Residents Question Decision To Name Peabody Home Invasion Victim

PEABODY, MA -- A top complaint with news organizations is they offer too few details. But in Peabody, some residents are saying some news outlets that covered last week's home invasion in Peabody gave them too much information.

"Here’s what bothers me about both the TV news and today’s Salem News," Dianne Marchese wrote on Moving Peabody Forward, a closed Facebook group for Peabody residents that she helps administer. "On TV they showed her house & she stated that she got a clear view of him and could identify him. In print they give her last name & she says - I thought it was my family getting ready for their trip. Does anyone else see the problems here?"

Since Marchese posted her comment on Thursday, more than 90 others -- most of which shared her concern -- have followed. Patch did not name the girl and only gave a general description of the area where the home invasion occurred, but other outlets gave an exact address of the family's home, as well as the girl's full name.

"Why would the news put her on saying that? She’s only 13 and doesn’t know what she should and shouldn’t say," one respondent said. "That’s not the fault of a 13 year old. It’s the fault of the news media."

Some social media posters were quick to point out that not all the blame lies with the news organizations that covered the story. For example, one poster noted, the girl's mother called into Kiss 108's morning radio show to talk about the incident a day after her daughter surprised the intruder and chased him from the home. But the portrayal by news outlets of the girl for chasing after the burglar -- who remains at large -- also bother some posters.

"I had a long talk with [the girl] and explained she is lucky she wasn't hurt and following him could have turned out really bad," posted one person, whose relationship to the girl was not clear. "Kids all think she's a hero and celebrity now ... honestly it wasn't brave to follow it was stupid and she's lucky."

Keith Doucette, another Moving Peabody Forward administrator, cautioned respondents to not rush to judgement, as the family had gone through a traumatic event and probably did not have experience dealing with media coverage.

"None of us know what we would do after something like this. We all hope we would handled everything perfectly but in the end these folks no longer feel safe in their own home," Doucette wrote. "How would you feel or think you would react when the one thing that has always made you feel secure is ripped from your life?"

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Patch file photo via Shutterstock.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).