Introducing a different perspective about what is going on with JS bizarre approach, and what appears to be a delusional and deficient defense strategy on the part of MT.
I do not think the JFD family wants this to go to trial. It would be devastatingly painful and public for the children, and JFD wanted nothing more than for her kids to be loved and nurtured. It was when FD threatened to take them and told her that he had plane tickets and Greek passport appointments for July 1 that she ultimately escaped with them, two weeks before. With both parents dead in this way, the children do not need to relive the trauma, and listen to their mother be dragged through the mud by MTs attorney. These circumstances lean heavily on trying to broker a plea deal, especially now that FD is dead. Colangelo has basically given an open invitation, broadcast on national television for a deal in return for cooperation.
THIS is why Mama A. banters about the psych report constantly. Reminding the JFD family that they have it and will make it (and whatever “damaging” information is in there) public and on the record. Who knows, MT and family may even be so cruel and mean spirited that if there is something in there where the JFD kids said they liked MT, they are willing to use that as a weapon. Which would be psychologically terrible for those kids if something like that would come out during a murder trial for their mother, right. (Just speculating here, not saying this is in the report at all. But clearly Mama A is using that report as a weapon).
There are three families with kids involved here. KM likely realizes also that a trial that publicly hashes out all of his sordid acts and connections with FD will also be traumatic for his children, who are already estranged now. He has probably wised up and with his knowledge of the legal system recognized he better make a deal because rolling the dice on a trial could lose him everything.
But MT is taking a different route, willing to gamble and shoring up her own “family” defense which is well underway in social media, dress rehearsal for the trial. It’s JFDs family and friends against hers, and she’s using her over the top “family” show to rub in the face of the JFD family, to let them know she’s fully ready to drag JFD through the mud at trial. If they want to take her down, she’ll take JFD down with her, the wellbeing of the 5 kids be damned (because secretly, the 5 kids were always the barrier to MT becoming queen. Even after she helped cover up for FD and the police were on their trail, she was upset that he hadn’t told her he ate dinner with the kids in the backyard and that Grace Farms was closed! It was because of his kids that the divorce was so protracted, taking FDs time and attention away from MT, and she was specifically spurned in the visitation arrangement, a constant reminder of her second hand status to JFD, who remained the center of FDs life if only in rage.)
So MT isn’t buying into any shared responsibility “for the good of the families” to cooperate. After all, MT uses her daughter as a trophy rather than protecting her from the s@#show that her mother is starring in.
That is, unless a plea deal would let her off completely, she suggests with a sly smile (the one we’ve seen in so many of her social media photos) in return for all her “time served” under ankle bracelet punishment. Which is why we see JS filing motions and appeals positing the ankle bracelet as a form of unconstitutional punishment, punishment that harms MTs family and specifically her child.
So she can somehow count that as pennance to avoid prison, because we know what happened when MT got just a little taste of prison, we saw her in her yellow frock and matching wide leg drawstring pants being hauled off to Stamford Hospital having a health emergency after just a tiny preview of her future life in the slammer. “Big house” took on a whole new meaning during those days- And we’re not talking washing windows at 80MS. So yes, we’ve seen MT freak out before, but right now she’s using the “family” show to feel around for any leverage she might be able to hold out for a deal that will get her off easy.
To feel around for this, they start with motions for the ankle monitor, and then they move on to dropping the charges completely. Every now and then JS tests the water with a motion to drop the charges for some asinine reason, to see how the state and the court responds. When they bear down in response, a “family friend” (which we know is Mama A) brings out the psych report again. Subtly suggesting that sure they’re ready to play ball to protect the kids, but here’s what’s at stake.
And then MT family posts repeatedly religious imagery and prayers, in a tradition where forgiveness and reconciliation are possible in the eyes of the church, not only in hope on her behalf, but also as part of their strategy. After all, MT and JFD were both victims of the same evil man, in the T family book, and so perhaps the best way to resolve this for the good of all families would be to forgive MT. She never should have trusted FD (and nor should have JFD, the subliminal message).
And that foregivenss would come in the form of a plea deal that lets MT off with ankle-time served and nothing else. Which is way too low a bar for anyone on the other side at this point, I imagine.
Not that I believe that MT has a lot to bargain with, like the location of the body, but she does perhaps have information that could be helpful in filling in some of the questions the family might have. And she has that psych report of course.
So I think that JS is setting up some sort of stalemate, knowing that a plea would be preferable to protect the 5 kids from a trial (and that MT is willing to subject her own daughter to an ugly public trial if it comes to that) and that’s the bargaining chip he’s going to play until one side calls the bluff.
I know this is a different take on the situation than is mainstream here, but seeing last week that the JFD family wants to avoid the publicity that would be involved in getting JFD declared legally dead by the courts reinforced the thought that the biggest hope on their side is that this case as well gets settled with a plea rather than a big public media spectacle. And MT knows that, which explains what seem to be bizarre motions on the part of JS.
MOO, with a very heavy dose of speculation, of course.