parricide

Parricide historically and linguistically denotes the killing of a parent, a child or another close relative, but the concept does not exist as a separate legal category in Danish criminal law. Under Danish law, such acts are governed exclusively by the general provision on manslaughter in the Danish Penal Code (straffeloven) § 237, regardless of the victim's relationship to the perpetrator. § 237 provides that any person who kills another is punished for manslaughter by imprisonment from 5 years up to life.

The family relationship between perpetrator and victim therefore does not constitute a distinct statutory offence, but may in practice be taken into account as an aggravating or mitigating factor in sentencing within the broad penalty range. The divergence from many other legal systems — where parricide has historically been criminalised separately and punished more severely than ordinary homicide — is thus marked in Danish law, which rests on a uniform homicide provision that does not depend on the identity of the victim.