My Theory.....

Twenty years ago, an unspeakable tragedy occurred the day after Christmas.  A little girl was found murdered in her home, along with a ransom note.

Over the next several months, we watched, baffled, as the story unraveled, and we wondered why the parents were allowed certain liberties, such as being on CNN; being interviewed together; mishandling of the crime scene and little girl's body, etc.  Several fingers were pointed at various people, but later, no indictment ever happened.  Sadly, the mother passed away during the 10th anniversary of her daughter's death, and the mystery remains unsolved to this day.  The father and brother have faded from the news.

The past two days, CBS aired a two-part special investigation with top authorities to recreate the scene, test theories, interview witnesses, and shed some light on just what the hell happened that evening.

I watched with particular interest as never-seen-before footage was shown, and paid attention to the body language of the little girl's brother, who was not quite ten at the time.

I also discovered facts about the evening that I'd forgotten, or hadn't even known.  Here's a brief description of the events leading up to the discovery:

-The family arrived home; little girl was asleep and put to bed.
-Brother is given a bedtime snack of fruit and instructed to go to bed.
-Mother probably wakes up little girl and taken to bathroom, then returned to bed.  Mother goes to bed.

THEORY:
-Little girl is now wide awake, goes downstairs and probably playfully swipes a piece of brother's fruit.
-Brother is enraged at sister's actions and gives chase, grabbing flashlight and hits her in the head ala 'Don't touch my food!'
-Little girl is rendered unconscious; brother pokes her with part of his train set to see if she's awake.
-Mother comes down to see what's going on; goes into panic mode and alerts father.
-In order to cover up, plan is concocted and set into motion, including all efforts to direct attention away from what really happened.

WHY???
Twenty years ago, we'd been told the mother had a temper, and we speculated maybe she'd snapped and hit her daughter on the head, then panicked when the injury was more severe.  We also speculated that maybe the brother had been involved.  Remember, this was before 24/7 news coverage; in fact, it might have been at the beginning of the 'news frenzy', began the previous year when the OJ trial was going on.

As I watched the interviews with the brother, and having a background in child psychology, the body language and his demeanor struck me as odd.

-He seemed matter-of-fact, instead of sounding fearful, as in 'Will this happen to me?'
-He never referred to her as 'my sister'; he says 'the body'.
-When the interviewer asked about what happened, he piped up 'Oh I know what happened!', but then picked up some sort of toy and ran it over his head as he backtracked and reiterates 'Dad said...' Then, when speculating HOW it happened, he eagerly put down the toy and acted out stabbing or hitting her.  THIS IS NOT TYPICAL BEHAVIOR WHEN SIBLINGS HAVE BEEN KILLED, UNLESS CHILD HAS BEEN INVOLVED!!
-At this point, I wondered if the brother was an actual sociopath, but then I saw the interview when he was a little older.
-Brother is laid back, acting cocky, and even sits on his knees, with his hands under his legs, even getting 'up close and personal' with photographs.
-When asked about the fruit, and it comes out about the bowl being on the table, he hems and haws around, as if he's thinking, "Oh no.....they KNOW!", and not knowing whether to own up to it or to keep covering it up.  His answers go all over the place, and are very inconsistent.

So yes, I'm reasonably convinced at this point that the theory is the correct one, and the parents, after going into total panic mode, did everything they could do in order to deflect attention away from their son.  When in, fact, it was all a case of accidental homicide, and he probably would have gotten off with probation.

We also found out last night that grand jury voted to INDICT the parents, but the PROSECUTOR disregarded it and dismissed the case.  He also refused to speak with the team in the show.  In fact, many people refused to speak to anyone.

So if anyone asks me about this case in the future, I can tell them about my theory, based on what I know now.

WHAT FAMILY CLAIMED:
-Basement window was broken, and open  Despite fact spiderweb was undisturbed and any adult would have taken it out.
-Suitcase under window, indicating 'escape route'  Despite the fact debris would have been evident, and none was found.
-Ransom Note Why would intruder leave a two-page, long-winded note, then kill and leave the child?

NONE OF THIS HELD UP IN TEST, as you can see in the blue comments.

SHAME on the law enforcement for caving into political pressures to 'protect' the family, and SHAME on the family for covering up the truth.

This was also around the time of the infamous 'I did not sleep with....' conversation our own leader was undertaking.  Are baby boomers just the 'deny deny deny' generation??

I'll admit, I've told my share, but never to this extent!