inventor of Bakelite plastic....
on November 11, 1972, at their luxurious London apartment. She had allegedly forced him to have sex with her, in order to "cure" his homosexuality.
- Serial killerSerial killerA serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Edmund KemperEdmund KemperEdmund Emil "Big Ed" Kemper III , also known as "The Co-ed Killer", is an American serial killer who was active in California in the early 1970s. He started his criminal life by shooting both his grandparents when he was 15 years old. Kemper later killed and dismembered six female hitchhikers in...
beat his mother to death in 1973, along with one of his mother's friends before turning himself in to the police. He had previously committed half-a-dozen sex-murders. Kemper had been psychologically abused by his domineering mother in his youth.
- Ronald DeFeo, Jr.Ronald DeFeo, Jr.Ronald Joseph "Butch" DeFeo, Jr. is an American murderer. He was tried and convicted for the 1974 killings of his father, mother, two brothers and two sisters...
killed his parents and his four siblings in what would later become known as "The Amityville Horror HouseThe Amityville HorrorThe Amityville Horror: A True Story is a book by Jay Anson, published in September 1977. It is also the basis of a series of films released between 1979 and 2005...
" (1974)
- Bradford BishopBradford BishopWilliam Bradford "Brad" Bishop, Jr. was a United States Foreign Service officer who has been a fugitive from justice since allegedly murdering five members of his family in 1976.-Known biography:...
bludgeoned his mother, spouse and three children to death in 1976. He was indicted for murders and remains at large.
- Jim GordonJim Gordon (musician)James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
, a session musician who played drums with Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
band Derek and the Dominoes bludgeoned his mother with a hammer and then stabbed her to death with a butcher's knife in 1983. In May 1984 he was sentenced to sixteen years to life in prison.
- Susan CabotSusan Cabot-Early life:Born Harriet Shapiro to a Russian Jewish family in Boston, Massachusetts, Cabot's early life was one of turmoil, and she was raised in eight different foster homes. She completed her education in New York, New York, and found employment as an illustrator...
, 1950s actress, was beaten to death in 1986 at her Hollywood home by her son Timothy Roman. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
- The Menendez Brothers were convicted during a highly publicized trial in July 1996 for the shotgun killings of their parents in 1989.
- Brett Reider, a 15-year-old boy in Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, NebraskaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, stabbed his mother to death during a dispute in 1993. He was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced as an adult to 11–20 years. In 1996, his older sister, Alissa Reider made an HBO documentary: "Brett Killed Mom: a sister's diary", claiming both of them suffered years of constant verbal and physical abuse from their mother. Brett was released in 1999.
- Luke Woodham, MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
resident who killed his mother in June 1997 before killing two more and wounding seven others in the Pearl High School shootingPearl High School shootingThe Pearl High School shooting was a school shooting that took place on October 1, 1997 at Pearl High School in Pearl, Mississippi. The gunman, 16-year-old Luke Woodham , killed two students and injured seven others at his high school...
. Currently serving a life sentence at the Mississippi State PenitentiaryMississippi State PenitentiaryMississippi State Penitentiary , also known as Parchman Farm, is the oldest prison and the only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi, USA....
.
- Kip KinkelKip KinkelKipland Philip "Kip" Kinkel is an American spree killer. In May 1998, at the age of 15, he murdered his parents and engaged in a school shooting at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon that left two students dead and 22 others wounded...
(1982- ), an OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
boy who was convicted of killing both parents as well as killing two students at his school on May 20, 1998.
- Dr. I. Kathleen HagenDr. I. Kathleen HagenDr. I. Kathleen Hagen is a former medical doctor who gained notoriety for being accused of murder by asphyxia of her parents, Idella Hagen, aged 92, and James Hagen, aged 86, with a plastic bag and a pillow as they slept in their home in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey, in August 2000...
, a prominent urologist, killed her mother and her father in August 2000 and was acquitted on the grounds of insanity.
- Yukio YamajiYukio Yamajiwas a Japanese triple killer. He murdered his own mother in 2000, and then murdered a 27-year-old woman and her 19-year-old sister in 2005.-Biography:Yamaji was born into a poor family and his father died of cirrhosis in January 1995...
, a 16 year old living in Japan, killed his mother in 2000. After his release, he raped and murdered a woman and her sister in 2005. He was legally executedCapital punishmentCapital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
by hangingHangingHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
in 2009.
