There does seem to be a big difference between the interviews given by people who are genuinely distraught about a missing person and the ones done by those who know that person is dead and 99.9% of the time a vast majority of Websleuthers can immediately spot the difference and instinctively notice when something does not feel right.
This!!! The public was all over the two of them from the start.
Re: SS & JS family: In the Hughes interviews, we have one of the friends, I believe it was Josh, telling us JS' extended family lived WITH SS, JS and MS in the condo at one time.
I do not believe we were given a date of when this was, but if anyone has the motivation to go through his interviews again, we could reasonably determine. We were told that at that time, JS & SS had their own bedroom and MS had another and that all of the common areas in the condo, such as a living room where other family members were watching television, were strictly OFF LIMITS to guests of JS& SS. As a guest, he was only allowed in the bedrooms of JS&SS and weirdly, MS.
This was a super weird bit of information to me too. I wonder if that was really the family rule or if SS just made it seem that way? Not sure what the reasoning would be behind that, unless the family really didn’t care for SS and his friends and made it known they didn’t want them hanging around their common areas.
I do think that if the rest of the family were living with them, someone would have noticed SS’s odd behavior and Maddie being dead. I’d think someone would have noticed him going in and out, holing himself up with JS to come up with a plan etc. JS and SS make 0 mention of any other family members being in the condo that day, which makes me wonder if any of others still lived there or if SS somehow strategically pulled this all off under their noses. IDT he is
that savvy though. If they didn’t like him and he was repeatedly moving in and moving out, I can imagine the Soto family leaving the condo to the three of them to get space away from him.
I do not want this to seem as an attack on those with bipolar. I am speaking as someone who was married at one time to someone who was diagnosed. This is based on my experiences and clearly everyone is different, so keep this in mind.
It is not uncommon for people with bipolar to enjoy the highs and resist medication.
It is not uncommon to "act out" sexually, at least in certain states. (I'm not leading into JS molesting her daughter by pointing this out, but I am saying the illness itself may have predisposed to some unusual attachment/bonding/activities/etc with SS)
Now that we have heard about her struggling with bipolar, her shaking in the interview also makes a bit more sense. It could be a form of agitation, etc. Her change in appearance also makes some sense to me too as the meds have that as a side effect.
Also, many of the meds ARE sedative in nature. She certainly could have been gone to the world, however I would question why on that particular morning? If she was normally the one doing the school run AND she was awake (in her statement) to see MS get ready for school? i.e. she wasn't totally out of it that morning.
Could JS meds have been used to sedate MS? I think THIS is probably possible.
Also? Given what we have learned about SS and HIS family relationships, particularly his mother? I think he likely has some issues as well, beside the obvious ones. I think the two of them are a pair, personally. Look at JS all rubbing and reassuring SS, comforting in the interview while HE does the "I'm so upset" routine. She doesn't look coerced or afraid. She looks likeshe is worried...about HIM.
Good point. I totally get what you’re saying…I have Borderline and I have to take atarax daily for anxiety (it’s actually an antihistamine commonly used for anxiety, also to make you sleepy before surgery)…I take it at night and try to avoid taking more than one because it makes me feel syrupy.
So here’s a question for you, as well as for everyone else that I hadn’t considered until you commented…let’s say JS says she was asleep and/or too tired to have known what SS was doing in the early hours of the morning before she went to work…do we believe her?
I could believe that SS attacked MS during the night while JS slept could have been his pattern when MS was in her room. But afterward? Me personally?
Highly doubt it.
Now I do understand that some people sleep like the dead, bc I am one of them. I rarely hear my parents leaving for work in the mornings or wake up to interact with them…one of them leaves at 6:30 AM and the other leaves at 7:30 AM. I also leave my door open and it faces our kitchen. It’s possible that any noise could be attributed to SS caring for pets (letting the dog in or out, and/or walking the dog) or him getting ready for the day, making breakfast for MS, etc… presumably JS could stir and go back to sleep on that assumption.
This being said, it appears to me that JS was coached and was struggling to not slip up. Their BL and mannerisms during the interviews sent up red flags to the general public almost immediately - you don’t have to be retired LE or a BL expert to see it IMO. Jennifer Coffindaffer (retired FBI) was on a podcast yesterday I believe, and they discussed that SS and JS seemed to have mismatched behavior on camera. SS is weepy, red eyed (his friend Josh claims he looked stoned…IA as a former stoner) and seemingly inconsolable, while JS appeared glazed over at times, disassociating heavily, gazing at the ceiling, and mostly flat in tone. JS was comforting
SS instead of the other way around. That dynamic alone in the second interview reeks of it being overly performative in attempts to draw attention away from SS.
I would be interested in knowing if JS made it on time to work…did she call in late or show up late? If so, is that normal for her? I would want to know what her demeanor was during work…was she at all distracted or struggling to stay on task? Did she take more breaks than usual to text or call with SS? Was she at any point making frequent trips to the bathroom to use her phone if she’s not supposed to be on it at work?
I also want to know if SS has a receipt from the vape shop. Or if there’s an electronic time stamp for his purchase if he used his phone and didn’t take a paper copy. I can’t imagine he didn’t buy anything if he went to the trouble of going. Did the clerk notice anything unusual? If he’s a frequent customer at that shop, was SS unusually anxious or jittery? That could be explained by a nicotine addiction withdrawal, but considering he had dumped Madeline shortly beforehand, I can’t imagine he wasn’t at least a little outwardly stressed. However, he seems like he could be relatively convincing if he was downplaying his anxiety over what he just did…esp to a service worker who wouldn’t have reason to suspect anything. Was he on camera at the vape shop? Most have them since they are booming with business these days. And items like glass pipes and bongs (vape stores often cater to smokers/stoners in general) are high value in bulk.
Lastly, what other errands was he running? Did he tell JS about the errands, and if so, when did he text or call her about said errands?
So many questions.
Although the day after Maddie's birthday was MUCH worse for Maddie as she was killed. 
