New Year's Death-Day

Deaths appear when least expected?

(Image from Sevenponds Blog)

New Year’s Day, a time known for celebration of the New Year, a time for change and revival…but also a time for death? The transition between 2011 to 2012 brought yet another round of drunken actions and activities that have led to violence and harm.

One of the largest talking points was the apparent murder of a 42-year old man in Luton, UK. Ryan Curtis, 18, had been charged guilty of murder after stabbing the 42 year-old Michael Geffken. Geffken was a German national who reportedly lived in the UK for a long period of time. It is unsure why the teenager acted in this way, but rumours have begun to point towards drinking and pure spited violence.

Horrific Family murders also hit the UK on New Year’s Day as well, with Michael Atherton blasting her partner, sister and also niece with a shotgun before firing the weapon at himself as well. Stepdaughter Laura managed to escape the scene of the crime by running for her life. Another incident occurred on the same day where Kristy Treloar was reported to be stabbed to death and shoved into a car in East London.

All of the events mentioned may have come just as coincidence on the stroke of the New Year, as similar events have occurred worldwide throughout the year of family members murdering others because of some sort of action. An example could be back in August, 2011, where an American man murdered his family upon the news that is wife had a lesbian affair.

Back here on Australian soil come the actions of a drunken maniac playing with illegal firecrackers in Melbourne. The 34 year old suffered critical injuries when the firecracker went off at a party nearby his face. Other injuries occurred when an 18 and 49 year old also faced injuries from firecrackers they held. Personally, the warnings are obvious, and fireworks and firecrackers are illegal around Australia for a reason. It is now being rumoured that the laws may start to become a pure reality in the light of the events on New Year’s Eve.

These are just a few events that have occurred spreading from pure murder to drunken accidents, but the death rate of major celebrations leads many to wonder why such events even occur so often. Do we need to rethink the meaning of the celebrations, and the amount of violence and threat that it may have within?