IMO her narcissistic self can't bring herself to mimic or fake empathy because that would mean she would have to take responsibility and admit she made a mistake and was sorry. That is in direct conflict with her psychopathic self.
JA might have a high IQ, however she has zero EQ. Her emotional intelligence is lacking completely. No real emotions, only primal rage when she loses control of herself.
She can fake crying, maybe even produce a tear or two. But her eyes dry up very quickly so she has to hide them so that nobody sees her crocodile tears.
She tries to fake empathy, but doesn't understand herself that she isn't very convincing. Same goes for remorse.
Her mind works like a computer. She had it all planned out: the gas cans, dying her hair, taking her cell phone off so she couldn't be 'traced' being in the neighborhood, planning the murder beforehand.
After the murder she puts her cell phone on when she is in a 'safe' area and calls Travis, whom she knows is already dead. Then she goes to Utah - as she planned beforehand - and uses another man so she gets an alibi.
In her first interrigation she explains in detail how she got lost and slept in the car and how she was not near Travis Alexander the day he was murdered. She showed no fear, amusement at the most, and she thought she had it all covered.
When the detective told about the photos and how the camera was taking photos during the killing, did anybody see any fear in her?
Her mind was ticking at the most but she didn't show any signs of being surprised or afraid. Any other person would had gone to pieces at that point. She just took it to another level and kept on denying that she was there.
She showed extreme cruelty and planning when her mom was interrogated. AJ had acted completely normal during the five days when Travis hadn't been found yet. She told how Travis was going to visit her later on and other things like that.
When his body was found, AJ 'fell apart' according to her mom and dad. She 'cried' for days. And when her mom asked AJ if she had anything to do with it, she said no and even told her that she has the gas receipts to prove it.
Hence she didn't snap out all of a sudden, she had planned it very carefully.
Why? Probably because of her comment to Travis that she will contact her attorney, he must have had some proof against her and she wanted him dead so she wouldn't get into any trouble. That's my opinion.
But her mom also said other things in the interrigation, for example that she has always accused them of having a rotten childhood which was only her own fantasy. She is an abuser who plays the victim when confronted.
AJ listened carefully to the detectives in the interrigation and picked up certain things she could use if she would be cornered. Like being abused by Travis.
Only a ruthless and merciless person can go so far as to drag their victim in the mud. Battered women are nothing like AJ. They have a documented history and the abuse has been going on for years. They snap out in the heat of the moment.
But AJ had planned the murder beforehand. She deliberately went to see Travis.
She is a pathological liar and they can't do anything else but lie. It's impossible to get anything truthful from them, not even if it's a completely innocent thing. They have lying in their nature.
One other thing, the 'magical thinking'. That's where she probably took the wrong turn. She wanted money and fame, nothing wrong with that of course, but she made a huge mistake when applying her magical thinking to a certain person, Travis Alexander. Remember her 'vision' about them getting married in the temple?
The basic rule of positive/magical thinking is to
never go against another person's own free will. It's against God's laws. By concentrating on Travis in particular she broke that law and things took another turn. Positive thinking turned into negative thinking. She did get what she wanted but not in the way she had planned it.
The marriage with Travis in front of God - nothing more needs to be said about that *cry*
Fame and money through Travis Alexander - she got that allright.
It's twisted how I still try to find reasons for her behavior, because she has left the mess for others to clear up. The utmost tragedy and sorrow she caused to his family, she just keeps on throwing more and more at them.
She is the only thing that matters, she doesn't care about anybody else. Her life is more important than anyone else's life is.
Her pathetic attempts to show some charity work she intends to do, they are just that - pathetic. In the light of what Travis Alexander did during his whole life her 'charity' work is less than peanuts.
If she had any emotional intelligence, then she would had tried to speak highly of Travis Alexander's life and what he did and tried to come up with something that would even slightly measure up to what he did - remembering to honor and mention his selfless work for other people.
Imagine how different it would had been had she raised money for a Travis Alexander Fund? That way she would tell the world that she is trying to pay for what she did to him.
Sorry, the thing about faking empathy turned into a long rambling :blushing:
Summa summarum: she doesn't deserve any attention. Those who deserve full attention and prayers are Travis Alexander's family and friends
lease: