I'm still on the fence. When the search was still on, and we heard rumors of woodchippers being used, my emotions got the better of me and I was convinced AB was as guilty, if not moreso than EB.
There are a few reasons why I'm back on the fence:
1) Most importantly- there is no evidence that points directly to AB being involved in a murder or dismembering Zahra. Only claims by EB who has a long track record of lies.
(if I'm wrong please correct me)
2) Knowing that there are allegations that EB had at
least one other man on the side eliminates AB as the
only person with enough strength to do the unspeakable. (Not accusing anyone here- just saying there are more scenarios to look at now)
3) The 911 call - That casual greeting and lack of urgency in the call by AB -Does that really equal guilt?
Have a listen to (innocent) Kevin fox's 911 call:
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6208077
IMO, this 911 call shows that even innocent people can come across as blase in a situation we would expect them to be panicking and full of emotion.
So for me, AB's lack of emotion in the 911 tape and any interviews is now off my list of reasons to believe he is guilty.
4) Key statements by AB with contractions (BBM):
Not sure if this has been discussed yet. I know there's been a lot of discussion about micro-expressions, body language etc. But I found the use of contractions by AB very interesting. (Using contractions is indicative of honesty whereas not using contractions is indicative of deception)
911 call
DISPATCHER: OK, Do you know who this was?
ADAM BAKER: I don't know who... No... no ma'am..
DISPATCHER: Do you know any idea why they were threatening to take his daughter?
ADAM BAKER: I don't know.
Interview with AB and his mum:
Q: Now you wanted to be there? (vigil)
A: Yeah. I would've liked to have gone, but I didn't want everybody to ah, take the focus of Zahra.
Q: What do you say to them? (people yelling abuse at AB)
A: Everybody has their own opinion. Uhm, there's no way in the world that I've ever hurt my daughter.
Q: So people need to know you didn't do this?
A: No there's no way I could do that to my baby.
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13519440
Ch 9 video:
Q:What do you think happened to Zahra?
A: I don't know.
Do you think your wife might have had some involvement in this?
A: I don't know.
http://www.wsoctv.com/video/25405526/index.html
There's more, but I'm taking up enough space here already. (will add the others to a blog entry later with some comparisons)
Now let's look at
EB's lack of contractions in key statements regarding AB's involement...
In regard to her stepdaughter, Baker had little to say other than reporting that the cops "know where she is and what he has done."
"That's right what he has done," Baker wrote.
She reinforces this statement by writing it twice. Note that she doesn't say "and what
he's done" or "what Adam's done".
Where
does EB use a contraction?
....but Zahra isn't missing," Baker wrote.
And interestingly, she uses a contraction when saying 'We really didn't kill her".
I am not convinced either way of AB's guilt or innocence.
However, if there is one iota of collected evidence that points to AB being involved I will be down off this fence in a nano-second.
Did he mess up and put Zahra in a terrible position by moving her to the US and leaving her in the 'care' of EB?
Absolutely!! But that doesn't make him guilty of murder, or dismembering his daughter, or a cover up- just
very poor judgement with terrible consequences.
Should AB have been more involved with Zahra on a day-to-day basis? Heck yeah! But I felt compassion toward ED because she was suffering PPD and was not involved in Zahras life for a period of time because of it, so I'm doing the same for AB. I believe it's possible, even probable he's got depression too, which resulted in emotional detatchment.
Could that have lead to murder/dismemberment/cover up? Possibly....which is why I'm on the fence, instead of believing in his innocence.
Could he have saved Zahra from EB once he realised things were going downhill? I really don't know. I wasn't there, so I don't know just how far reaching her hold or her lies were. But it seems that EB is very experienced in pulling or attempting to pull the wool over peoples eyes.
I don't want to be another one of those people by believing anything she has to say now, especially since it's not adding up.
JMO