Parents Who Kill - Shocking True Stories of The World's Most Evil Parents

Book excerpt: The bond between parent and child is the strongest natural connection imaginable. But in rare and shocking cases, that bond can be brutally broken. The Philpott family, 'baby P' and jasmine Beckford are just three cases that have made a nation's blood run cold. But what could possibly drive a parent to commit the cruellest crime of all - the killing of their own child.In Parents Who Kill, renowned crime expert Carol Anne Davis explores the motives behind an act which flies in the face of all reason and instinct. This timely study examines some of the most harrowing cases documented in recent legal history, ranging from tragic negligence to more culturally specific instances of religious honour killings for 'sexual deviancy'.Update to include analysis of the most recent case of Mick and Mairead Philpott, who killed six of their children after setting fire to their own home, Davis casts a forensically objective eye over powerful themes encompassing jealousy, insanity, greed and everything in between. But this is more than just a study in the macabre. David shows great compassion and insight to reveal the psychology behind disability, mercy killings and post-natal depression, whilst in a final conclusion she proposes solutions to these issues and potentially life-saving avenues of help.Parents Who Kill is the compendium for anyone seeking to answer the hardest queston: 'What could possibly turn a parent into a killer?.'Carol Anne Davis writes with dangerous authority about the deadly everyday...You've got to read her.' - IAN RANKIN