Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Ashley Hayes Reporting The news of Destiny's murder taking place within several paces of her own back door is upsetting for parents and their children.
But experts say it's also an opportunity for parents and children to discuss some scary issues and set up guidelines.
Destiny's murder is on the minds of so many people here in Salt Lake City. Also at the forefront of people's minds is how likely is it to happen again.
Statistically it's rare. Most children are not going to be kidnapped. Keeping that in mind, if they are taken and they're gone for more than 24 hours, the likelihood of them being harmed jumps.
In a national three year study, 115 children total were kept overnight. Of those, 40 percent were killed, half of them sexually assaulted.
But however rare Destiny's murder was, parents need to take precautions.
Dr. John Malouf, Psychologist, Valley Mental Health: "We don't want to think our child is as vulnerable as little Destiny was, and so we can figure that her situation is somehow different than ours. Then maybe it helps us feel not so frightened."
But children can't seperate Destiny's situation from theirs quite so easily.
Reporter: "Do you think what happened to her might happen to other children?"
Morgan: "Yes, I think so."
Ashley: "Knowing that Destiny was like next door dead, it really scares me."
Brielle: "I feel so sorry for Destiny."
Dr. Doug Goldsmith of the Chilren's Center says these reactions need to be discussed.
Doug Goldsmith, Ph.D., Exec Dir. The Children's Center: "Parents need to say yes, she was killed and it's terribly tragic and very, very sad. And it's okay to be sad about it. But move quickly to the discussion about what we can do to make sure that we are safe, because that's what the children need to hear."
He says parents should talk to their kids about stranger danger and the importance of letting parents know where they are at all times.
He says discussing issues like these openly with kids is healthy.
Experts say it's important for a child to feel safe, but parents much be watchful and give children rules and guidelines to help keep them safe.
