For the Washington Post magazine, a look at what happens when your family’s trauma becomes entertainment for millions:

Despite all the opportunities it offers, the true-crime boom has put Thomas and other victims’ relatives in some awkward positions. There’s the very real risk of using these new outlets too aggressively and alienating law enforcement. And then there’s the fact that thrill-seeking true-crime fans (and the media serving them) can sometimes forget that Cathy Thomas and other victims were real people, not just characters in a titillating narrative. “Some people are approaching this as entertainment. Which is fine!” Thomas told me. “And then some of us are trying to use those avenues of news and entertainment with an objective towards solving unsolved cases. Occasionally, these worlds kind of collide.”

Illustration by Anke Gladnick for the Washington Post magazine.