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Contents Introduction The Messengers Law Enforcement Notifications Grief, Mourning and Bereavement Correct Notification Procedures Military Notifications Case History O.J. Simpson/Louis & Juditha Brown/ Ronald Goldman Medicolegal Death Investigator Notification Case History "I thought to myself, he's going to kill me!" Conclusions

Death notification is a difficult, unwelcome, although essential assignment. Survivors can suffer terrible and long-lasting grief following a poorly delivered and badly prepared death message. The loss of family members is traumatic to survivors. When the death results from a homicide, suicide or accident, grief can be amplified by the notification process. If the death involves a child, it could be the single most catastrophic event imaginable. (Janzen, 2003-2004) The process of aiding grieving family members begins from the moment they get the news of their loved one's death. All notifiers, whether from law enforcement, mental health, military, or private industry, should understand what they do or say in their brief encounter may well set the tone for the family's long-term ability to survive the ordeal of losing a loved one. (Miller, 2008b)

A World War II Death Notification

The messengers also can suffer from difficulties in their emotional balance due to associative factors and continued exposure relating to their work assignments. Whether it is a law enforcement officer, medical clinician, chaplain, social worker or death investigator delivering the devastating news, it behooves the person to possess as much training, experience and empathy for the grieving family as possible.

Unfortunately, research indicates that when death notification personnel are poorly trained, survivors as well as the bearers of the news may suffer consequences. The damage to the relationship between families and the notifying agency can be manifested at later dates or during other encounters. It often leaves survivors with lingering unanswered questions relating to the deaths of their loved ones and contributes to emotional difficulties for future re-entry into a normal lifestyle. Recommendations for additional and more intensive training are indicated for law enforcement agencies, and others, who must carry the burden of being the bad news bearers. (Page, 2008)

List of Visuals

1. Death, from the movie The Seventh Seal, 1957
   http://atheistmovies.blogspot.com/2007/09/seventh-seal-1957.html
   Atheist Movies

2. Students sign yearbooks in memory of a fallen classmate, Woodrow Wilson High School, Dallas, TX
   Andy Scott, 2001 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, Taken from Proquest's eLibrary

3. Civil War death notification from Captain Parson to Sarah Brown
   http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/6905/civil_war_death_notification/
   Footnote.com

4. Death notification role playing as part of physician training
   http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/continuing-education/center-for-ethics/ethics-outreach/outreach-programs/death-notification-role-play.cfm
   Oregon University, Health & Science

5. A police officer makes a death notification Associated Press
   http://www.policeone.com/health-fitness/articles/1267704-The-worst-possible-news-Death-notification-and-body-identification-for-law-enforcement-officers/
   Associated Press; PoliceOne.com

6. The brothers and sisters of Palestinian boys after they were told about their brother's death, Gaza Strip, Israel/Palestine
   Abdelrahman Al-khateeb, 2001 United Press International, Taken from Proquest's eLibrary

7. Canadian police officer
   http://www.cpkn.ca/course_detail/death_notification_e.html
   Canadian Police Knowledge Network (CPKN)

8. U.S. Marine Corps unit responsible for death notification, Orlando, FL
   http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2005/03/21/
   News/Death.Notification.A.Dreaded.Duty-898673.shtml
   The Orlando Sentinel/KRT

9. Nicole Brown Simpson in 1993
   http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/rush_molloy/2007/11/16/2007-11-16_nicole_brown_simpsons_untold_story.html
   New York Daily News

10. An earthquake survivor cries as she tells rescue workers to try to locate her family, Beichuan, China
    Mark Ralston, 2008 AFP/Getty Images, Taken from Proquest's eLibrary

11. A World War II Death Notification
    http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/hgjohns.htm
    Arlington National Cemetery Website



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