For a while, I was keeping a running national tally of killer dads who murdered their kids in situation involving child custody, visitation, or child support. After I got to 175 cases, it was clear that posting all these cases in one place was getting unwieldy, so I stopped. So now I'm doing periodic summaries by state or region. The usual caveats apply. This is NOT necessarily comprehensive, as often the custodial context is not reported or is not reported clearly, etc., etc.
NEW YORK
Bronx County
Father: ANTHONY MIKELL
Victim(s): Kevin Mikell (2 years)
Date of Death: February 1996
Father granted custody when mother being “probed” for child abuse. Father had previously been arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest. Child beaten to death.
Columbia County
Father: FRANKLIN HANKERSON
Victim(s): Khliff Taylor Hankerson (5 years)
Date of Death: April 2010
Son killed in murder-suicide during visitation.
Erie County
Father: JAMES E. KENT
Victim(s); Joshua Kent (3 years)
Date of Death: March 2005
Sole custody father beats son to death.
Genessee County
Father: UNNAMED FATHER
Victim(s); Marcus Peters (6 years)
Date of Death: October 2009
Child dies during weekend visitation with father, but authorities say death not "suspicious."
Kings County
Father: JASON MARCELLE
Victim(s): Tkai Marcelle (3 years)
Date of Death: December 2007
Custodial dad with history of domestic violence murders 3-year-old daughter
Father: JOHN WEATHERS
Victim(s): Ranell Gailyard (6 years)
Date of Death: February 1989
Mom had legal custody. Boy beaten to death during visitation with father.
Father: CHRISTOPHER WILLIS
Victim(s): Datwan Murray (2 ½ years)
Date of Death: June 1993
Mother had legal custody, but father had refused to return child after visitation. Father appeared to be a major drug dealer with drug arsenal.
Monroe County
Father: ADAM PARCELLS
Victim(s): Mia Parcells (3 years), Noel Parcells (10 years)
Date of Death: September 2011
Father had joint custody of 3-year-old daughter. Mother had sole custody of 10-year-old daughter, with father having supervised visitation only due to past child abuse. When father abducted 10-year old from playground, Rochester Police treated incident as routine custody dispute and refused to issue an Amber Alert. Girls shot to death in murder-suicide at Lake George campground.
Father: MARK RESCH
Victim(s): Hunter Resch (7 years)
Date of Death: February 2010
Child shot to death in murder-suicide during court-ordered visitation. Father had history of domestic violence, mother had filed two orders of protection.
Orange County
Father: PATRICK FITZGERALD
Victim(s): Leanne Fitzgerald (wife, 38 years), Ashley Fitzgerald (7 years), Shane Fitzgerald (4 years)
Date of Death: September 1998
Parents had not separated at time of murders. But father had history of domestic violence, and filing for orders of protections, child custody in Orange County Family Court.
*Father: CHRISTOPHER RHODES
Victim(s): Jerica Rhodes (7 years)
Date of Death: January 2005
Sole custody father convicted in daughter's stabbing death. Father had extensive history of domestic violence.
Richmond County
Father: DARRELL TAYLOR
Victim(s): Josiah Taylor (2 years)
Date of Death: November 2010
Boy killed during visitation with father. Babysitting girlfriend, father each blaming the other.