re: #217 klys

I was a junior in college when someone I knew as an acquaintance was arrested for murder. He was convicted and is serving life in prison.

There are no good answers. You can encourage her to talk to people as she processes it, but remind her that sometimes people are just really good at putting on a mask. At some point she may be working through her interactions with him to figure out if there was something she missed and it’s possible she’ll eventually see things in a different light - but she shouldn’t feel guilty if she doesn’t find anything either.

There are times where all you see is the facade.

My other daughter in the same grade is a lot more worldly (and more perceptive about people) and she wasn’t surprised at all when she heard he’d been arrested. In fact, she knew from friends of friends that he was planning to murder his parents a couple of years back, which is pretty scarey! But daughter #1 is the type who always sees the good in everybody and always stands up for the underdog. She was on his side because he was weak and other kids were mean to him. So her worldview has been kind of upended. I hate to watch her beautiful trust and optimism being destroyed by reality.

At least she has not been in denial. Somehow she knew it was possible. Other kids at school are still convinced that he was framed (future Alex Jones followers) but she did accept right away that this could be who he really was.