- Dipendra of NepalDipendra of NepalDipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was a member of the Nepalese Royal Family, who briefly reigned in coma as King of Nepal from the 1st of June to the 4th of June, 2001...
(1971–2001) reportedly massacred much of his family at a royal dinner on June 1, 2001, including his mother Queen AiswaryaAiswaryaAishwarya Rajyalaxmi Devi Shah was the Queen of Nepal from 1972 to 2001. She was the wife of King Birendra and the mother of Crown Prince Dipendra, Prince Nirajan, and Princess Shruti.- Biography :...
, father, brother, and sister.
- Erika di Nardo killed her mother and brother in 2001. See Novi Ligure MurderNovi Ligure MurderThe Novi Ligure murder was a brutal multiple murder that took place on the evening of 21 February 2001 in Novi Ligure, Italy.-The incident:Susy Cassini, a 42-year-old accountant, and her son, 11-year-old Gianluca De Nardo, were both stabbed multiple times in their home while their husband and...
- Sarah Marie JohnsonSarah Marie JohnsonThe murder of Diane and Alan Scott Johnson occurred on September 2, 2003. They were shot to death in their Bellevue, Idaho home by Sarah Marie Johnson, their daughter.-History:...
(1987- ), an IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
girl who was convicted of killing both parents on the morning of 2 September 2003.
- Actor Michael BreaMichael BreaMichael Brea is an actor. He appeared in the TV series Ugly Betty and in the film Step Up 3D. In November, 2011, he was accused of killing his mother with a sword which may have been a samurai sword or other ceremonial sword....
killed his mother with a sword in the Prospect HeightsProspect Heights, BrooklynProspect Heights is a neighborhood in the northwest of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The traditional boundaries are Flatbush Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Eastern Parkway to the south, and Washington Avenue to the east...
section of BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
on November 24, 2010.
In fiction and film
(Alphabetized by title)- In Alice SeboldAlice SeboldAlice Sebold is an American novelist. She has published three books: Lucky , The Lovely Bones and The Almost Moon .-Early life:...
's novel, The Almost MoonThe Almost MoonThe Almost Moon is the third book and second novel by American writer Alice Sebold, author of her memoir, Lucky and The Lovely Bones. It was released by Little, Brown and Company in the United States on October 16, 2007.-Synopsis:...
, the protagonist, Helen, kills her mother by suffocating her. - In Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's first novel, CarrieCarrie (novel)Carrie is American author Stephen King's first published novel, released in 1974. It revolves around the eponymous Carrie, a shy high-school girl, who uses her newly discovered telekinetic powers to exact revenge on those who tease her...
(which was made into a 1976 film), the protagonist uses her power of telekinesis to kill her mother, who had tried to exorcise Carrie of her possession by SatanSatanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. - In the Stephen King novel The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Roland of Gilead admits he is a matricide. Later books expound on the subject.
- In the comedy/drama film, Mini's First TimeMini's First TimeMini's First Time is a 2006 comedy/drama film written and directed by Nick Guthe. It was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival on May 1, 2006 and had a limited release on July 14, 2006. It was released on DVD on October 24, 2006 by HBO Films.-Plot:...
(2006), Mini puts her mother, Diane, in her car in the garage while the car is running after telling her stepdad, whom she was having an affair with, that her mom's attempt to kill herself with sleeping pills is taking too long. - In the book and film Psycho, matricide is an underlying plot as the character Norman BatesNorman BatesNorman Bates is a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch as the central character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the main antagonist of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
murdered his mother and then developed dissociative identity disorderDissociative identity disorderDissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
, pretending to be his mother to relieve the guilt of murdering her. - In the comedy/horror film, Shaun of the DeadShaun of the DeadShaun of the Dead is a 2004 British zombie comedy directed by Edgar Wright, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and written by Pegg and Wright. Pegg plays Shaun, a man attempting to get some kind of focus in his life as he deals with his girlfriend, his mother and stepfather...
(2004), Shaun kills his mother after she is infected. - In the book SkinSkin (novel)Skin is a contemporary Christian fiction science fiction/horror novel released in April 2007 by Ted Dekker. Dekker's novel, Skin was published by Thomas Nelson with the purpose to connect the Circle Trilogy, the Project Showdown books, and an upcoming series of books.* Tagline: Don't trust your...
by Ted DekkerTed DekkerTed Dekker is a New York Times best-selling Christian author best known for mystery and thriller novels, though he has also made a name for himself among fantasy fans. Early in his career he wrote a number of books that would best be categorized as Religious thrillers...
