That reminds me of a family I interviewed a couple of years ago who lost their teenaged son in tragic circumstances. I stayed in contact with them afterwards and on several occasions they talked about the reactions from people who didn't know their son. They said initially they were comforted by the support from their community (cards, flowers, etc) but after awhile a few things happened which they found very unsettling. In one instance a complete stranger set up a tribute page on Facebook and posted links to all the media stories, as well as photos they had sourced online, plus speculations about what sort of family life the boy had. The mother of the deceased child said that person was talking about their son as if they knew him and being very emotional (status updates about all their tears, etc). The parents didn't feel comfortable about a complete stranger setting up a page like that - and discussing their family - so they asked the person to take it down but they wouldn't. On another occasion someone erected a cross near the site of death but as the family wasn't religious they thought it was a bit inappropriate, and they knew none of their friends or family had done it. Overall, they said while most people had good intentions and didn't cross the line, there were some who seemed to get off on being publicly involved in their grief.
