What makes deaths from murder so much worse to our spirits than unexpected deaths from medical anomalies like, say, aneurysm?
That is a question that some are more equipped to answer than others. Obviously Gabby Petito‘s parents know what they’re talking about here, after she met her violent end at the literal hands of her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. So when Nichole Schmidt found a quote she thought was “the #truth” you can bet we were all ears.
Related: Nichole SLAMS ‘Mercy Killing’ Claims In Brian’s Shocking Murder Confession
The still-grieving momma has been a sterling example of courage and positivity in the face of tragic injustice (as well as Gabby’s father, stepfather, and stepmother). With the creation of the Gabby Petito Foundation and the spotlighting of other missing person cases on social media, they’re the model for how to handle losing a loved one to violence.
But that kind of strength can sometimes mask how something really feels inside. On Thursday night Nichole found a fragment of an essay that really spoke to her. She tweeted it out, writing:
“I don’t know who wrote this, but wow, isn’t this the #truth. So sorry to all who have had to endure this pain and daily struggle. I’m sending you all love, strength and good vibes, as you have done for me.”
#keepgoing #loveoneanother #spreadkindness #turnpainintopurpose
What are these powerful words? We couldn’t find the origin either, but the quote begins:
“Although the struggle with grief is part of every death, murder is darker than death, and so is the road to surviving and healing in the aftermath.”
Whoa. “Murder is darker than death.” That is heavy stuff. The essay continues:
“Murder devours innocent lives with a cruelty that is absent of reason, absent of values, and absent of compassion. Murder breaks all the sacred rules, knows no fairness, and can never be undone or compensated. It provokes fear and rage, and temps [sic] us to battle it on its terms instead of ours. Murder drives even the most loving and compassionate people to the edge of that fine line that separates our respect for life from our violent potentials.”
Very well said indeed. The quote concludes with its most harrowing imagery — all about living in the “aftermath” of a murder:
“The aftermath of murder takes us straight through hell where we stand eye-to-eye with the evil that hides behind human faces, and what we do in the face of that evil defines what lies behind our own face. The aftermath of murder is nothing less than a full-blown emotional and spiritual struggle.”
And that is what Nichole and her family are dealing with. Not just loss. An emotional and spiritual struggle in the face of evil.
Wow. Sending them and all the other families of violence victims all our love today.
[Image via 60 Minutes Australia/YouTube.]
:quality(85):upscale()/2026/05/27/720/n/1922564/8e14f8036a1719329379c5.86726960_.jpg "Ciara Miller and the Art of Dressing for Revenge")
