Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher kills his girlfriend before committing suicide

These grotesque murder suicides happen all over, but are usually only covered by local news.

though there's no central tracking of murder/suicides, so that's just an estimate. It seems to be down from twenty years ago, like all other categories of violent crime, but it's still way too common.

Smaller metros and rural areas will have local news coverage.

The national coverage is strictly due to pseudo-celebrity status.

...there are many of these types of murders these days. In Chicago seems like every day there's yet another tragic murder that gets lost in the shuffle with another tragic murder. It's as though we're immune to the carnage and almost accept these stories as "routine". I only know the basics in this story and there are many questions to be answered, but nonetheless, there's a child who will now grow up without parents and another senseless, tragic murder that will be surpassed by the next one.

He was the figure in the public eye, not his victims. The fact he committed the murder is the underlying premise to the coverage, but the topic being explored is why did it happen. Perhaps as the story has time to develop we will hear Kassandra's story as well, but for now, more information is available for review on Belcher. To better understand his terrible choice, it helps to see what he gave up, as well as what he took. Some reporters will frame it better than others, of course.

I don't understand how anyone could display a poster of him and toast his memory so soon after he committed murder. That is just wrong.