No amount of success, fame, or money can change some of the most critical and devastating events that can occur in life. Award-winning actress, Jennifer Hudson, and her family are well aware of this fact, as is the family of an Arkansas television anchorwoman, Anne Pressly. Both these families, like many other secondary victims and family survivors of homicide, share commonalities that they would rather not.
Ms. Hudson and her family are enduring some agonizing times in their lives upon news of the murder of her mother, Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason Hudson, who were found in their home shot to death. Augmenting their shock and grief was the added factor of the initial disappearance of Ms. Hudson's nephew, 7-year-old Julian King, who was missing but was later found dead. The horrific discovery of this news has rocked the world of Ms. Hudson, her sister (Julian's mother), and other extended family members.
Despite her achievement of fame, Ms. Hudson is known to have never lost sight of her home grown roots in Chicago where she was raised and where her family resided in the community of Englewood. Apparently, her family ties and values were steadfast, and her basic perspective on life remained strong and stable. Amidst the pinnacle of her successful career, she now faces the debilitating effects of a horrible tragedy that will have lasting effects.
Similarly, in Little Rock, Arkansas, an attractive and talented young journalist for ABC affiliate KATV, 26-year-old Anne Pressly, was brutally beaten in her home. Critically injured, Ms. Pressly was hospitalized with extremely severe injuries to her head, face, and neck. Almost every bone in her face was broken, and she suffered severe swelling to the brain. Consequently, she was unable to communicate. She died on October 25, 2008 as a result of the injuries from the vicious attack. Like the Hudson family, the family of Anne Pressly is traumatized by the news of this savage crime that also leaves them shocked with profound grief.
Wherever the evidence leads and whatever the specific circumstances surrounding the murders of Darnell Donerson, Jason Hudson, Julian King, and Ann Pressley may reveal, the fact remains their lives were snuffed out by the committal of violent, vicious and senseless criminal acts. The victims' families were robbed of their loved one's continued presence in their lives, and they must now deal with a multitude of tumultuous emotions that comprise their reactions to appalling news of their loved one's fate. The Hudson and Pressly families do not have to be personally acquainted to understand and relate to the heartrending impact of the criminal victimization that affects both their families.
In cases such as these, the survivors become secondary victims. They are initially in shock; traumatized, and grief stricken upon receiving disturbing news of the sudden deaths of their loved ones. From that point on, the survivors realize their lives are involuntarily reconstructed in unimaginable ways. "Our lives will not be the same without her. Our hearts are broken," said Guy and Patti Cannady in a statement they issued following the death of their daughter, Ann Pressly. "Life was easy for Ann Pressly. But it is her death that is so very hard for all of us," said Pamela Smith, a colleague and fellow anchor at KATV.
Coming to grips with the realization that a sense of normality may have existed merely days or weeks previous to such horrible events, survivors now face their lives being radically transformed by the reality of homicide that has touched their personal world. It is not uncommon for survivors to reel with confusion as well as experience inner turmoil and mind boggling chaos as they try to formulate some sense out of the senseless. In different degrees and in various forms, a multitude of emotions may develop. Sadness may turn to anger, and disbelief may lead to profound shock that, ultimately, results in consummate grief.
Family members and survivors of homicide victims need a great deal of support not only immediately following the incident but long afterwards. They must be allowed to grieve in their own time and their own way. There is no "proper" way to grieve and those who stand behind the survivors, in a supportive capacity, must recognize that it is important not to place a timetable on the grieving process. Support mechanisms can be provided through formal channels of victim services housed in law enforcement agencies including police departments and prosecutors' offices as well as more informal - but maybe more important - networks of family, friends, and colleagues. No matter how much time passes, and irrespective of whether or not perpetrators are caught and prosecuted, the fact remains that the lives of family survivors have been permanently altered. At best, they struggle to regain a degree of emotional equilibrium enabling them to function, in even the most basic ways, in their daily lives that slowly attempt to progress forward in the aftermath of monumental tragedy.
The challenges become even greater for the Hudson and Pressly families due to their high profile status. As a result, the media converges upon the family members outside their homes or anywhere else they may be present. Though the media can be helpful in providing information to the public, as evidenced by their immediate dissemination of an Amber Alert prior to the discovery of the death of Hudson's nephew, the media has also been known, in some instances, to disregard appropriate boundaries for a story. The families of the victims both stated they wanted privacy and time to grieve. It is imperative, therefore, that media outlets respect requests of this nature from families of homicide survivors. By doing so, they are being professional in their mission and will, at a later date, obtain greater cooperation and willingness from the families to interact with the media.
Survivors of homicide victims suffer trauma and feel helpless amidst the unbearable crisis they face in their lives. The impact of news of their family member's deaths and the manner in which they died can cause severe emotional distress encumbered with a feelings of helplessness as well as hopelessness. During the immediate aftermath, it is not unusual for survivors to reflect back on times shared with the victims that evoke memories of days gone by and, at the same time, stimulate personal introspection into their own lives.
The Hudson and Pressly families now share a bond of commonality as a result of the criminal victimization that has touched their lives, and anyone can imagine how aghast each family must have been when they learned of these crimes. Their pain, their sorrow, and the significant losses they suffer are undifferentiated by profile or position. Like any other family survivors of homicide, their lives are forever changed.
