Étude d’un cas de filicide : Fabienne Kabou

Abstract

Objectives

The main objective of our study is to contribute to a better understanding of filicidal acts by mothers during the postnatal period. Fabienne Kabou's filicide of her 15-month-old daughter, sheds light on the psychic and psychopathological issues involved in the act. We will also use this case to identify the factors of vulnerability and risk which contributed to the filicide.

Method

Our method is to focus on the singularity of this case while at the same time looking for similarities with other cases of women who have committed this type of act. The story of Fabienne Kabou will be presented up to the point if her murderous act, followed by a discussion of the multiplicity and complexity of the related issues involved.

Results

The results of our study show that while her psychiatric pathology has been shown to be a major factor of vulnerability from the beginning of her pregnancy until the filicide, in our research we have emphasized that no grid of risk factors has yet been developed to facilitate the prevention of homicides committed by women on their infant children.

Conclusion

However, we estimate that it is possible to identify, from the case of Fabienne Kabou, those risk factors that are conducive to committing such an act, such as social isolation, lack of family support, repeated social breakdowns, financial and material dependence, and the impossibility of sharing the intimacy of her motherhood with anyone. We therefore asked ourselves how this type of filicide could be prevented in such cases of psychic and social isolation, and what tools could be created through future research to better prevent such acts.