There is no doubt everyone feels the hurt and shows the respect due when this happens.... Even more so when you know the person through a forum or better still personally.
When a Dutchman crashed a Malibu in Austria on a flight from the UK a few years ago we intensely discussed the matter here. No one knew if the pilot was a pprune poster. His relatives and friends followed the thread here as well. Harsh words were said, relatives and friends suffered because of that, but in the end (and this is my evaluation) that thread helped some of those involved to come to terms with what happened. I know because I was personally in touch with some.
We are not to decide if some people are more deserving of silence out of respect than others. All human life is precious.
(and please don't come back about this being a ground fire, this thread is not about the accident)