What drives people to kill their family members?

These days, you can't read a newspaper or watch the news on tv without reading/hearing about a man or woman who killed his/her entire family

There are a few categories to distinguish.

There are those who kill their (ex) partner because she or he has betrayed them, and then they kill the children because they think they would not cope without that parent.

There are those who kill their wife/husband/son/daughter because he/she is either very ill or handicapped.

Today the main story in the newspaper was about a man who drove his car into the canal, killing himself and his invalid son. At home, the police discovered the body of the mother. Neighbors tell the parents were very concerned about their son of 17, who could not walk or speak and had very severe mental problems.

While I could never understand why you would want to kill your partner because you can't agree anymore, I can partly what drives people like this father to such a desperate action.

My sister and I took care of our mother when she had our first stroke. She was in hospital for a week, but then she had to come home. She was not able to do anything by herself. She could not wash, eat, use the bathroom. We only had to take care of her for two months, until our doctor had found a nursing home for her, but it surely took its toll. I was not able to sleep for two month, because I was afraid something would happen to my mother. I felt exhausted by the time school began once more in September. It took me until the next summer holiday before I felt fit once more.

So I can understand a little. It definitely takes its toll to look after someone who is handicapped. Some can cope, others can't. We have a friend who has a son with autism, and he already had a heart attack and more than one depression. Another friend committed suicide because he could not persuade his wife to put their severely mentally ill son into care.

There will always be controversy around this matter. Life is sacred, but can you consider it is 'life' when someone doesn't know he/she exists???

Your reactions are more than welcome.