Description

No crime is as horrific, as mesmerizingly perplexing, as a child's murder at the hands of a parent. In most cases, the perpetrator is the father. Veteran journalist Mary Papenfuss explores five examples of "family annihilators" in this troubling snapshot of American crime twisted by the dark trajectory of machismo in economically stressful times. Her research includes some fifty in-depth interviews of victims' friends and family, an examination of police files, and detailed profiles of the researchers who track these "killer dads."She also presents experts' theories on the causes that drive men to commit these heinous acts--ranging from economic pressures, the stress of perceived failure, and distorted egos, to the disturbing statistics on abuse of adopted children by stepfathers and the connection between murder and pregnancy.Finally, she discusses factors in contemporary society that may foster such crimes, and measures we can and should be taking to prevent them.