EVETTE VERNEY WAS ALLEGEDLY MURDERED BY HER OWN SON. SHE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE.

Content warning: this post discusses domestic violence and homicide.

On a cool Sunday night, in the Perth town of Byford, Evette Verney was viciously attacked inside her home. Desperate for help, she stumbled to a neighbour's house, collapsing on the driveway. By the time police arrived, Evette was dead. She was 61-years-old.

Police suspected homicide and a man-hunt for the suspected killer ensued. Evette's death, which took place on June 2, was the fourth alleged domestic violence murder in just one harrowing weekend.

But Evette's perpetrator — who has since been charged with her murder — wasn’t the woman’s husband. Nor was it a former partner.

The alleged killer was her own son, 33-year-old Harley Jefferies.

It’s jarring to read. An almost unimaginable concept. 

Horrifyingly, Evette isn’t the first woman to be allegedly murdered by her own child in Australia this year.

Watch: It's not love, it's coercive control. Article continues after the video. 

According to Sherele Moody from Australian Femicide Watch, four other men have allegedly, violently stolen the lives of their own mothers in the first six months of 2024, along with one woman.

On May 1, Joan Drane, 78, was murdered in her own home. Her son has been charged with her murder. 

On April 2, a man was charged after stabbing his 66-year-old mother to death. 

During March, a 60-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her adult son, while 53-year-old Joanne Perry was allegedly murdered by her daughter.

On January 8, 65-year-old Nerol Doble was fatally injured during a house fire. Her son was charged with her murder. 

It’s called matricide — the killing of a mother by her own child.

According to the limited research available, when it comes to children killing parents, son-to-mother murders are most common. 

Detailed data on matricide is scarce, especially in Australia. Within most of the existing literature examining femicide and/or domestic and family violence, son-to-mother killings are not specified in the data, instead falling under the banner of family members 'other than intimate partners'. The result is that matricide is rarely recognised as a distinct crime. 

A gendered crime.

According to a UK study, undertaken by Professor Rachel Condry and titled Who counts? The invisibility of mothers as victims of femicide, son-to-mother matricide should be considered a specifically gendered crime for two reasons; not only do these murders fall under the literal definition of femicide — in that they involve women being killed by men, but the research suggests these mothers are killed because they’re women. And this is further compounded by other gender-influenced circumstances, such as parental proximity, maternal caregiving, and intersectional invisibility. 

"I think gender is a key factor in adult children killing a parent, especially their mother," says Leneen Forde Chair in Child and Family Research, Professor Silke Meyer. 

"While there are cases involving a female homicide offender, we're more likely to see son-to-mother perpetrated homicide and these cases often involve histories of domestic and family violence (DFV)."

What we do know is that son-to-mother perpetrated DFV often intersects with adult intimate partner violence (IPV). Meaning adult sons who use violence towards mothers also frequently have histories of intimate partner violence.

"Based on some of my research I would say it's not uncommon for adult sons who use IPV to stay with other family members, including their mother, during or after the breakdown of the intimate relationship where they used violence," says Professor Meyer. 

"Similar for men who have been incarcerated for their use of DFV, when there's nowhere to go post prison release, mothers may feel the pressure to avoid their adult children becoming homeless, despite knowing that this means having to manage risk in the home."

Cultural factors and societal attitudes also play a role, says Professor Meyer, such as beliefs about gender, a mother's 'worth' and how women and mothers are treated. Other demographical aspects of this group of women, separate to but intrinsically linked with gender, contribute to their overall 'intersectional invisibility', leaving them particularly vulnerable. In other words, older women who are also mothers, are overlooked by the community. 

"They experienced intersecting structures of inequality: as women, as mothers of mentally ill sons, middle-aged or elderly, in some cases as black and minority ethnic, and with their own health conditions and disabilities, which relegated them ‘to a position of acute social invisibility’," the report reveals. 

This invisibility is further compounded by the societal tendency towards 'mother-blame'. 

