This is an another awful story

It's outside my beat, but it's an awful story. In Kewaskum, a house burned to the ground. A 7 year old girl and her father died in the house. The deceased father is apparently suspected in burning the place down. The father was in the process of divorcing the little girl's mother. The mother, Christine Sheridan, lost a son by a prior marriage, Matthew, two years ago. He was killed by, I can put it no other way, the negligence of the Mequon police. I only hasten to add that the officers involved intended no harm.

Matt Sheridan was a close childhood friend of my son's, although they had grown apart by the time of Matt's death. He was a troubled kid, but his death was an unspeakable tragedy - every bit as awful as some more celebrated recent cases.

I remember hearing about Matt's death on Father's Day morning. I was a new grandfather and this was to be the first Father's Day that I would celebrate with my son, now a Dad (his first Father's Day), and the incredibly loveable Shark III. I had to tell my son that his old friend was dead. It should have been a great day for us, but it was hard because of this awful thing that had happened.

Apart from Matt's funeral, I haven't seen Chris Sheridan for years. But how awful is this? How can you bury two kids? I have known other people who had to do it, but this is, please God, far darker than it will get for most of us.

Rest in peace.