I was instantly disheartened and disappointed when I read the July 13 front-page headline, "You can come home now ... I killed the kids." How many children read that headline and are now exposed to a brand-new worry? The thought that one's own mother or father might kill you is about the worst one can think of. How could the newspaper have been so irresponsible? Surely a different headline could have done justice to the story.

CINDY ROHDE, ZIMMERMAN

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Note to readers: In a column that will appear in Sunday's Opinion Exchange section, Star Tribune Editor Nancy Barnes discusses this issue and others related to the coverage of gruesome news stories.