One of the most emotive and distressing recent murder cases in Britain — the killing of two schoolgirls in August 2002 in the Eastern English town of Soham — was the focus of a Dart Centre discussion at the Frontline Club in London, which heard how difficult it had been at times for journalists as well as the local community. For more, see the full transcript.

Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were murdered by their school caretaker Ian Huntley, who was jailed for life in December 2003.

The Frontline discussion (on 10 February) brought journalists who'd reported the story, as well as editors and psychotherapists, together with the Anglican Vicar of Soham, Tim Alban Jones. The group discussed lessons that might be learned from the story — with many noting how this murder was the first of its kind to be covered in Britain in an era of 24-hour, wall-to-wall and live news.

Among the key points to emerge:

• How warm and supportive the local community in Soham had been towards journalists while the search for the girls continued, but how suddenly and dramatically that had switched to hostility once their bodies were discovered.

• How this had been a cause of personal grief as well as professional bewilderment for several of the reporters involved. They were reassured in the discussion by trauma experts and clergy noting how understandable this can be when a community suddenly has to come to terms with the loss of hope.

• Senior Scottish commentator Joyce McMillan spoke of her deep unease over how violence and sex were increasingly — and hysterically — linked in media reporting in Britain. Was this really what consumers wanted?

• As a principal focus of media attention during the search for the girls, and through the trial as well, Tim Alban Jones felt that while some journalists had behaved badly (notably one reporter whose account of an interview bore no resemblance to what had been said), most had been very professional. Broadcasters had been more sensitive than print journalists, he said, and the British media had been better than the many foreign journalists who had come to cover the Soham story.

• There was a powerful discussion on the use of the word evil when describing such events, and the danger of that being interpreted very differently. Tim Alban Jones had no issue as a clergyman — but many appealed for caution when events or individuals are branded evil by journalists.

• How vulnerable can journalists be when they cover a story of such profound distress? Psychotherapist Andrew Samuels urged reporters — just like therapists, artists or clergymen — to remain open to being influenced. If they weren't, they would not be able to influence others.

• And looking to the emotional well being of the individual reporter covering a story of such magnitude, it was clear from the discussion how affected and moved some had been by what they experienced. Among these was one journalist who had at a very early stage suspected Huntley to be the killer, and who had then given evidence at this trial. Tim Alban Jones said journalists needed to know what to do when they became distressed, where to go, who to talk to. This would make them better journalists, not worse.

Click here to see the Times' coverage of the murders.

Click here to read Joyce McMillan's column, which appeared in the Scotsman on Nov. 29, 2003.