Homicide Survivors and the Death Penalty: What Do We Know About What Happens Afterward?
Part Two in a series inviting researchers into the aftermath of homicide. On September 30, 2026, Tennessee attempted to execute Christa Pike for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer. According to Associated Press reporting, Pike survived after receiving two doses of pentobarbital during that attempt. She is now 50. The event has prompted medical questions, […]
What Is Known About Homicide Survivors Who Move Away – and Who Can’t?
Part One in a series inviting researchers into the aftermath of homicide. At a recent gathering of homicide survivors, I spoke with someone who plans to move several states away. The person convicted of murdering her son is being released from prison soon, and returning to their old neighborhood. His parents live across the street. […]
Homicide Survivor First Aid
Your heart is racing. Your chest feels tight. You’re clammy and the area around you seems to fall away. You may wonder whether you’re having a heart attack. Perhaps a siren set it off, or the scent of cherry blossoms brought back “that day” – the one you would rather not relive. Sometimes there is […]
National Gathering for Homicide Survivors (2026)
Anyone passing the “Narrows Room” at our Gig Harbor, Washington hotel would have seen the sign outside: A National Gathering for Those Impacted by Homicide. Had they paused outside the doors, however, they might have heard something unexpected coming from behind the double doors: a roomful of homicide survivors laughing loudly. We were doing an […]
Murder As Entertainment (“MINE”)
We stream it while we fold laundry. We listen to it while driving. We fall asleep to podcasts describing strangulations, shootings and dismemberments. We speculate about motives, debate suspects, rank documentaries and complain when a case isn’t sufficiently mysterious. And somewhere, almost invisible, is a family. I know something about that family. My husband’s murder […]
Its Time Has Come: Why Homicide Survivors Need a 24/7 Hotline
A survivor-centered call for a national 24/7 hotline for homicide survivors, offering trauma-informed support, legal-system navigation, and peer connection after murder loss.
“Half Of Me Died With Them”
Explores traumatic grief after the death of a loved one, including how shared memory, identity, and physiological connection can make bereavement feel like losing part of oneself.
What Homicide Survivors Keep to Themselves
A reflection on the invisible emotional labor homicide survivors carry in everyday conversations, and why being with other survivors can reduce the need to edit painful truths.
When Grief Is Dangerous: Suicide Risk After a Homicide Loss
Discusses suicide risk after homicide loss, warning signs to watch for, ways friends and family can respond, and where to seek immediate crisis support.
Grief and Substance Abuse: There Are No Safe Shortcuts
Explores how alcohol, drugs, and other numbing behaviors can become tempting after traumatic grief or violent loss, and why safer support is essential for recovery.
The Part of Homicide That Never Makes it into True Crime
A survivor-centered look at what true crime leaves out: the waiting, aftermath, traumatic grief, and real human cost for families after homicide.
The Brain’s Wiring During Murder
Explains how stress, threat perception, emotional dysregulation, and impaired impulse control can contribute to homicidal behavior without excusing violence.
