Year: 1977 Source: Essence, v.1, no.4, (1977), p.213-219 SIEC No: 19841010

This paper describes a poignant case of “Oyako Shinju”, the Japanese term for combined infanticide-suicide, occuring in Zurich, Switzerland, Oyako Shinju is deeply rooted in Japanese national tradition, but relativley rare in the Western world. The mother in this case took her life & those of her 2 young children. The case, investigated by means of the “psychological autopsy” method, reflects both personality & cultural conflicts between Swiss and Buddhist traditions.