Slain man's family struggles to cope with media attention

Slain man's family struggles to cope with media attention

By Dan Sheehan
and Pervaiz Shallwani Of The Morning Call
May 13, 2004

WEST CHESTER | As the family of a Chester County man beheaded by Iraqi militants struggled Wednesday with their grief and a dispute with government officials, they also had to cope with a growing media presence outside their home.

Tensions erupted in the afternoon outside the West Whiteland Township home of Nicholas Berg's family, where reporters have been camped for two days despite requests from relatives that they be allowed to grieve in peace.

Nicholas' brother, David Berg, screamed at reporters to leave the property after a crowd of them moved forward to talk to a funeral director. Every arrival of a visitor or flower delivery van set reporters scrambling in the humid heat.

''Nobody is going to talk from the family ever again,'' said Sarah Berg, Nicholas' sister, briefly emerging from the house.

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Sarah Berg said the services would be for family and friends only.

''We understand a lot of people care deeply for us. We appreciate all the sympathy we have received and the flowers. But we do not want this to be a circus,'' she said.

''Out of respect for my family, stay away from the memorial service, please.

''My family is devastated.''

She especially warned the media to stay away. ''We do not want any of you there, needless to say. You will be kept off the property. It is a private property.''

More: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_5bergmay13,0,5910911.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed

TYY

,...is terribly, terribly sad,...and frightening, too.

My deepest sympathies. :cry:

to reign in the national/international press for this family. They are probably the only ones who know how to do so. I've seen this happen in other cases--especially when the family was not media savy nor wealthy enough to hire a professional spokesperson.


Bless the family, though. Given the hell they were put through by the freeper community prior to their son's death, now this tragedy, and the attempts by the government to paint them as complicit in their son's death, I wish there were something I could do for them. I guess leaving them alone is the best any of us can do.

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they are living -- and i always wish the media would leave people alone when they grieve.

TYY:kick: