With her death almost two months ago, Newsday has a feature about what Lyric Benson's mother has done to honor the memory of her daughter. Deborah Janicke had to watch her daughter essentially die in front of her, shot in the head by ex-boyfriend Robert Ambrosino, who then killed himself. Janicke made the decision to donate Benson's organs to people in need, telling Newsday, "Organ donation did help us. It kept this from being such a waste." Janicke also gives her thoughts about her daughter's re-affirmation of Christianity and her relationship with Ambrosino. more ›

The New York Times Styles section tries to deconstruct Lyric Benson and Robert Ambrosino's relationship, mainly focusing on the differences that emerged in the past year: Benson getting more acting work, her job as hostess at Balthazar, just being closer to her goal of success, while Ambrosino is painted as a strange, drifting figure, though a "king of New Haven," a little fish in the New York City pond. more ›

Gothamist is totally fascinated by this Times article about how society has actually been less violent over the centuries. The proposition from Norbert Elias, Swiss sociologist of the 1930s, was that things like using knives and forks (and not spitting or peeing in public) encouraged medieval society to transform into a more civilized one. "Elias has posthumously become the theoretical guru of a field that did not exist in 1939: the history of crime. It was then that pioneering historians began to do what most historians had thought impossible: create crime statistics for eras that did not systematically keep crime data." Further, murder was "much more common in the Middle Ages than it is now and that it dropped precipitately in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Something very important changed in Western behavior and attitudes, and it stood much prevailing social theory on its head." more ›

Newsday covers the memorial service for Lyric Benson: About 600 mourners went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle to pay their respects. A statement from her parents thanked "the outpouring of support and generosity we have received from friends, New Yorkers and the general public after the tragic death of our daughter Lyric” and there was a "multi-media presentation of slides and videotapes was shown, tracing her life from birth to acting." more ›

While some might say the reason that Lyric Benson's murder is striking a chord in New Yorkers' hearts is because she was young and beautiful, Gothamist argues that the scary thing is that she was on the verge of making it, after all her hard work. The concept of being so close to success but then being robbed of having the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of the labor is what makes Benson's death a sad story. The Times discusses those moments of almost fame for Benson today. The Post said in a past weekend article that Benson was "living in fear" of boyfriend/murderer Robert Ambrosino. more ›

On my way home I saw these posters plastered on the corner of Thompson and Spring. It's strange that they are still running and infinitely sad. more ›

In a follow-up to Gothamist's coverage on the Lyric Benson murder, here is the American Express ad she was featured in. more ›

The Lyric Benson murder
Gothamist was disturbed by news this morning about the murder of Lyric Benson by her ex-boyfriend, Robert Ambrosino who then killed himself. more ›