thotful

In my town, a person's body was found without a determination of the cause yet. The newspaper noted the person's full name. The first name of the person matches one of the members of an Al-Anon group I attend. This name is unique enough that I am curious. I am unable to determine for sure (yet) if the deceased individual in the paper is the same person that attends our Al-Anon meetings.

A few weeks go by and the individual with the same unique first name has not been attending meetings.

I will admit that I called the state police wanting to share what I can (without drawing any conclusions).

I will be getting a call back sometime today from an investigator and I am feeling nervous. A part of me wants to drop the anonymity completely if I believe it will obstruct justice. I can be completely factual in what I know. Another part wants to figure out how I can respect anonymity and the law at the same time.

How do I respect the 6th tradition and anonymity of the individual in this kind of situation? Or, do I say that there are exceptions and that the anonymity is more suggested?

courage2

If you determine that this person is the person you know, do you have relevant information pertinent to the death? If so, yes I think you have an obligation to report it. Others may disagree.

It's generally been my understanding within AA that anonymity ends with death.

However, you don't have the right to bring anyone else in your fellowship into an investigation.

happybeingme

In my opinion anonymity goes out the window when a crime is commited. The courts have found this to be the case with lawyer/client privilege and doctor/patient. The justice system does not recognize anonymity in self help groups.

Here is the thing. Do you have material information? If so could you live with yourself if you dont speak up?

AnvilheadII

so besides having seen this person at meetings, do you have ANY relevant information that may assist in the solving of the crime?
they already know the person's identity, probably address, work location, etc. unless this person shared in a meeting or with your directly that s/he feared for their lives at the hands of a specific person.......ie my husband held a gun to my head last nite.....he said if he ever found me, he'd kill me......

thotful

The investigator hasn't called me back yet. I'll let the experts decide the value of my information (possibly a last time "seen" before death which is info asked for by newspaper article). The other stuff is a split between the individual and their significant other (they asked their partner to leave the home and expressed relief about it at the meeting but nothing about concern for personal safety).

It is likely that my info won't be relevant (police may already know about Al-Anon, the split, etc). However, I don't think it's appropriate for me to make the decision of relevancy. I'll let the police figure that out and share what I can based on their requests (if any - like I said - no call back yet).

Thanks for the ideas. I'll think I'll provide what I can and follow the lead of law enforcement (they're the people with the expertise).