Death or murder always brings out the sick and cynical, usually in 'humorous' form, be it a sick joke by e-mail or one told in a pub. With the now famous case of four-year-old Madeleine McCann, however, there had not been one such joke in the 130-plus days following her disappearance in Portugal on May 3. It was testament to the power of Kate and Gerry McCann's media appeal for information to help find her. It had built a solid, global wall of sympathy and support.
But now comes the question of the media's role in the investigation. Could the way it participated - or didn't - have had an effect? A couple of police media experts seem to think so, and the effect is negative.
Seldom has there been such a high-profile, well-orchestrated global appeal to help solve a crime as in the Madeleine case.
Findmadeleine.com has had millions of hits, the McCanns are household names. Madeleine's picture is recognisable from Washington to Hong Kong. Few police forces could wish for more in a high-pressure but stalled inquiry. But the unprecedented press coverage is a double-edged sword, something the McCanns realised well before last week's dramatic twist.
High-profile crimes prompt intense interest and the media appeals that go with them are highly risky, criminologists and detectives say.
The media coverage can start to affect the investigation - perversely, in the case of the Praia da Luz resort, where locals tired of the circus, and fearing for tourism, heaped even more pressure on police to get a result that, some say, has pushed the investigation in the wrong direction: the McCanns.
'From an investigation point of view I'd bet the police are incredibly frustrated by the McCanns' high-profile media campaign. It adds pressure, especially where police cannot, by law, publicise or share details of the inquiry with anyone, not even the family,' says Martin Innes, criminologist at the Cardiff School of Social Sciences, an expert in police and media.