As in people who are involved in some tragedy that's just about harrowing enough to achieve media saturation for a while and so become inexorably linked to it.

We had a woman in our office this morning who was involved in a high profile, controversial murder case a few years ago (I'm not saying which one as everyone in our office is googling her name right now and I don't want them to end up here, but she wasn't the accused) and made a fair amount of cash from the subsequent autobiography. I had no idea at the time but suddenly the name and face just clicked. She’s a student now obviously trying to move on with her life but she's coming back this afternoon and seeing as everyone in the office now knows who she is we're going to play a little game of 'who's insensitive enough to mention it first.' Then my colleagues all probe her with question’s she’s tired of answering and drag her back to the case that she’ll forever be linked with. It’s gonna be cheerful afternoon.

What’s worse is the way everyone’s acting all star struck. The woman opposite me immediately rang her boyfriend and said “guess who we’ve got in our office! You’ll never guess!” Not that posting about it on a music forum is any better I suppose, but still.

So I thought I’d ask you all has anyone ever met any/know anyone like this? Someone who’s been in the media spotlight for being in the wrong place at the wrong time? How do they get by? Do you think they can ever truly move on? And if someone sells their story to the papers of writes a book from their experiences, are they asking to be forever linked with a tragedy? I ask this half out of interest and half in hope that the inevitable DiS tasteless jokes can help ease the tension for me.