Book Review: Killer dads: The twisted drives that compel fathers to murder their own kids

• Author: Esperanza Camargo
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567714522647
• Published date: 01 March 2014
• Date: 01 March 2014
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Finally, no guideline system has yet reduced incarceration levels back to the late 1970s, or even to

reduce incarceration rates by half of what they have been in the 21st century.

Hence, if you accept neo-classical sentencing assumptions, this book should definitely find space

on your bookshelf. If, on the other hand, you find its assumptions questionable, then this treatment of

sentencing theory fails. It will not reduce incarceration levels, obscene minority penal populations,

inequality, or restore sentencing discretion to victims and members of the community.

References

Loury, G. C. (2008). Race, incarceration, and American values. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Sullivan, D., & Larry, T. (2006). Handbook on restorative justice: A global perspective. London, England:

Routledge.

Taylor, I., Paul, W., & Jock, Y. (1973). The new criminology: For a social theory of deviance (Chapter 1).

London, Routledge, Kegan Paul.

Papenfuss, M. (2013).

Killer dads. The twisted drives that compel fathers to murder their own kids. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. 271

pp. $19.00, ISBN 978-1-61614-743-3 (paperback) and 978-1-61614-744-0 (ebook).

Reviewed by: Esperanza Camargo, Albany State University, Albany, GA, USA

DOI: 10.1177/1057567714522647

In her well-organized and well-written book, Papenfuss focuses on a worldwide problem: extreme

cases of child abuse and neglect, which have resulted in the death of one or more children. She

defines the cases in which the whole family is killed as ‘‘family annihilation.’’ Her description of

the cases makes us aware of the ‘‘invisibility’’ of child abuse and family violence. Such crimes often

occur irrespective of demographic variables such as age, socioeconomic status, culture, and/or reli-

gious beliefs. For example, in a number of the cases described by Papenfuss, the teenagers who were

murdered along with their mothers had lived a comfortable life provided for by their fathers who

were seen as devoted, caring, and protective fathers prior to the fatal attacks. William Parente, who

killed his wife and two daughters, is an example of one of these well-to-do killers. Citing research

reported by the Violence Police Center, Papenfuss argues that these fathers frequently have no

previously documented history of violent behavior.

There is, however, a common pattern that emerges in the literature: The majority of the perpe-

trators are fathers and, statistically speaking, fatality rates have been found to be higher among boys

than girls. Papenfuss buttresses the arguments she makes in her work by relying heavily on case

studies. In gathering together the materials for her book, Papenfuss interviewed more than 65 people,

including many of the offenders themselves, their family members and friends, and acquaintances of

the victims. Consequently, she was able to provide rich detail about the family structures and the

relationships of the family members—including the father/child relationships—as well as the

circumstances that led up to the killings. Whenever applicable, she also describes how the offenders

themselves had been victimized during their own childhoods and adolescence.

One of the examples of a killing she cites is of 2-year-old Osman, who ‘‘had more than 86 bruises,

fractures, and contusions when he was rushed to a Texas hospital in 2012.’’ His father, who was

charged with the crime, was only 21 years old at the time of the killing. Another child, Jonathan,

was 10 years old, when he was starved to dead by his father. Clare, a 5-year-old, was killed when

108 Criminal Justice Review 39(1)