Sadly, thousands of kids are murdered each year by their mother or father, making parents as a group several thousands of times more dangerous and deadly than sex-offenders. Though we couldn’t possibly document every case, here is a sampling of the different circumstances under which parents kill their kids, giving you a well-rounded view of how (and why) it happens.

See also:
– Children murdered to punish a partner
– Children murdered in custody disputes
– Children murdered for God, devils or demons

Depressed Mom Shoots Her Kids
In St. Louis, Missouri, a 37-year-old woman who had been suffering from depression and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder apparently shot and killed her three daughters before turning the gun on herself. The family of Christine Adewunmi said in a statement that although depressed, she had been a devoted mother whose children were the number one priority in her life.” (USA Today, 3-21-2012)

Lighting the Kids on Fire
In Los Angeles, California, prosecutors were seeking the death penalty against a man, 57-year-old Dae Kwon Yun, who they say burned his kids to death by putting them in an SUV and then setting it ablaze. His daughter, 11, and son, 10, died in the fire. (USA Today, 11-6-2008, 3A)

* In Miami, Florida, a musician and teacher fatally shot his wife and two daughters and then himself. A third teenage son fled and was not injured. (USA Today, 2-26-2009, 3A)

Mother Throws Autistic Son Off Bridge
In Oregon, a woman who had gone online to ask for money to help care for he autistic son and disabled husband in now accused of throwing her 6-year-old boy to his death.  She apparently threw her boy off a bridge into the water as darkness descended along the coast.  Police say 34-year-old Meribeth McCabe then called 911 from the Yaquina Bridge in Newport to report what she had done. (USA Today, 11-5-2014 p. 9A)

Death By Salt
This week in White Plains, New York , jury selection started for Lacey Spears, a 27-year-old mother accused of poisoning her five-year-old-son by poring a fatal dose of salt through his stomach tube.  Meanwhile, in Memphis, Tennessee, authorities indicted a man on charges of child abuse and neglect for allegedly putting large amounts of salt in the feeding tube of a disabled 8-year-old boy. (1/28/2015)