Stories like this are just sexy, and people are interested in them. It's a very sexy scene that ends in disaster: an attractive woman meets a hunky man and just this once throws caution to the wind and decideds to indulge. This decision often costs the woman her life.
It doesn't matter much whether the actual facts in any one given story fit that pattern, that's the unspoken subtext. People love that kind of story, especially because it ends tragically.
As to what this says about people, I'll leave that up to your judgement. Sex sells. Violence sells. Sex & violence in a news story with a pretty girl is good for business, because people want it.
And I happen to think that is tendency we ought to suppress rather than embrace, don't you?
Okay, but why don't they just get married and have their OWN sex? Works for me, in fact it's better.
I can't remember the last time I said, "Not now, honey, GRETA VAN SUSTEREN is on!!! Woo-hoo!"