Touching on FEAR:
(Read through Burkes interviews - it's in there somewhere, I can't cite it but I absolutely read it just a day or two ago)
Burke was asked if his mother storming into his room that morning, going "psycho" - his word, and her general demeaner that morning SCARED HIM?? He replied in the affirmative. Yes. Furthermore in that interview and the same line of questioning, he says he never got out of bed to see what was going on but rather stayed in bed "freaked out" - his words.
So - he DOES understand FEAR. As weird as he is, he knows what fear is and ascribes it correctly in that context. He also says he had a feeling "something bad" had happened. His words. So, he's fearful of what he's feeling and interpreting in the situation but he's also asked (somewhere, maybe not the same interview) "Are you afraid or fearful of being in the house where your sister was murdered?" - (Paraphrasing) - Basically the question is "Do you fear for your own life after knowing what you know?" (paraphrasing) Response: NO
Now how can you be fearful of one thing but not be fearful for your own life unless you know - there is no intruder. ? But then, if you know there was no intruder, and you didn't do it, then you also know that one of your 2 parents had to have done it - wouldn't you also naturally be afraid of them?? Which one of them was more likely to instill actual fear into Burke? Father or mother? Most boys would say the Father. Could the father have instilled enough fear in Burke to lie and contradict himself from a logic standpoint? Maybe. Sure. I don't think it was ever noted that Burke was showing "signs of deception" with those answers - specifically about FEAR.
So, if you're afraid of your mothers emotions and feel instinctively that "something bad" happened to JB, but then you find out she's dead and you're not afraid for your own life and are perfectly peachy with the knowledge that JB has been murdered - doesn't that point to *YOU* being the source of the "something bad" ?? Maybe.
I think fear is an interesting aspect of this case to discuss, particularly from BR's perspective.
Recalling comments made by people who knew the Ramsey family, in particular former housekeeper Linda Wilcox, she recounted that PR seemed to think of her children in terms of them being projects. Her first project was BR, during which time he had issues with bedwetting that like JB, lasted longer age wise than was seen to be "normal". Once JB became of an age where she could participate in PR's pageant obsession, she then became PR's project and her attention was shifted away fro BR. At which point the bed wetting issue ceased for him, but then in time became an issue with JB.
Br's recollection of PR as his mother was that she was loving, showed affection by giving hugs and kisses. During the time he was her project, she was not yet ill. Things changed when PR was diagnosed with cancer and began treatment. She was very ill, travelled a lot to Baltimore for her treatments, then was literally sequestered in what was Melinda's room because she was immune compromised. JR was pretty much absent from the scene as usual, leaving the care of the children to nannies, the housekeeper and Nedra. PR's illness was not discussed, not explained. But they were living in the same house, so surely there was awareness that she was very sick. And yet neither parent apparently ever thought about whether BR who was older, might have concerns or questions about what was going on.
PR's treatments included an invasive surgery where she had a total hysterectomy which included removal of her ovaries. This threw her into early menopause. We also know she suffered from panic attacks as a side effect of the chemotherapy. LHP said she had mood swings and wondered if she might have a bipolar disorder. But throughout this time her focus was not on BR. And when she went into remission, she refocused on JB. JB was described by more than a few who knew her as having a mind of her own and that she could be bratty. We know that she and PR clashed about a few things. PR would get frustrated, PR would get mad despite what she has said publicly. BR would have been aware of this but it was mostly directed at JB. His demeanor of keeping to himself as well as his out of house activities kept him out of the line of fire as it were.
I just recently read an account here in another thread where someone had a personal experience with PR. The Ramseys were staying at a rented apartment for awhile when the house was being remodeled. A package came for PR and was delivered to the rental office instead of directly to the apartment, so she had to go to the office to pick it up and she went absolutely ballistic about it. We have heard other accounts that underscore the fact that she had a temper and would lose it. She and JB fought over brushing JB's hair when she was younger, so in a moment of frustrated impulsiveness, PR chopped her hair off to a bob. LHP recounted hearing the screams and crying from JB behind closed bathroom doors as she apparently very aggressively wiped JB after toileting issues. An interesting choice of words that BR used with describing her the morning of the 26th as "going psycho". One can certainly argue that BR was at an age where using those terms would not be out of place. But it could also be that he had witnessed this from PR before, usually directed at someone other than him. It was not unfamiliar behavior. He recognized it as being scary, but it wasn't directed at him so he was able to compartmentalize it as it did not really affect him.
The picture that he drew of the family for Dr. Bernhard is also telling. She noted that the stature of both parents was smaller than his self portrait. JR was in the window of a cockpit of a distant plane which she interpreted as his distance and remoteness and that he did not play a significant role in BR's life. This tracks with JR not being around much. PR's figure was also smaller, interpreted as her not having much sway or influence over BR and his life. She identified potential issues of emotional detachment from both his parents.
He also indicated that he was not afraid of being at home after the murder (even though they never went back to the home), which could be indicative that he knew there was no intruder. He seemed to be unconcerned that JB was gone, did not draw her at all in the picture and indicated that he was just going on with his life. People have speculated that he may have thought that what he had perceived as the natural order of things was now restored. JB was out of the picture and life would go on as it had before she came along and all the attention had gone to her. Perhaps he envisioned that PR would also return to her former self, attributing her more aggressive behavior with the relationship between her and JB. Even though there were signs that her undivided attention when he was younger, it's likely he did not equate that as being resultant of that attention. He recalls the affection and the hugs. He recalls feeling love, before fear entered the picture.
He knew the word fear and what it meant, but this emotionally detached kid (much like his father) perhaps was able to push that aside because he had not really personally experienced it from PR. And at the time, he was pretty much by his own description doing his own thing. Her role in his life at that time was diminished and not significant.
