Le parricide, ou meurtre sur ascendant, représente 2 à 3 % des homicides en France et 20 à 30 % des crimes psychotiques. L’ensemble des données actuelles suggère l’existence d’une corrélation positive entre trouble mental caractérisé et criminalité. La schizophrénie semble être la pathologie la plus à risque de passage à l’acte homicidaire. Dans le cas particulier des adultes parricides, les psychoses sont fréquentes, en particulier les schizophrénies paranoïdes, souvent associées à des idéations dépressives, de l’abus d’alcool ou de substances. La présence d’idées délirantes à thématique de persécution, d’antécédents de comportements violents, l’énonciation de menaces envers l’entourage, un rejet familial, un sentiment d’impasse situationnelle avec échecs des demandes d’aide ou de tentatives de fuite sont autant d’éléments d’alerte à rechercher afin de mieux prévenir les passages à l’acte violents chez les sujets psychotiques.

Parricide is a rare event. In France, statistics indicate that it accounts for 2 to 3 % of all homicides. It also repre-sents an appreciable part (up to 30 %) of homicides committed by psychotic subjects. Many studies suggest a strong positive correlation between criminality and characterized mental illness. The correlation is better when there is a dia-gnosis of schizophrenia, an alcohol or drugs consumption and a past personal history of violence. Parricide is a crime mainly committed by males. The most frequent form of parricide is patricide committed by sons. However, considering only psychotic parricides, the number of mothers killed seems is equal or higher to the number of fathers killed.

The typical profile of an adult committing parricide could be described as follows : a young single unemployed male, living with his victim, suffering from schizophrenia with comorbidity of alcohol or drug abuse and consumption, who stops his medication, and having a past history of medicolegal behaviours. The parricide act can be divided into three stages; first, the contention of the emergence of parricide ideas ; second, the violence and brutality of the act ; third, following a transient appeasement suicidal thoughts or attempts are frequently observed.

Preventing parricides and homicides committed by psychotic subjects is a great challenge. Only a few studies aim to a better understanding of the underlying motivations of such cri-minals. According to theses studies, we can point out several warning signals. Psychiatrist should particularly increase their vigilance to persecutive delusions, history of a long las-ting illness with history of violence during acute stages, threats against family or friends, suicidal thoughts, failures of help requests and attempt to escape.