strange headline?

[Victor Steinbok]

This headline was unique to the Boston Globe--others treated the event
somewhat differently. I found the phrasing a bit strange as people who
kill themselves rarely stand "accused":

http://goo.gl/5bPBS
> Oxford man accused of killing one child, wounding another, then
> killing himself

It is clear what is being described: Oxford, MA, resident shot his two
children (one dead, one is "very serious" condition), then shot himself.
He's dead.

The phrasing that's more common in the press is "apparent
murder-suicide", although that usually implies a spouse or partner
getting killed, but children are fair game, so to speak. But "accused"
sounds strange to my ear--not because it's the wrong word, necessarily,
but because I'm not used to seeing "accused" applied to dead people. In
particular, being accused of killing oneself is doubly strange.

     VS-)

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