, Nicole tells Carey that she has killed their parents by setting them on a car accident. - The eponymous heroine is killed by her son in Arthur SchnitzlerArthur SchnitzlerDr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.- Biography :Arthur Schnitzler, son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter , was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian...
's 19281928 in literatureThe year 1928 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Ford Madox Ford publishes Last Post. It is the final book of a four-volume work titled Parade's End published between 1924 and 1928....
novel, ThereseTherese (novel)Therese. Chronik eines Frauenlebens is a novel by Arthur Schnitzler first published in 1928....
. - In title of the 1987 black comedyBlack comedyA black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
film, Throw Momma from the TrainThrow Momma from the TrainThrow Momma from the Train is a 1987 American black comedy film. It was inspired by the 1951 Alfred Hitchcock thriller Strangers on a Train, which also plays a role in the film...
, focuses on the goal of the character, Owen Lift (Danny DeVitoDanny DeVitoDaniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
), to have his mother killed. - In the 2009 horror film, OrphanOrphan (film)Orphan is a 2009 psychological thriller directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, starring Isabelle Fuhrman, Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard. The film centers on a couple who, after the death of their unborn child, adopt a mysterious 9-year old girl...
, Esther/Leela Klammer is a mental hospital escapee who attempts to murder her adoptive mother Kate out of jealously over not being able to seduce Kate's husband John. - In the 2008 and 2010 action films Death RaceDeath Race (film)Death Race is a 2008 action film produced, written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and starring Jason Statham. Though referred to as a remake of the 1975 film Death Race 2000 in reviews and marketing materials, director Paul W.S. Anderson stated in an interview and the DVD commentary that he...
and Death Race 2, Lists is a convict on terminal island who was put there for the murder of his mother. His reason for doing so are not clarified.
In mythology and folk legends
- In Babylonian legend, the supreme god MardukMardukMarduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to...
slew his mother Tiamet by cutting her in half with a great sword. - In Greek mythologyGreek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
:- OrestesOrestes (mythology)In Greek mythology, Orestes was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and purification, which retain obscure threads of much older ones....
and ElectraElectraIn Greek mythology, Electra was an Argive princess and daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father Agamemnon...
murdered their mother ClytemnestraClytemnestraClytemnestra or Clytaemnestra , in ancient Greek legend, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Mycenae or Argos. In the Oresteia by Aeschylus, she was a femme fatale who murdered her husband, Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan princess...
to avenge her participation in the killing of their father, AgamemnonAgamemnonIn Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
. - Alcmaeon killed his mother EriphyleEriphyleIn Greek mythology, Eriphyle , daughter of Talaus, was the mother of Alcmaeon and the wife of Amphiaraus. Eriphyle persuaded Amphiaraus to take part in the raid that initiated the mythic tale of the Seven Against Thebes, though she knew he would die...
. She had coerced her husband AmphiarausAmphiarausIn Greek mythology, Amphiaraus was the son of Oecles and Hypermnestra, and husband of Eriphyle. Amphiaraus was the King of Argos along with Adrastus— the brother of Amphiaraus' wife, Eriphyle— and Iphis. Amphiaraus was a seer, and greatly honored in his time...
into participating in the Seven Against ThebesSeven Against ThebesThe Seven against Thebes is the third play in an Oedipus-themed trilogy produced by Aeschylus in 467 BC. The trilogy is sometimes referred to as the Oedipodea. It concerns the battle between an Argive army led by Polynices and the army of Thebes led by Eteocles and his supporters. The trilogy won...
expedition, during which he was killed.
- Orestes
In television
(Alphabetized by series title)- in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, SpikeSpikeSpike may refer to:-Device to puncture or fasten:* Nail , especially one over ten inches long* Rail spike, or Screw spike used to construct railroad tracks* Tree spiking, making a tree dangerous to cut with a chainsaw...
staked his mother after he turned her into a vampire to save her life. He often mentions this but seems to have come to terms with it when he was last seen on AngelAngelAngels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
. - In "The Hard PartThe Hard Part"The Hard Part" is the twenty-first episode of the first season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. It is the first episode of the three-part finale for season one...
