what to do if you accidentally witness a murder

I would call the police. In time, they would catch the murderer and find out if he really was drunk or whether he was pretending to be. They would ask you how many times he stabbed the victim, what he looked like, what type of weapon, so you should have kept it in your head. I guess someone else saw the murder and reported it to the police, and there may have been witnesses. However it might be that if the murderer wants a retrial, then you may be called as a witness.

i'd be traumatized too. but i guess i'll be able to go to the police and report what has happened. i'll just request that my identity be secret just in case that the murders is a very vengeful person. who knows, he might come after me next right. that's scary. i've always thought things like that only happen in movies and books. ^__^;; its really different when you witness it personally, and much different if you're a part of it. i remember a saying about news on tv. news arent news until its happening to you.

The first thing to do is to call up the police. You'll never know if other people had acted. There is a phenomenon in social psychology called the bystander effect. That is, no one will act to help someone in time of emergency, particularly when there is a crowd. Why? It's called diffusal of responsibility. Everyone thought that someone will act, and with everyone thinking that way, no one will do. In the end they wouldn't bother because they would think someone already acted, or will act for them. The second is to cry, or hole up somewhere and wait for the trauma to pass. Spend it with friends to speed it up and take your mind off it. In the end, try coming to terms with the event. After some time have passed, may be days, months or even years, come back to the scene and see how things have came back to its normal functioning. Seeing the scene of the crime alive with people again, doing their own thing without a care for the past event can be quite comforting.

Report it right away. That is such a horrible thing to witness.

I think I would respond to the situation the same way. I think it would have been a good idea to try and help the victim after the other guy ran off. I think therapy and talking about it is the best way to resolve your feelings after a traumatic event.