To Jacie, Since you are a DV advocate, maybe you can give me some insight on a few things I have been thinking about.
I have not read anywhere that Susan claimed she or the boys were being physically abused. Would a shelter take them? I was at a shelter for a night way back in 1974 but my then husband was beating me up on our front lawn and LE was called. I wondered why she did not leave and live with a family member. That would certainly be better than a shelter.
I wonder if Susan was physically abused and did not tell even her best friends. I wonder what made her so afraid of JP that she allowed him to rule over her. I can understand if he were beating her.
I wonder if any of her friends that knew those boys did not have proper food considered calling CPS. I am no friend of CPS,( never had anything to do with them personally but have read horror stories) but I wonder if Susan would have recieved info on resources that could have helped her if a friend would have called CPS and reported that the kids were not being fed well.
Just to add to BritsKate's excellent post:
When I read that Susan had a journal at work and had opened a seperate checking account I believed that she was receiving guidance that is in line with DV counseling. We don't know AND we don't need to know the exact details of Susan's efforts, at this time it is a moot point. Susan did what she felt was right for her and her situation.
Not having access to account/computer passwords, having to grow a garden to feed her boys nutritious foods, having to ride a bicycle to work [in an area that is not a safe place to ride a bike] and not having access to her money are all signs of control. The fact that josh spent thousands of dollars on refrigerator magnets, as well as a motor for his own bicycle shows where his interests lay. Susan was the mother of his children and yet he made her physically push her limits to provide for them while his ersatz job history showed that he was lazy and self-centered. IMHO
I can't and won't speak to what friends were aware of.
I believe that Susan had a kind and loving nature; having never met her it is just my opinion. I also believe that josh's actions were insidious and may have well been benign to the outside world. At this point in time, I don't believe we will know the actual COD, when Susan's remains are found and this is confirmed, UNLESS he did poison her and there is evidence in hair strands or bone.
I have not read anywhere that Susan claimed she or the boys were being physically abused. Would a shelter take them? I want to address this part of your comment. Some go into a shelter never having been physically assaulted. One particular case: a young girl who showed up at the shelter on her 18th birthday, she felt that she lived in a restrictive household and wanted out. It was better for her to be in a shelter than on the streets. Another lady, a grandmother, who suddenly had custody of 4 grandchildren all under 10yo; help was given with parenting, housing, legal and dealing with the aftermath of living with a mentally abusive, drug addicted daughter who abandoned the children.
Not all abuse is a constant event; in my case it was a one time event that resulted in head injuries similar to shaken baby syndrome, including the eye injuries that I still have damage from, as well as other permanent injuries. I do believe that what happened that night in Susan's home was the culmination of a time period of josh 'stewing' and then violently erupting. While we don't have 100% confirmation of Susan's death, I do believe that if she had lived she would have gone to a shelter or to family with her sons. josh has proven that he was unpredictable and violent; whatever happened the night of the camping trip was as finite as his final acts toward his sons. It is interesting, from a clinical view, that he chose to both chop the boys with an ax and then set fire to the house and himself.
