The Al-Qanater Family Massacre: How Egypt’s Psychopathic Son Staged a Gang Hit and Walked Free

In 2001, a horrifying crime took place in El-Qanater El-Khayreya, where an entire family—two parents and their two sons—were found stabbed to death in their home. At first, investigators believed there were multiple killers or a revenge motive because there were no signs of forced entry or robbery. The breakthrough came when police uncovered a 1993 medical prescription showing that the family’s only surviving son, Mazen, had been diagnosed as a psychopath. This revelation shifted the entire investigation. Under questioning, Mazen calmly confessed to planning and carrying out the murders of his parents and brothers out of hatred and a desire to seize the family’s inheritance. Although the killings were exceptionally brutal and Mazen showed no remorse, he received only 15 years in prison because he was legally a minor at the time of the murders.