What to Do After a Homicide: First Steps for Surviving Family

The First 24 Hours

Everything that follows a homicide arrives at once: detectives asking questions, the coroner taking jurisdiction over the body, reporters calling, relatives needing information, and your own mind struggling to function through a flood of cortisol and adrenaline. The cognitive impairment in these first hours is real — research on traumatic bereavement shows severely degraded decision-making, memory gaps, and an inability to prioritize.

You don't need to process everything. You need to do a few specific things, in order.

Get the police incident number. Keep it handy for CVC applications and follow-up with law enforcement; other agencies may also ask for it. Ask the responding officer or detective for the number and write it down in a place you won't lose.

Identify a single law enforcement contact. Ask the lead detective who you should call for updates, and designate one family member to be the sole liaison. This prevents conflicting information and protects the investigation from accidental missteps.

Secure your immediate physical safety. If the perpetrator hasn't been identified or apprehended, your safety is not guaranteed. Change locks if the victim's home is also yours, arrange temporary lodging if you need to leave, and make sure children and pets are accounted for.

Days 2 Through 4

Contact a funeral director. The coroner or medical examiner holds jurisdiction over the body and must complete the forensic autopsy before release. This typically takes 24 to 48 hours but can stretch to weeks in complex cases. Retaining a funeral director early means the body transfers directly to them once released.

Request a preliminary death certificate. The medical examiner will issue a death certificate with the cause and manner of death listed as "Pending." This pending certificate allows you to arrange funeral services and close some utility accounts, but it won't unlock life insurance payouts or probate proceedings. The final certificate comes later, sometimes months later, once the investigation concludes.

Call your homeowners or renters insurance. If the crime occurred in a residence, you'll need to report it for biohazard cleanup coverage. Most standard policies cover third-party crime scene remediation under dwelling coverage. Don't attempt to clean the scene yourself — biological contamination requires certified professionals.

Days 4 Through 7

Get biohazard cleanup quotes. Obtain written estimates from at least two certified companies. Professional crime scene remediation typically costs $2,500 to $12,000 depending on the scope.

File a Crime Victims Compensation (CVC) application. Every state runs a CVC program that may reimburse eligible funeral costs, counseling, crime scene cleanup, and dependent support. File as soon as you have the police report number — initial intake and verification typically take 90 to 120 days, so starting early matters.

Set up a media boundary. You are under no obligation to speak to reporters. If media attention is a concern, designate one person to handle all press contact. A single written statement distributed to outlets is far safer than ad hoc interviews, which can compromise the active investigation.

Assign Family Roles

Trying to manage everything collectively leads to burnout and conflict. Assign specific roles early:

• Communication liaison — handles all calls from extended family, friends, and community, shielding the closest survivors from an overwhelming flood of messages
• Law enforcement contact — the single person who talks to detectives and tracks case updates
• Financial coordinator — manages funeral pricing, files insurance claims, submits CVC applications, tracks bills
• Media liaison — fields reporter inquiries, writes public statements, monitors social media

Keep responsibilities clearly assigned. If your family is small, prioritize the most urgent tasks and ask trusted people outside the immediate family to help. This division of labor preserves limited cognitive and emotional energy during the worst week of your life.

What You Should Not Do

Don't touch the deceased's digital devices. Mobile phones, computers, and online accounts contain potential evidence. Accessing them can trigger security locks, overwrite system logs, or compromise legal admissibility. Instead, compile a list of known passcodes and social media handles and hand it to the lead detective.

Don't wash clothing or personal items from the scene. Forensic evidence can be collected from fabric up to five days after the incident. Store items in paper bags (never plastic, which degrades DNA evidence) and hand them directly to law enforcement with a written record of the exchange.

Don't make permanent decisions under acute shock. Funeral arrangements are the exception because of timing constraints, but selling property, making legal commitments, or confronting suspects — all of this can wait.

Getting Through It

None of this is supposed to feel manageable. You're operating with impaired cognition, elevated stress hormones, and possibly no sleep. The goal for the first week isn't to feel better. It's to prevent the compounding chaos from creating problems that take months to unwind.

Our After a Homicide guide includes a day-by-day triage checklist, family role assignment worksheets, and a communication scripts document so you don't have to figure out what to say to each institution on your own.