Ten Percent of SIDS Cases are Murder — or are They?

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has been used as a cause of death for over four decades. It has allowed deaths of infants to be registered as natural. Within this group of deaths, a certain number have been recognized to be homicides from inflicted smothering rather than being natural or accidental deaths. Research has been conducted using confidential inquires to determine how frequent homicide is in cases called SIDS. This paper traces the history of quoted rates of homicide. Early work suggested the figure was between 2-10% of all SIDS cases, though other workers have suggested figures as high as 20-40%. With the fall in the rate of infant deaths following the “Back to Sleep” campaigns, these figures have been reevaluated. If the higher figures were correct that 20-40% of SIDS were homicides, the fall in infant deaths would be expected to be less than it has been. Current data suggests a much lower figure than 10% of current cases, with much lower overall rates of infant deaths