" episode of the NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
TV series HeroesHeroes (TV series)Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
, the character SylarSylarGabriel Gray, more commonly known by his assumed name of Sylar , is one of the primary antagonists and antiheroes in the NBC drama Heroes. Portrayed by Zachary Quinto, he is a superpowered serial killer who targets other superhumans in order to steal their powers...
commits matricide accidentally when he tries to reunite with his mother and instead ends up fighting her. - In The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, Tony SopranoTony SopranoAnthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
attempts to smother his mother, Livia SopranoLivia SopranoLivia Soprano , played by Nancy Marchand, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the mother of Tony Soprano. A young Livia, played by Laila Robins and later by Laurie J. Williams is sometimes seen in flashbacks...
, with a pillow after learning that she and Tony's paternal uncle, Corrado Soprano, had conspired to have Tony "whacked". This incident is revisited throughout the series. - In the South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, episode "TsstTsst"Tsst" is the seventh episode of the tenth season of Comedy Central's animated comedy television series South Park, it aired on May 3, 2006 and is the mid season final of season ten....
", Cartman tries to kill his mother but changes his mind after thinking about it. - In the Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, episode "Stewie Kills Lois, Stewie gets angry after leaves him to go with Peter on a private cruise but then he takes off a helmet from his new item that simulates what would happen if he killed Lois and took over the city of Quahog.
In cartoons, anime and manga
(Alphabetized by series title)- In the film, novel, and manga series, Battle RoyaleBattle Royalethumb|260px|Cover of the 2009 expanded edition, ISBN 978-1-4215-2772-3 is a 1999 Japanese novel written by Koushun Takami. The story tells of schoolchildren who are forced to fight each other to the death....
, the mentally unstable teenage temptress, Mitsuko Souma, has her mother murdered in revenge for a gang rape orchestrated by her mother. - In the animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
Code Geass, Lelouch LamperougeLelouch Lamperougeis the protagonist and antihero of the Sunrise anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. Lamperouge is his assumed surname, while his real name is , son of the 98th Britannian Emperor. His seiyū is Jun Fukuyama, and his child self is voiced by Sayaka Ohara...
killed his mother along with his father, believing that their view of an ideal world had no future. - In the Danny PhantomDanny PhantomDanny Phantom is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon, produced by Billionfold Studios. The show was about a teenage half-ghost boy, who frequently saves his town and the world from ghost attacks, while attempting to keep his ghost half a secret...
episode, "The Ultimate Enemy", Danny's evil future self attempts to murder his mother, along with the rest of his family and friends in an explosion that was supposed to take their lives in the original timeline, but his plan failed. - In the animated comedy Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, Stewie GriffinStewie GriffinStewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
attempts to murder his mother LoisLois GriffinLois Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is voiced by writer Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Lois was created and designed by series creator Seth MacFarlane...
countless times, to humorous effect. He thought he had succeeded in the episode, "Stewie Kills Lois", but it's revealed she is still alive. - In the one of the origins of MarvelMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
heroine ElektraElektra (comics)Elektra Natchios, usually referred to only by her first name Elektra, is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.Elektra is a kunoichi – female ninja assassin – of Greek descent. She wields a pair of bladed sai as her trademark weapon. She is a love interest of the superhero...
, her older brother Orestes commits matricide by hiring assassins to kill his unfaithful mother. - In the mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Ludwig KakumeiLudwig Kakumeiis a gothic horror shōjo manga by Kaori Yuki. The story tells about Prince Ludwig who is ordered by his father to find himself a wife more suitable than the women he often brings into the castle...
, Blanche (Snow White) kills her mother by forcing her to wear heated iron shoes and to dance in them through the ultimate torture until she died. Also, Lisette (Little Red Riding Hood) kills her mother, along with her father, in a rage due to a cruel trick played by Ludwig as a child. - In NarutoNarutois an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...
, Itachi Uchiha kills his mother along with the rest of the Uchiha clan, according to Madara. - In the horror manga Reiko the zombie shopReiko the Zombie Shopis a Japanese manga series by Rei Mikamoto, chronicling the exploits of Reiko Himezono, a teenage “zombie shop”, or a "...necromancer-for-hire employed by bereaved families to resurrect departed loved ones for a short time so that the dead may impart their final truths to the living.” Eleven...
, Riruka, the main antagonist of the first three volumes, murders her mother and father in a plane crash out of fear that they would disown her and embrace her younger twin sister Reiko.
