Snipped by me for focus.
OceanBlueEyes, I so agree with you about their motivations.
I keep coming back, as do others here, to the case of Leopold & Lowe. If any of you here haven't read about them, take some time to do so as their crime was very similar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_and_Loeb
I have a strong sense of "othering" in relation to this crime and the motivation of DE and NK.
DE and NK came from exclusive backgrounds - privileged, upper middle class, high achieving, early schooling at expensive private Christian academies - that cultivated the belief that they're better than most other people, particularly those who are poorer and of lower socioeconomic status. Growing up in that kind of sheltered environment, particularly where conservative religious schooling is involved, kids are taught early on that they must separate themselves from others who are sinful, less worthy.
I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it in some of the kids my own children grew up with. The transition from strict Christian schools to public schools is somewhat difficult, even when the public school kids are of the same socioeconomic background. One of my son's friends used to get in fights with the other kids when he came to play. Turns out, his parents and teachers had told him that public school kids were dangerous and violent and to be afraid that they would carry weapons and harm him. He had been told that most public school kids carry knives, etc. Ridiculous, especially as this is an upper middle class community, not a hotbed for criminal types. These kids eventually adapted to public school, but not until they rejected many of the social lessons they had been taught at that Christian school.
DE and NK, like Leopold and Loeb, grew up in a privileged environment where they were told they were extraordinary, "better" than most people and that they would grow up to be influential leaders in society. They likely were taught to identify strongly with other people like themselves and to reject others less worthy. At the extreme level, people who grow up in this environment believe they're above society's usual rules and norms. In people like DE and NK, this kind of warped thinking leads into the desire to commit crimes for the thrill of it, and also to validate their own belief that they were part of a superior group of people. It's said they enjoyed crime shows, so one of them probably developed the idea (again, like L & L) of committing the "perfect" murder. They chose someone who was an "other", someone they felt was beneath them, to victimize. Like the little fella who thought my son and his friends were all violent and carrying knives, DE & NK probably thought NL was one of those sinful, unChristian, low income girls who were sexually promiscuous and somehow deserved to be tricked and exploited.
If DE & NK are like L & L, one was the leader, the other a follower who had to be persuaded to participate in the worst parts of the crime. It will be up to LE to find out which one was the leader.
