GRIEF FROM MURDER
Coping With Violent Death

Grief from murder...

Murder... just the word conjures up very strong emotions. What a devastating blow a murder is to the survivors left behind! There's a huge mountain of emotional baggage to be dragged along during your grief process, making it that much harder for you to endure.

All the conflicting emotions present during any sudden death are also there in a homicide... guilt, regret, blame, anger (more like white-hot rage).

You may find the murder itself shocking and hard to understand. And random murder is even harder to accept, where the perpetrator didn't even know the victim... senseless and enraging. Add to all this emotional turmoil a lengthy legal process and possible media attention, and you've got the makings for a psychological disaster!

We also need to mention the unmentionable... cases where the killer is never found or brought to justice. This creates one of the worst types of complicated grief. You cannot complete your grieving when the perpetrator is not found and prosecuted.

Even if a trial does result, the legal process can drag on for years, and your mourning does not end until the legal process does. You may become very depressed and devastated by the whole ordeal.  You might need to attend psychotherapy in cases like this to help bring about much a needed end to your grief.