To the Editor:
Bonnie Black, 42, an Arlington County resident did not live far from me — only blocks away. She was the victim of an apparent homicide, and her body was discovered on April 17, 2015 in her home. Though I was not personally acquainted with her, I am affected by her death. She was known to be an educated woman who did contract work as a psychologist for the F.B.I.
Black was a mother of two young children — ages 3 and 5. She lived with her children in her South Arlington home.
The neighborhood and surrounding areas are reportedly on edge and concerned about who did this horrific act. Everyone is contemplating their safety and security.
Meanwhile, the Arlington County Police Department, a fine and highly professional law enforcement agency, is pulling out all stops and working around the clock to investigate, search for and analyze any potential evidence. Detectives are following every possible lead to determine who committed this despicable crime.
The tragedy endures with the children who lost their mother at painfully young ages. They are too young to fully comprehend the essence of this crime. They intrinsically know that something is terribly wrong, and they no longer have their mother. Despite their ages, they sense and experience both the loss and the impact of the trauma and of what they may have seen, heard or been exposed to.
My heart aches for the children and her family, and I grieve for their mother. None of them deserved to have her life snuffed out and cause so much pain for so many people. It was a senseless, violent and cold-hearted crime. May she rest in peace.
Karen L. Bune
Arlington
The writer is a victim services consultant and a speaker on public safety and victim issues. She serves as an adjunct professor at Marymount University in Arlington and George Mason University in Fairfax where she teaches victimology.