To think men who murder their family don't deserve sympathetic news coverage?

[Felascloak]

This article in the independent has the headline "father found dead with his three children after leaving for theme park trip".
I thought it would be about some kind of accident that happened on the way home but no, it turns out he went to his Ex wives house, shot her and their three children then killed himself. The mother isn't even mentioned in the headline.

Further down there is a quote "hopefully we will remember these children for years to come, and how their lives were innocently taken by their father"
Innocently taken by their father shooting them?!! How is that innocent?

AIBU to be shocked and disgusted by this coverage?

Noone should jump to conclusions before facts are known.
BUT The dreadful headline from the OP was AFTER the facts has been established.

(btw, there are no legal restrictions on reporting foreign stories - these murders were in the USA - except wrt libelling live people)

The problem is that even AFTER police or inquest have confirmed that a man has brutally murdered his family, this is often still not treated in the media like "real" murder.

It is excused, like a hangover from the past, when a man's wife & kids were like his property, with fewer rights than he had.

YY frenzy I agree. American case, some time later, no reason why Brit media have to be concerned with their legal position.

I was responding to a PP (destinysdaughter) who expressed her suspicion of a media agenda when initial reports made these types of cases sound like random murders and only later report that it was a partner.

There is an agenda - they want to remain on the right side of the law!

DV is often excused.

The victims spend years defending their abuser, then when they look for support to leave they have none at all because nobody believes them. These animals are master manipulators.

They will also stop at nothing to get their revenge, even if it means killing their own children.

The way it is reported nearly always goes on about what the woman did wrong, there is often talk of he couldn't stand to be apart from his kids, as if it's an excuse, often talk of the mother having an affair or nagging or whatever. It's because part of the manipulation with these men is looking like a brilliant bloke to the rest of the world, then the world tries to justify why these brilliant blokes snap and murder.

There is no excuse, it's the ultimate last bit of control.

I was hammered on a thread a few years when I said a father who had killed his three children with a knife should burn in hell ( he'd chased them through a wood)

No sympathy, twat.

I don't think anyone who kills children deserve any sympathy. But you see it when mothers do it or women, there must be a reason and people pity them.

Thing is, in most cases where women do it, they're just crazy, like, they believe the end of the world is coming and they want to "protect" their children, or something. Not much use to pity them, but also not much reason to really hate them.

With men, it is revenge, 90% of the time. Sexist entitlement turned up to eleven. They are perfectly healthy, mentally, they decide to murder.

In Germany, men murdering their family is euphemistically called "family drama", so, yeah, you probably suspected, this is not endemic to the UK.

It's horrible.

The victims spend years defending their abuser, then when they look for support to leave they have none at all because nobody believes them. These animals are master manipulators.

That is really offensive. Innocent animals don't deserve to be compared to such monsters.
Not even Bruno the problem bear was that bad.

To me this is the same type of 'honour killing' crap.

Monsters who Murder in cold blood women children or men are evil murdering cunts.

No honour no reason no excuses

I agree with you op, there was a case in Ireland recently where a man stabbed his partner, drove off with their three year old son and crashed, with some evidence intentionally, head on into a truck on a busy road. Both were killed instantly. The article I read at the time had a tribute to the dad from a friend, describing his hobbies and how good he was with baby animals!! www.thejournal.ie/limerick-crash-tragedy-2886195-Jul2016/

NN there's a difference between making sure coverage doesn't prejudice legal proceedings and writing a headline and article that suggests that these children and father just accidentally died (and really neglects to mention the mother)
Also the press don't seem overly bothered usually, e.g. reporting on Chris Jefferies springs to mind.
I find it really disturbing that the story is portrayed as some kind of tragic event when it was entirely avoidable, he was a murderer.
I've since found some coverage on feminist current, glad its not just me finding the reporting of this distasteful
www.feministcurrent.com/2016/08/09/megan-short-punished-death-naming-problem/

Agree re reporting of family annihilation.

Christopher Jeffries received substantial conpensation from two newspapers, IIRC. No excuse, but shows that it is policed to an extent.

cloak* I wasn't referring to this particular case though - I was responding to the conspiracy theory suggested by a PP about the media that implied they "hide" the details of the perpetrator.
I wish I hadn't bothered, TBH

Oh sorry. I am just really riled by it, I do understand there might be legal implications but this has gone too far I think.
I do also think there is a pattern in reporting where these kind of crimes aren't described as "murder". Like the honour killings, as yorkie said. Almost as if the victims deserved it

It reminds me of the media coverage of the recent case in Spalding where a man killed his wife and daughter - shot them outside the swimming pool.

It was all about what a great guy he was. No he wasn't, he was an abusive cunt who was very upset his favourite doormat was finally leaving him.

There's a resigned 'just one of those things' air about this sort of reporting - they're often described as tragedies but never the fucking unacceptable, unforgiveable outrage they actually are.

I read a few replies before looking at the article and even so I was shocked! Aww, poor dad found dead with his kids on a trip to a theme park. Tragic. Except they didn't go to a theme park, he shot his children and THE MOTHER who was only mentioned further into the article. Wtf?!

That's my town Hermione

There was uproar on a local spotted page about all the articles focusing on him. I'll see if I can find what they said

And at the same time one of the red-tops has a front page story today of a man stabbed 40+ times by his mistress. It's all talk of 'craziness' and 'revenge' on the mistresses part. I'm not for a second excusing what she's done but why is that reported so very differently?

Why are family annihilators given so much sympathetic press? It's always painted as if they were driven to it, they were just so sad and upset, so lonely, missing their kids, etc.

No, they're just nasty, manipulative bastards.

thisis

Yes, the article is just weird. The emphasis is all wrong at the beginning.

No. Can't find it

But it basically said to stop focusing on what such a nice guy he was and how out of character it was and focus more on the fact that these two women lost their lives because of him

Yeah, its upsetting me that even in death, caused by the man, the reporting has to be all about him, eulogising about what a great family man he was. Nothing about the woman and the loss to the world that she was murdered. It is so sad and a damning indictment on the value of mens lives vs women's
RIP Megan

This really pisses me off too. It's deliberately painting murderous bastards as helpless victims of circumstance.

YANBU

It is such breathtakingly obvious misogyny, it's amazing that they're still doing this in 2016

There's lots of research into the gendered way in which murder is reported. Women who kill are psychotic bitches; men are distressed/ill/depressed. UK media (with some exceptions in New Statesman/Guardian/Telegraph) are absolutely complicit in the minimisation of men's responsibility to commit violence.

NN I'm so sorry that happened in your community. I'm pleased the reporting got challenged.

I've written to the independent complaining. I specifically asked them to consider their wording to be more sympathetic to victims rather than murderers, given the issuesof violence against women and children. I will update when they reply. (Might name change too!)

Going to write to the independent

You would be better off writing to the Washington Post. This is their report which the Independent has reproduced unchanged apart from the headline. The original headline was "A dad took his children to a theme park. A day later, the police found their bodies."

I would agree with some other posters that the phrase, "innocently taken by their father" was either misreported or misspoken. I think the DA meant that the children were innocent, not that their father was.