I have actually been surprised that this case has not been as high on the radar screen of locals as I would have thought. Come on people, a woman in New Canaan was murdered in her garage! This is really not very common and in fact one of the reasons people choose to and like to live in places like NC (although as I repeat every few threads on here, DV is extremely common in NC, stats backed up by chief of police).
Which is the reason (IMO) that a murder in a garage is dismissed and not really on many people's radar.
When it is, I have noted two concerning approaches amongst locals:
1. Why did she marry him/have kids with him/stay with him, it's obvious he's a nut job.
This response causes me to fly off the hook very unprofessionally and uncharacteristically. Come on people, he looked good "on paper"! Isn't this what we all aspire to, live out ourselves, and impress on our kids?
Ivy league degree; work in NY in consulting (ok, so not a hedge fund, but almost); MBA from good school (I have a family member who was a classmate, they remain blasé about the case); competitive athlete; expensive house and cars; entrepreneur; world travel, five "beautiful" and successful children. All of these are very typical and valued characteristics in New Canaan circles. Yet, some people seem to accept that JD brought this on herself by not being more discerning and picking and sticking with this "loser".
2. It's obvious he did it, but let's see if the state can prove it.
This IMO stems from the extremely low morale of people in CT about the state government, largely a result of disappointment and despair over the economic situation of the state (which while admittedly very bad, it's not like CT is the Rust Belt or something...). I run into people who are clearly convinced that FD is guilty, but almost inevitably, as if a challenge to the incompetence of the state system, they bluster about how the state is likely going to screw up and not be able to prove it and thus FD can and should get off. I have a distinct feeling in these conversations that people in some awful way want to identify with FD as a way to demonstrate and resist the incompetence of the state government.
This is all very disillusioning because it basically sideswipes the real issue at stake, which is domestic violence, something common not just in CT (but of particular concern in New Canaan).
