Lizzie and Parricide

Thanks to Harry Widdows for the image!

It seems whenever there is a case of a child killing their parent(s), the writer mentions Lizzie Borden. Such infamy is strange considering she was acquitted, but history and reporters will not allow the verdict to stem their interest in her as a cold-blooded killer. Take this recent article for instance. It is about a third parricide in Contra Costa County in six months. The ‘rash’ of killings is odd, the article relates, because it is such a rarity for such crimes to be committed.

The article is well worth reading. Click on the link at the end of the excerpt for the rest.

Again, a son arrested in parent’s killing
By John Simerman and Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
RICHMOND – Police say a mentally unstable man killed his father Tuesday night in the family home — the third suspected son-on-parent murder in Contra Costa County since early November, and the second in less than a week.

The bizarre spate of “parricides” confounds police, who see no evidence of any link. Nationwide, fewer than 300 child-on-parent killings occur each year, according to researchers. In California, 30 biological parents — 17 mothers and 13 fathers– were killed by their children in all of 2005.

The latest came after Angelito Ares, 20, called 911 at 6:21 p.m. Tuesday from his home in the suburban May Valley neighborhood of Richmond to report a violent altercation with his father in the house they shared. Police arrived with lights and sirens, stopping the son as he was leaving the house on the 4500 block of Santa Rita Road.

“There was some evidence of a struggle. He had blood on him,” said Richmond police Detective Dan Sanchez.

Officers found 59-year-old Rolando Ares dead of knife wounds in the living room, Sanchez said. Angelito Ares, who has a history of mental illness, made statements implicating himself, police said. He was arrested on suspicion of murder and booked into County Jail in Martinez.

Read the rest here.