It makes me very sad to think when LE paid the first "welfare check" on Wednesday evening, that something awful may have already happened in Tina's house. How could mh have taken advantage of Tina and the family dog? I imagine that a mom and the family dog (even if it is a smaller dog, sometimes they are more trouble than a big dog) would ferociously guard their house!
Here's my thinking aloud - not sure what mh's physical characteristics are (large, small, average?) I couldn't guess very well from the mugshots, but I am betting he is average and somewhat muscular, he would have gotten that from prison and actually having to perform work at some times, not to mention climbing trees. What if mh showed up in the middle of the day, had some kind of ruse to be let inside and talk to Tina, wins her confidence for a few minutes, then subdues Tina and the dog, Stephanie shows up, he threatens to harm her as well, she is subdued, and put in a different room. Kody and/or Sarah arrive home at the same time, and/or one of the children comes in first, the other lagging behind (where is the bus stop?), it would be very easy to subdue both children on the threat of harming their mom and/or dog. Flipping the scenario over, if mh was waiting in the house for the children first, had already subdued the dog, and then the children when they came in, then if Tina and Stephanie came home from looking at apartments, they would most likely do anything to cooperate to save the children, and themselves. Either way, I am thinking the same about the dog, it was probably used to get compliance, whether by threatening to hurt it, or actually killing it, and when all the people were sufficiently subdued, it was eliminated.
