Many parents are getting horrific news Friday in Connecticut. Dauphin County Coroner Graham Hetrick says delivering that news is a very tough thing to do.
In Pennsylvania, it's the coroner's responsibility to notify people that their loved ones have been killed. Watching the story in Connecticut unfold reminds Hetrick of the many times he had to do that.
Graham Hetrick has been a coroner in Dauphin County for more than two-decades.
He says notifying people that their loved ones have been killed is always hard, especially when there are children involved.
Hetrick says he has special training and sometimes asks for a grief counselor to be there with him when he makes the notification in person.
"It's horrific, horrific. This is just beyond the pale of human reasoning,” Coroner Hetrick told us. “Can't comprehend it. I know our pathologist, Dr. Wayne Ross, he worked on the Amish children shooting and you never forget these."
In Dauphin County, the Victim/Witness Assistance Program that helps families during a crisis.
In Pennsylvania, it's the coroner's responsibility to notify people that their loved ones have been killed. Watching the story in Connecticut unfold reminds Hetrick of the many times he had to do that.
Graham Hetrick has been a coroner in Dauphin County for more than two-decades.
He says notifying people that their loved ones have been killed is always hard, especially when there are children involved.
Hetrick says he has special training and sometimes asks for a grief counselor to be there with him when he makes the notification in person.
"It's horrific, horrific. This is just beyond the pale of human reasoning,” Coroner Hetrick told us. “Can't comprehend it. I know our pathologist, Dr. Wayne Ross, he worked on the Amish children shooting and you never forget these."
In Dauphin County, the Victim/Witness Assistance Program that helps families during a crisis.