In games
- In the cyberpunkCyberpunkCyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
video game Galerians: AshGalerians: Ashis a PlayStation 2 video game developed by Polygon Magic. It was published by Enterbrain in Japan, and by Sammy Studios in North America and Europe. Galerians: Ash is the sequel to Galerians, a PlayStation game. It is a psychic action game with a dark setting...
, Ash, one of the last four Galerians, murders his mother Dorothy in revenge for the torment she had put him through while he was a young A.I. program. - In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, Maya Fey was unofficially accused of killing her mother, Misty Fey.
- In the horror video game, Silent Hill: Homecoming, the protagonist Alex Shepherd performs a mercy killing on his mother.
- In the adventure video game, Tomb Raider: UnderworldTomb Raider: UnderworldTomb Raider: Underworld is the eighth instalment of the Tomb Raider series. The story continues from the events in Tomb Raider: Legend as a direct sequel, but also addresses unexplained plot elements by association with Tomb Raider: Anniversary; the 2007 remake of the original Tomb Raider...
, Lara CroftLara CroftLara Croft is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Square Enix video game series Tomb Raider. She is presented as a beautiful, intelligent, and athletic British archaeologist-adventurer who ventures into ancient, hazardous tombs and ruins around the world...
kills her mother, who became a monstrous parody of her former self. - In the strategy game, Trapt, Allura murders her stepmother Catalina in revenge for being framed for the murder of her father King Olaf.
See also
- SuicideSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, the killing of one's self
- Familial killing terms:
- AvunculicideAvunculicideAvunculicide is the act of killing an uncle. The word can also refer to someone who commits such an act. The term is derived from the Latin words avunculus meaning "maternal uncle" and caedere meaning "to cut or kill". Edmunds suggests that in mythology avunculicide is a substitute for parricide...
, the killing of one's uncle - FilicideFilicideFilicide is the deliberate act of a parent killing his or her own son or daughter. The word filicide derives from the Latin words filius meaning "son" or filia meaning daughter and the suffix -cide meaning to kill, murder, or cause death...
, the killing of one's child - FratricideFratricideFratricide is the act of a person killing his or her brother....
, the killing of one's brother - MariticideMariticideMariticide literally means the murder of one's married partner, but has become most associated with the murder of a husband by his wife, as the reverse is given the name uxoricide.In England the punishment until 1790 was to be strangled and burnt at the stake.-Historical:* Laodice I allegedly...
, the killing of one's spouse - Nepoticide, the killing of one's nephew
- ParricideParricideParricide is defined as:*the act of murdering one's father , mother or other close relative, but usually not children ....
, the killing of one's parents or another close relative - PatricidePatricidePatricide is the act of killing one's father, or a person who kills his or her father. The word patricide derives from the Latin word pater and the Latin suffix -cida...
, the killing of one's father - ProlicideProlicideProlicide is the act of killing one's own offspring. It may refer to* Filicide* Feticide-See also:* Child murder* Infanticide* Suicide, the killing of one's self* Avunculicide, the killing of one's uncle* Fratricide, the killing of one's brother...
, is the killing of one's offspring - SororicideSororicideSororicide is the act of killing one's own sister.There are a number of examples of sororicide and fratricide in adolescents, even pre-adolescents, where sibling rivalry and resulting physical aggression can get out of hand and lead to the death of one of them, particularly...
, the killing of one's sister - UxoricideUxoricideUxoricide is murder of one's wife. It can refer to the act itself or the man who carries it out.- Known or suspected uxoricides:...
, the killing of one's wife
- Avunculicide
- Non-familial killing terms from the same root:
- DeicideDeicideDeicide is the killing of a god. The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from medieval Latin *deicidium, from de-us "god" and -cidium "cutting, killing")...
is the killing of a god - GenocideGenocideGenocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
is the killing of a large group of people, usually a specific and entire ethnic, racial, religious or national group - HomicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
is the killing of any human - InfanticideInfanticideInfanticide or infant homicide is the killing of a human infant. Neonaticide, a killing within 24 hours of a baby's birth, is most commonly done by the mother.In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...
, the killing of an infant from birth to 12 months - RegicideRegicideThe broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
is the killing of a monarch (king or ruler) - TyrannicideTyrannicideTyrannicide literally means the killing of a tyrant, or one who has committed the act. Typically, the term is taken to mean the killing or assassination of tyrants for the common good. The term "tyrannicide" does not apply to tyrants killed in battle or killed by an enemy in an armed conflict...
is the killing of a tyrant
- Deicide