SAD! Taraji P. Henson couldn't tell her son his father had been murdered

 Taraji P. Henson broke down while recalling the heartbreaking conversation

she had with her son after his father, William LaMarr Johnson, was murdered.

The Empire star opened up about her loss for the latest episode of her Facebook Watch show, Peace of Mind with Taraji, and revealed her son Marcell, now 26, was just nine when his dad was "stabbed to death", but that she initially told him his father had died "in an accident".

In a sneak preview of the show, Taraji explained: "Later on in life he (Marcell) found out and he came back to me and was like, 'Why didn't you tell me my daddy was murdered?' And so then we had to get therapy."

She confessed: "I didn't have the balls - it wouldn't come out. It was in the paper and I didn't know how to tell him."

Sharing painful details of the incident, Taraji went on: "He was stabbed to death. It was the worst way you could die. I just didn't have the words. I didn't know how to tell a nine year old."

Taraji then asked guest and therapist Sierra Hillsman for her advice on breaking devastating news to a young child.

Sierra said: "I would definitely say use age-appropriate language, explaining sometimes there are situations where people do evil things to other people - in this situation, somebody killed your father."

Henson has launched her Facebook Watch show to discuss mental health issues, particularly those impacting the black community. It airs every Monday and Wednesday.