JMO- thinking out loud so be kind please. What if Sarah was the dominant personality? What if Abigail told the teacher Jen abused her because she was afraid of the repercussions of outing Sarah? Sarah, perhaps, was fed up and just said-"I Did It". Taking the blame as she really did do it. A friend says she witnessed Sarah bruising one of the girls wrist over food. Jen was a stay at home mom with 6 kids. Sarah comes home, and as the breadwinner, expects a tidy house and obeying children. Maybe Jen was terrified of disappointing Sarah. Maybe Sarah flew home in a rage after the CPS visit and loaded everyone in the car. Perhaps Jen knew Sarah had reached her limit and didn't want to deal with disappointing her anymore -and ended it at the cliff.
At first I felt dominance in Jen. The staged photos, the perfect image. But as I saw the birthday video and several photos, I felt like a saw a coldness in Sarah and perhaps, an insane willingness by Jen to please Sarah with the dog and pony show. As in, look what we did all day (chicken and waffles pics, etc) while you were at work. Detachment: If you watch the Bird Landing on the Podium at the Bernie Sanders rally, Jen seems so animated. She goes to high five Sarah at one point. Sarah's response reads lukewarm at best.
Those wonderful, beautiful children were caught up in a storm of narcissism. Zero excuse for abuse. They weathered so very much. Breaks my heart.