It is common for people who survive a traumatic event to talk about it over and over again, trying to find meaning in the incomprehensible. Tragedies defy reason, shatter our sense of order. Explaining the story to yourself can be healing. So for the guitarist of Jane's Addiction and former Red Hot Chilli Peppers Dave Navarro, who recently produced a documentary that explores the darkest moment of his life - the murder of his mother Connie, such an experience was very valuable, writes "Huffington Post".
"Honestly, there were times when I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell that story. But it was therapeutically worth it," says Navarro.
The film "Mourning Son" was directed by Navarro's best friend Todd Newman, so this production exudes intimacy. The two friends investigated the circumstances of Connie's death and how this traumatic incident shaped the rest of Navarro's life.
Connie Navarro was a beautiful model with blonde hair. Friends and family interviewed in the film describe her as a generous and warm person who was loved by society. She divorced Navarro's father when the guitarist was seven years old, but they remained on good terms. She broke up with her then-boyfriend, bodybuilder John Riccardi, in 1983. Riccardi began stalking and harassing her. At one point, he appeared in a restaurant where she was having dinner and imitated shooting a gun. He made his fantasies come true when he broke into Connie's apartment on March 3, 1983 and killed her and her friend Sue Jory. Coincidentally, 15-year-old Navarro was not at home at the time, and he believes he would have been killed if he had happened to be there that fateful night.
Riccardi was on the run for almost eight years, and at the same time Dave rose to stardom as a member of the band Jane's Addiction. In the film, he talks about how strange he found the discrepancy between the life of a famous person and the realization of the fact that his mother's killer is at large.
Riccardi was captured in 1991, after being featured on America's Most Wanted. He was sentenced to death, but in 2012 the Supreme Court of the State of California commuted his sentence to life.
Navarro says that he only realized in the middle of filming that this production deals with domestic violence.
"It's probably because I was so close to that event as a kid, and especially since in the 80s that term was almost never mentioned. While we were putting together the project, I realized that this is what we're talking about," the guitarist points out.
On average, three women die every day in the US as a result of domestic violence. Although the public often hears that women are killed by their partners, it is rare that they leave children behind. That's why Navarro's story is unique.
In recent years, Navarro has participated in several campaigns dealing with domestic violence. He says one of the goals of his film is to be a cautionary tale and help people spot the signs of domestic violence early.
"I hope the reason for making this film is bigger than just my story," he adds.
The guitarist is "clean" today, but the film also touches on his addiction to heroin, which caused him to look death in the eye. However, he does not want to cite the death of his mother as the cause. On the contrary, he is frustrated that some viewers interpreted the film in that way.
"I was on the road to becoming an addict long before this. Millions of people go through trauma, so they don't take drugs. And I used what I know about this event as an excuse to take drugs," Navarro points out.
Today, he says that digging into his painful past brought him peace and helped him unlock memories of his mother that he had long suppressed. He admits that because of this traumatic event, he locked everything that happened before it deep inside him.
"Your body is in shock and it completely shuts down into a defensive state. But while I was making the film I was able to go back to the time when she was simply my mother. My connection with her was renewed and my memories of her are no longer shrouded with sadness," he explains.
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