A 13-year-old Texas girl has been arrested for brutally stabbing and beating her mother to the point of near-death — but her case is far from the only one of similar caliber in recent headlines. In fact, the number of cases of parenticide and attempted-parenticide reported by news outlets appear to be increasing.
News 4 San Antonio reports that an unnamed 13-year-old girl stands accused of trying to murder her own mother by stabbing her over 30 times. Police who responded to the scene of the violent incident say that they also found bloody brass knuckles in the home, as well as a bloody dumbbell weight. Her identity isn’t being released due to her being a minor, but she is at least still in custody while awaiting trial. Strangely enough, her father has shown up to her initial court appearances in support of her.
The aforementioned case in Texas is far from the only recent case of a child trying to murder one of their parents. In October 2023, a 13-year-old Florida boy named Derek Rosa violently stabbed his mother to death while she slept. The Messenger reports that the teenager confessed to killing his mother, but claimed that he had planned to kill himself as well. He, however, chickened-out.
Shortly after Christmas 2023, a 14-year-old California boy was arrested for allegedly killing both of his parents and gravely injuring his 11-year-old sister. People reports that the unnamed teen used a variety of weapons in the grisly slayings.
Also in late 2023, a teenage boy was arrested in New York after he reportedly killed his father, stepbrother and stepmother. Teen killer Sydney Powell, who killed her mother in 2020, was finally convicted of her crimes in 2023 as well. In September 2023, a Louisiana teenager admitted to killing his mother and the family dog, and is quoted as saying that he just “woke up angry,” that day.
Also in September 2023, a 14-year-old Florida boy fatally shot his mother and her boyfriend. NBC Miami reports that the teen also attempted to shoot himself, but was talked-down by law enforcement before he was successfully arrested. In August 2023, a Tennessee teen was arrested after he admitted to shooting his mother in the head before attempting to conceal her slain body.
Also last year, a 16-year-old Washington teen reportedly killed his mother’s boyfriend on Father’s Day. In April of last year, an Arizona teenager killed his mother and then killed himself, leaving behind no clues behind the motive that led to the murder-suicide.
The list of recent cases of parenticide could frankly continue with numerous examples. Is it possible that cases of this type of murder are on the rise? Or is it possible that the news media is just collectively covering these cases more frequently, leading to the false sense of seeing an increase? Whatever the answer to that question might be, it’s obvious that these stories are trending more frequently in news reports.
Chelsea Hoffman is a true crime writer with over a decade of professional writing experience. She is best known for her coverage of missing people including the tragic disappearance of Madeleine McCann as well as the heartbreaking cases of Dylan Redwine, Heather Elvis and many others.
