The Process

Initial Stage

• 1 Ambulance and police arrive
• 2 There will be a forensic team also arriving
• 3 You will have to find another place to stay
• 4 Your Family liaison officer will arrive to help you with the transition
• 5 If you have no place to go the Family liaison officer will arrange for you to stay at a hotel and the police will pay the bill
• 6 You will not be allowed to drive anywhere so lifts will be arranged for you for the next couple of days
• 7 You will be asked for your statement
• 8 The FLO will be making a note of everyone with you and who comes to see you
• 9 The FLO can arrange for the message to be passed on to other relatives / friends even if they are not in the same town or country
• 10 Your FLO will ask you if you are happy to accept them representing you. It will be best if you do not have an experience police officer as he will be busy with the case and other cases and may not have the time that you need
• 11 Your FLO will also tell you who has taken the body and you should be advised that you can change this if you want. Do not feel pressured, although it is a terrible time it is worth having assistance to check over the funeral parlours as different once offer quite different services and approaches. Again this is a good time to use those around you for support 
• 12 It is a good idea to get yourself or a friend/family member to start writing down every question you come up with or that others do, as you may not think of everything. This is because the case will be owned by the CPS and as such they will not make a point of updating you with full details.
• 13 You also may not get full details as with a case, they do not want to have any leeks which may jeopardise statements

Communication with Press

• 1 It is a good idea not to contact any press, or respond to any you see. This will only encourage the press to obtain more facts from you. Try to trust that there will be a time and a place for the truth to come out
• 2 You may find that early press recordings come from people who are not close but want the money and thus the reports can be upsetting and inaccurate.  Still refrain from trying to contact the press.
• 3 Try also not to talk to anyone except those who you have to about what is discussed as they may go to the press or talk to someone who will and jeopardise the case

• Early Days

• 1 You must remember to keep up your nutrition and water as it is easy with your body going into shock and your adrenaline pumping not to take care of yourself.  It is also a good idea to try to sleep to restore yourself, especially if you have to take care of children or another member of the family.
• 2 You will find that the FLO contact although daily at the start will drastically reduce and very soon after - once the arrests are made, that you will not see much of them as they will find they have no updates until it goes to court

Post Mortem

• 1 As soon as possible there will be the Post Mortem. This may be delayed as they need to book one of a few specialists to carry out this work.
• 2 There potentially can be one post mortem per person charged. You need to think that the surgeons are highly skilled and respectful and that this is in the best interest of understanding what has happened and in producing a conviction which will hopefully save another life
• 3 You will be asked during the post mortems what you will want to do with the parts they may have to take out for analysis. If this worries you it would be a good idea to enlist help from someone who can be there or answer these questions for you.

Support

1 You should be advised to contact Victim Support; there details will be in the pack that your FLO gives you. If you do not find them helpful then do not worry there are alternatives.

• 2 Victim Support can help you complete the CICA form.  You will be told about this early on - it is good to complete this as soon as possible so that they have your name in the system as it is a very long process taking years in some circumstances.  It is not like the movies - the amount will not compensate for your loss, but it rightly yours, and you may find it useful in doing something for the memory of your loss. You can also claim for the funeral expenses.

• Funeral

• 1 There maybe delays for the funeral until all post mortems are completed. Although you will be advised not to book any churches or crematoriums , it maybe advisable to provisionally book some dates once your first post mortem is booked.
• 2 You can also use this time to plan the funeral you want to have and to look at the options.  You should be advised that you can contact the Crematorium or Churches to have a review so that you understand all of your options. Even if you have decided on a burial or cremation, you still have options within these. It will be a time when you will feel quite drained and week, so don’t feel pressured, make sure you use people to support you and help you.
• 3 Following the Post Mortems you will be informed by the Coroners Office (your FLO should update you) that you can book the funeral.
• 4 After the funeral there will be what will seem a blank time, where there are no updates on the case.  It can feel as though everyone has forgotten that you are going through a terrible time.

Later Days

Court Process

• 1 It is a good idea to use this time to understand what the court process is.  Your FLO should book you a time to go and visit the Crown Prosecution Service. If they don’t then you should phone them to make an appointment. They will explain the roles of the different people in court and what the process will be.  They may not give you much detailed information on the actual case as this could jeopardise the result - also you may well be a Witness.
• 2 When you go to see the CPS, try to take a list of questions with you and someone to drive and support you. It is important that you think about your own safety and driving when you are upset is not good. Also taking someone with you will help keep a record of what is said as you will not remember.  You can also ask for them to write to you with a summary of what you have discussed and the answers to the questions given.  
• 3 If you are a Witness then the Witness Protection should contact you to take you through the process and give you support.  They will also advise you that when you are in court you will have a room separate to the defence witnesses and someone with you at all times.  If this does not happen then you will need to phone them to arrange this.  This should happen around a month before the case starts.
• 4 If you are not a Witness then there will be no support at the court. It is important to remember that this is the Crown Prosecution Case and not yours.  You will need to set up support to help you in this time -
• o Someone to do the driving back n forth to Court
• o Someone to take down questions and shield you in the public gallery where you will be with those for the defence
• · You should be introduced to the Barrister who will give you an outline.  You should have your FLO with you. If you don’t you are quite in your right to ask to talk to the Barrister or the Police representative who will be there every day.
• · There will be media. Try to not speak to anyone during the trial. It is advisable to prepare something for the end of the case, so that you can ensure that the press have a correct statement, and not catch you in a time when you are week.
• · After the court is finished, there will be no closure letter or report, so you will need to have made sure someone has been taking all of the notes you need. Although advised that you do not need to go to court, there will not be anyone giving you an update if you don’t.

Finally

1 Once the case is completed you will hear shortly after from the Victim Support Unit. It will be a contact who works with the parole officer.  They will want to explain to you about the sentence, and it is a time for you to ask questions. Do not worry if you cannot think of any as you will be given contact details which you can use any time. They will then go quiet until the time nearing the defendant's release.         

• 2 You may want to consider having a Remembrance Service, this can be where you celebrate the positive things in their life. This is offered by….