No need to apologize, I don't feel picked on! I said that the accidental drug overdose was wishful thinking more than anything. But I'm looking for something to explain AB's behavior. He definitely loves his daughter, or he would have left her behind in Australia, I'm fairly convinced about that part. Instead, he went to a lot of trouble and inconvenience to bring her here, so it's not logical that he would then want to get rid of her suddenly, with or without EB.
An angelic child must be pretty inconvenient if you're a dark gothic fairy though, which is what I think EB meant by the "dark child...lol" comment - meaning, "here's the child that doesn't fit in". Now I can believe that she would want to get rid of Z, but I still don't think AB's love for his new wife with whom he was arguing, was so blind that he would go along with a heinous crime and kill his own child who he had raised as a single dad for most of his life. I'm not buying it, and I don't think LE thinks so either, or he wouldn't be out on bail.
That's just not the way it works - a single parent who gets into arguments with a new partner is more likely to turn to the child for additional support, not push them further away. They're a team remember, and it's the new partner who is the outsider. Similarly, since the neighbors heard the arguments, so did the child, so it would only be natural for Z to stand up to EB and defend her father. That could have been the motive right there for EB, but not for AB to go along with any cover up. For that to happen, AB would need to be convinced that it was an accident. You probably had all these conversations already in threads I have not been able to keep up with, but while I do not think he's entirely innocent, it's just not logical (to me) that AB would agree to be involved in any cover up unless:
1. it was a genuine accidental death or
2. EB convinced him it was accidental.
This is the only thing that makes sense to me. Either that, or he's telling 100% truth and knows nothing about it, but I find that hard to believe. I think he knows more than he's telling right now.
I also think it's possible that Zhara had her "accident" and passed away before they ever moved into that house, she was only stored there for a while. If she died in the house and the body was transported away from the house in the car, why look in the garden?
But you guys know better...I don't follow things here too much, and this doesn't make a whole lot of sense at all.....poor Zhara, I hope she manages to show someone she loves the truth of what happened to her, eventually.
You know it's very weird how many cases we see of formerly caring parents, or what looking like devoted, dedicated parents, who later either kill, help kill or allow to be killed, their own kids. I see countless cases where mommy allows her new man to beat, rape and torture her kids, for example, even using crazy glue to hold her child's little head together after a severe beating, rather than taking said child to the ER.
I also see many cases where people, like casey anthony, elizabeth johnson, for example, have the choice of not raising the child they cannot handle, and maybe resent, but instead stubbornly insist on possession and end up killing their kid rather than allowing those who adore the child to have that which is their "property."
AB could have been like that: "No one's raising MY kid!" Or, he could have just thought it would look bad to leave Zahra behind, or perhaps he felt it would be irresponsible to leave her behind and felt compelled to take her.
I get the sense that AB was not abusive before and did not know what things in the U.S. would be like. I think he's likely passive, like many people who allow their kids to be harmed by the new mate, and was just desperate for a relationship. I don't think the abuse started right away. It probably was subtle at first and as EB saw how much she could get away with, she increased her rage against sweet Zahra.
I think AB was in love with EB (ick). I think he was willing to overlook certain things to keep his new special lady (double ick). She probably told him she is a mom and knows how to raise a kid and that he's too soft on her, etc. He might have convinced himself that she was right, because he no longer had $ to get back home, and did not want to have to admit defeat and ask for help from his relatives. He was probably also trying to hang on to the fantasy of a lovely relationship with a woman who actually came all the way to OZ to get him.
This happens all the time - women who sacrifice their kids in unimaginable ways, just to keep a relationship. I don't know why we are more reluctant to accept that it happens with men as well. I get the sense that AB had a hard time finding a woman where he lived - smallish town, he's not that attractive, etc. He probably was pretty reluctant to give up a "prize" like EB. :sick:
In any event, there is just no way, if EB was systematically abusing Zahra, that he failed to notice. DSS was coming to the house. The school complained. He must have seen bruises. He must have seen how violent and creepy EB was with his child. He knew. He just tried to look the other way. And when EB beat her to death, which is precisely what I think occurred, AB realized he was in deep doo doo and helped to cover up the crime. IMO, he is a likely a weak person whose own interests take precedence over those of his daughter, or of justice. His reaction to the "fire", the attempted kidnapping of his bosses daughter and then the disappearance of his own child say everything I need to know about this man. He did not care when it counted, not nearly enough. He doesn't care now, except for saving himself and secondly, his sweetheart. :twocents: