Stories like this one, speaking out in memory of Linda and Adrian Greenwood and Scott Murphy, are why I stay in media and specifically local news.
Far too often, I see the exploration of "True Crime" as a dramatized genre that treats trauma as entertainment. We, the audience, are caught up in the salacious and gruesome details of counting wounds, without considering the person who used to inhabit the body now being exposed to us as a grotesque point of interest. The loved ones left behind are forced to live a constant existence alongside grief, forever refreshed with every article, every well-meant, but invasive -- condolence from friends stumbling across names in a decades old case.
When you cover a true crime story, keep in mind that there is always another victim, besides those included in the case files. The parents, siblings, friends and extended family members will continue to think about the people who are lost for generations.
True crime IS interesting. There is a reason so much of our entertainment media is focused on it. But keep in mind why you are sharing these stories. Is it for a few clicks from readers who want to know what pains a human was forced to endure? Or to educate, remind, and explore the human condition?
"We all want to know and understand the basis of human behavior and motivation, why we do the things we do. And with crime, we are seeing the human condition writ large and at the extremes, both for the perpetrator and for the victim." -- John Douglas
Thank you to the Murphy, Martin, and Greenwood families for letting me help. Please take a moment to read about Linda, Adrian, and Scotty, and share or sign the petition to keep a man sentenced to life for triple-murder behind bars.
