A DNA discovery in a Utah cold case led to a man's arrest. Now the family can heal.
A Utah family received much-wanted justice – or at least a step toward it – earlier this week after a man was arrested in connection with a 2005 murder of a 33-year-old father.
Jason Royter's girlfriend found his body in his home, covered in stab wounds. Police at the time called his death a homicide, though the case remained cold for nearly two decades until DNA evidence produced a lead. Mark Munoz, 53, was arrested earlier this month.
"This arrest is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our detectives who never gave up on finding justice for Jason Royter,' Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said in a news release. 'To Mr. Royter's family, we hope this development brings a measure of peace, knowing we are closer to uncovering the truth of that tragic day.'
"I just want to say how much of a relief this is," said Stephani Perschon, a sister of Royter, at a press conference. "It has been a long 20 years."
Grief experts explain people often feel relief in moments like this − but that's not necessarily the same thing as getting true justice or closure.
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"For families, they're often looking for justice, and when I work with them, I often tell them that justice is impossible," says David Kessler, grief expert and founder of Grief.com. "Justice would mean your loved one coming back, but we do have a legal system that can help us find peace."
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What is 'ambiguous loss'?
The Royter family experienced what's called "ambiguous loss." "The ambiguousness within the death of Jason Royter was that his killer was never found and there was no explanation as to how or why he died," says Gina Moffa, licensed clinical social worker and author of "Moving On Doesn't Mean Letting Go." "When we have no sense of closure or understanding around our loss, it's as if we are in a state of suspended grief. Our nervous system is in a state of survival, because without information or time to process, there are only questions."
Everyone needs time to process their losses, according to Moffa, "but when it is sudden or unexpected, and especially if it is violent and without justice, we cannot fully grieve or find a way towards healing."
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Does grief ever include closure?
Families of deceased loved ones might seek closure after someone dies, especially if the result of a murder. But that's a tricky word, according to Kessler. "I'm not a (believer) in closure around grief," he says. "I don't think we ever close that door."
Humans crave certainty and answers. "Now that there are answers, (the Royters) can begin the healing process," Moffa says. "Their grief experience that was layered with trauma and traumatic effects after their sudden, inexplicable loss, can now find its way towards peace and mourning."
This arrest sends a powerful message. "It isn't their loved one coming back, but it is the sense that their loved one did not die in a way that there will be no consequences ever," Kessler adds. "That their loved one's life mattered and their death mattered, and it mattered enough that decades later, someone is doing something about it."
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