I thought it was the family for about three hours, on day one, back when we still believed 'decomposition' was on the table. Back then, it looked like parents had reported a child missing who had been missing for days.
As soon as it became apparent that info was illegitimate, I read LG's LiveJournal. I've basically never stopped defending the family ever since. While I wasn't precisely in their subcultural circles, I've had friends and relatives who were, and I shared some interests with them.
Plus, more significantly, even though their marriage is unorthodox, it was obvious it had been in place for a long time, and that their lives were home and family oriented. There was no obvious sign of dysfuction, drug abuse, or other reports of child abuse in the home. I think lots of people are still angry about CA, and possibly it colors reactions, but compared to Casey Anthony, or Elaina Steinfurth's home life, or a million other examples, Alanna's homelife was stable. Mom was a churchgoer and seemed to be a student of the bible. (There was a nasty rumor going around at one point that she had expressed 'interest' in pedophilia on a journal entry, but it was 2006 and what she ACTUALLY did was link an article about the Rep. Mark Foley scandal which was ocurring at that time. She then went on to offhandedly mention the bible. I hated not being able to clear that up here when I knew people believed it and I hope I can set the record straight now without violating TOS.)
The two times I got scared that I was wrong were:
1) When the car search warrants were leaked. The red tape and belts/restraints looked bad. But I also believed the family was too smart (KG is an MIT grad) to do anything so insanely stupid. Still, that was a crappy few days here and I know it convinced a lot of people of their guilt.
2) The rumors a few weeks ago that the family was all in custody. Which reminds me: I wondered at the time if the actual perp started the rumors. I wonder again, or maybe it was a friend of his. The rumor was so specific: "all three are in custody". My heart SANK. Fortunately LDH showed up that night to set the record straight. Never been so relieved to see 'verified insider' in my life.
I know people will continue to judge them for letting her go out alone, and for not dialing 911 sooner, but I honestly believe with him being just two doors down and them believing she was next door playing, Alanna was doomed before any parent would have called 911. He was going to act this stuff out eventually, the Gallaghers just got unlucky. Second-guessing their parenting now is unbelievably cruel, and I wonder what is wrong in the FB posters' lives who are still doing so now.
Location last seen alive by witness approx 2pm, per affidavit.
