Suicides after mercy killing

Mercy killing (MK) is based on the premise that a person's quality of life has reached the point where death by killing becomes an act of compassion, regardless of the sufferer's consent. The small number of publications on the topic of MK with subsequent suicide, especially in the national scientific literature, makes this work relevant and in demand. The aim of the study is to study the cases of suicides after MK in the subjects of the Russian Federation (RF) that occurred in 2006-2021. Materials and Methods. We analyzed 10 cases of MK (5 men and 5 women, aged 33 to 76 years; mean age 57.0±13.2) from nine regions of the Russian Federation. Results. MK was more often committed by parents (7), and the victims were adult children (4), or young children (2) with mental retardation (disability since childhood), less often these were patients with dementia (3), childhood autism (1). The aggressors in most cases turned out to be older than their victims (6 males and 4 females, aged from 5 to 83; mean age 42.1±23.9). The means of both murders and suicides more often (5060%) were piercing and cutting objects, less often (20%) strangulation (self-hanging). The aggressors did not use firearms. Conclusion. Cases of MK in the Russian Federation are mainly the killing by parents of children (incapacitated disabled since childhood, aged 18 years and older) with intellectual-mnestic disorders, due to the inability to care for them, associated with the incurable disease of the guardian and its progression.