Nikki Catsouras was only 18 years old that Halloween night in 2006, when she lost control while driving her father's Porsche and was killed.
Christos and Lesli Catsouras received that night the phone call that is every parent's worst nightmare. It informed them that their beloved daughter was dead.
As if the pain of losing a child wasn't enough, Christos and Lesli Catsouras soon began receiving anonymous emails depicting graphic photographs of their dead child at the crash scene. Someone even set up a fake MySpace account showing the photos. What kind of person would intentionally and cowardly send and post such horrific pictures of Nikki Catsouras? What sick, demented pervert would pour scalding vinegar on the punctured hearts of the grieving parents and family?
An internet following soon emerged with over 1,600 websites of the embedded and private photos of Nikki Catsouras at the crash site that Halloween night. Soon, Nikki Catouras was no longer known by the name which her parents gave her at birth. Instead, she was insensitively dubbed “Porsche Girl”, as though she was more an object of wealth, rather than a young very real and human girl. Suddenly her private death became a publicly viewed item.
According to current news reports, investigators allegedly violated the established policy and released the accident photos. While, the California Highway Patrol allegedly admits to violating policy they take no responsibility for the pain and additional anguish that was suffered by an already tormented family. How can they and everyone else who posted those terrible pictures not take responsibility for them?
As a parent of teenagers, I can only feel for this family. Where is the empathy afforded to this family during such a tragic time? Who is taking responsibility for the aftermath and the internet publishing of those terrible, gruesome pictures?
Does the general public think that a family who owns a Porsche grieves less for a child than a family who owns a Ford? Do people believe that money will suffocate the pain and the lifetime of heartache in the death of a child?
No amount of money can reverse the events of that awful night. Nikki Catsouras was killed while driving her father's Porsche at an excessive speed. But is it fair for her family to relive that night again and again due to those explicit pictures on the Internet?
Isn't the way that we die a private matter that should not be shared with millions of strangers without our consent or the consent of our families?
Any person or agency who willfully published those horrific photos of Nikki Catsouras is responsible for the continued anguish of her family. Freedom of the press in this case was taken beyond its intended purpose in the publishing of these very personal photographs.
A mother's pain, a father's grief is the same deep soulful tragedy regardless of socioeconomic level. A child is dead; a promise is ripped away from one family forever so let's not advocate rubbing salt in the open bloody wound.
Where is our respect and our compassion?