"Overwhelmingly killed by mentally ill adult-aged sons."

As well as attitudes to gender and a prior history of intimate partner violence, mental health and physical proximity to mothers are also key contributing factors to matricide, research shows.

"I think part of the reason we often see this violence being directed at mum - similar to what we see in the adolescent use of violence in the home space - is that women may be separated and on their own, making them the primary target for violence. Especially where there has also been a history of intimate partner violence targeted at mum in the past," says Professor Meyer. 

Mothers are often the go-to point for struggling adult children, and frequently provide different forms of support, including a place to stay. 

"Often the reasons adult children require a place to stay and rely on their parents or mothers for support are associated with mental health problems, harmful substance use interfering with everyday functioning, financial insecurity, relationship breakdown or release from prison.

"And often mothers and their adult children in these scenarios aren't well supported. So mothers try to support an adult child, primarily sons, with complex life experiences and navigate the risk of violence and related safety concerns."

Professor Meyer’s comments are backed by Professor Condry’s research.  

According to the study, mental illness plays a significant role in son-to-mother femicide. In fact, almost two-thirds of the case studies analysed within the study involved a perpetrator with a serious mental illness. Most involved a parent playing a hands-on caring role for their adult child, that saw the child either living with the parent, or being heavily dependent on the parent. 

"When women are killed by their children, they are overwhelmingly killed by mentally ill adult-aged sons, for whom they are the primary carer."

No support. 

The University of Melbourne’s Professor Heather Douglas says dedicated services for parents with adult children living in the family home are "very hard to come by". 

"The people I have interviewed for a current study report that there are often drug and alcohol issues, mental health and disability issues in the background, some of which have not been dealt with over a long time," says Professor Douglas. 

"Also the housing crisis has made this worse as there is nowhere for adult children to move on to and parents don’t want to leave their kids homeless."

According to Professor Meyer, the cost-of-living crisis has left many women vulnerable to domestic and family violence, with many agreeing to remaining in the same home as perpetrators for financial reasons. 

"And I wonder to what extent this equally applies to mothers of adult sons/children with complex experiences and often a history of violence who would otherwise end up homeless," she says. 

"So mothers provide support because that's what mothers do, and as a result manage higher than usual levels of risk than they would have previously considered managing. 

"Combine this with the impact of cost-of-living pressures and the known effects on households and individuals, including poor mental health, increase in DFV, increase in alcohol and other drug use, and you have a situation where risk becomes unmanageable for the victim-survivor."

Forgotten victims. 

When it comes to screening and risk assessments of men with violent histories, or with other intersecting needs, such as mental health challenges or homelessness, Professor Meyer believes the focus needs to shift. 

"I think one of the biggest gaps in screening and risk assessment currently is that it is primarily focused on identified victim-survivors, often intimate partners and ex-partners," says Professor Meyer. 

For example, when perpetrators are removed from the home, they may be assessed for their risk of homelessness. 

"They may assess if the perpetrator has family or friends to stay with but that assessment usually doesn't include whether the people offering a place to stay are at potential risk of his use of DFV as well if they aren't an intimate partner.

"And the same applies to other support services, including housing and homelessness support services and mental health services who assess current living arrangements. This should be accompanied by screening for a history of using violence, and whether this may put people in alternative or temporary housing arrangements at risk." 

In order to better understand opportunities for early intervention and risk management, Professor Meyer says more focused research is required around adult son to mother perpetrated DFV, including homicide, 

"Our focus has primarily been on homicide in the context of IPV and as a result we still know very little about adult child to parent perpetrated violence."

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)—the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.

Feature image: Getty. 

Mamamia is a charity partner of RizeUp Australia, a national organisation that helps women, children and families move on after the devastation of domestic and family violence. Their mission is to deliver life-changing and practical support to these families when they need it most. If you would like to support their mission you can donate here. 

Calling all Australians aged 16+ years! Take our survey now to go in the running to win a $50 gift voucher.

2024-07-02T04:26:33Z dg43tfdfdgfd