Published online July 20, 2009
PEDIATRICS Vol. 124 No. 2 August 2009, pp. e210-e217 (doi:10.1542/peds.2008-3675)
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ARTICLE

Characteristics of Infant Homicides: Findings From a U.S. Multisite Reporting System

Takeo Fujiwara, MD, PhD, MPHa,b, Catherine Barber, MPAa, Judy Schaechter, MDc and David Hemenway, PhDa

a Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
b Department of Health Promotion, National Institute of Public Health, Saitama, Japan
c Department of Pediatrics, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe homicides of infants (children <2 years of age) in the U.S.

METHODS: Cases were derived from the National Violent Injury Statistics System; 71 incidents involving 72 infant homicides were in the data set. Type 1 involved beating/shaking injuries inflicted by a caretaker; type 2 involved all other homicides (including neonaticide, intimate partner problem-related homicide, crime-related death, and other types).

RESULTS: Seventy-five percent of the incidents were type 1 incidents, perpetrated mainly by men (83%; typically the infant's father or the boyfriend of the infant's mother). In 85% of the type 1 incidents, the infant was transported to the hospital, usually at the initiative of the perpetrator or another household member. In almost one half of the type 1 incidents, a false story was offered initially to explain the injuries. In contrast, the type 2 incidents (16 cases) were perpetrated mainly by women (11 of 16 cases) and involved methods such as poisoning, drowning, sharp instruments, or withdrawal of food and water; most infants were not taken to the hospital. Although 93% of incidents were perpetrated by caretakers, the large differences between the 2 incident types suggest different avenues for prevention.

CONCLUSIONS: The circumstances involved in the type 1 homicides (beatings by caretakers) suggested that those attacks occurred impulsively, death was unintended, and emergency care was summoned, often with a false story. Previous abuse was suspected in more than one half of those incidents.

Key Words: homicide • violence • child abuse • shaken baby syndrome

Abbreviations: NVISS—National Violent Injury Statistics System

Accepted Mar 30, 2009.


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