Sororicide (; ) is the act of murdering one's own
sister
A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...
.
There are a number of examples of sororicide and
fratricide in
adolescent
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated w ...
s, even
pre-adolescents, where
sibling rivalry and resulting physical aggression can get out of hand and lead to the death of one of them, particularly when a potent weapon is available or one is significantly older than the other and misjudges their own strength.
Known or suspected examples
*
Berenice IV of
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
is believed to have poisoned her sister
Cleopatra VI Tryphaena in 57 BC. She was later beheaded on the orders of her father,
Ptolemy XII.
*
Cleopatra VII of Egypt requested the execution of her sister,
Arsinoe IV, (who was guilty of treason) which was carried out under the orders of her husband, then lover,
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...
, in 41 BC.
*
Roman emperor Caligula
Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...
, according to historian
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...
, killed his sister
Drusilla after learning that she was pregnant with his child in AD 38. Most historians now believe that she probably died of fever.
*
Roman emperor Commodus
Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...
ordered his older sister
Lucilla to be put to death in AD 182, after she was implicated in plots with members of the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
to overthrow him.
* Italian poet
Isabella di Morra was killed by her brothers around 1546 for a suspected affair with a married nobleman, whom they also murdered.
*
Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot his two sisters, Allison and Dawn, in 1974. Their murders became the inspiration for
the Amityville Horror books and films.
*
David Brom murdered his sister with an ax, alongside his brother, mother, and father in 1988.
* Canadian serial killers
Karla Homolka and
Paul Bernardo raped, then killed Karla's sister
Tammy Homolka in 1990; allegedly, the killing was accidental.
*
Martin Peyerl killed his sister Daniela in the
Bad Reichenhall Shootings.
*
Hatun Sürücü was murdered by her brother in Germany in 2005.
* Yuki Muto murdered his sister
Azumi Muto on December 30, 2006 in Japan.
*
Sadia Sheikh was murdered by her brother in 2007 in Belgium.
*
Aqsa Parvez was murdered by her brother in 2007 in Canada.
*
Morsal Obeidi was murdered by her brother in 2008 in Germany.
* Saima Khan, a 34-year-old carer and mother of three, was killed by her 27-year-old sister, Sabah Khan, on 23 May 2016 in Luton, Bedfordshire.
*
Ella Bennett, 4, was murdered by her thirteen-year-old brother, Paris Bennett in
Abilene Texas.
See also
*
Infanticide
Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...
, killing of an infant under the age of one year
*
Filicide, the killing of a child by his or her parent
*
Avunculicide, the killing of one's uncle
*
Mariticide, the killing of one's spouse
*
Nepoticide, the killing of one's nephew
*
Parricide, the killing of one's parents or another close relative
**
Patricide and
matricide, the killing of a father or mother respectively by his or her child
*
Prolicide, is the killing of one's offspring
*
Uxoricide, the killing of one's wife
*
Fratricide, the killing of one's brother
References
{{Reflist
Killings by type
Femicide
Sibling rivalry