the 'why didn't she run' nonsense

[kbl8201]

Thanks for this thread. I've been bothered by how many people are stating that she had Stockholm Syndrome. Really? How do we know that? It seems to be making a pretty big assumption.

What are the actual facts? She was kidnapped, raped, tortured, kept outside, she had 2 children by the kidnapper, she was completely dependent on him for food etc.

What we don't know is why she didn't leave. I don't like anyone telling me why I do things and I don't think it is fair to say why others do things.

We could make a reasonable assumption that she was either physically prevented from leaving, or had a reason for staying.

Was she physically locked up for years? Maybe.

Was she afraid that she couldn't feed herself or her children if she left? Maybe

Was she afraid he'd kill her or a family member if she left? Maybe

Did she feel compassion for him? Maybe

If I had to guess, I'd imagine she was scared silly to leave because she couldn't get very far, he'd find her, hurt her or her family etc., perhaps kill them.

Could she have finally accepted that this was how her life was? Maybe.

Did she stay because of Stockholm Syndrome? Maybe.

My personal guess would be that she physically couldn't leave for a long time, until he knew she was so scared she wouldn't leave. However, that is a guess. I would not assume that she has empathy for him, or cares for him, etc. But those are my guesses.

I think we can list possible reasons, which makes for interesting thinking and reading, but for us to tell her how she felt and why is wrong.

given what we know about other cases it's not too hard to assume one or many of the things you listed above happened though.......

 

[kbl8201]

I've thought about this question ever since Jaycee was found - how do we even know if she knew her family was still alive? How do we know what sort of things this guy may have said to her? Maybe he told her he had killed her whole family?

Even if she thought of running (after the girls were born) she had to think "Where can I run to?" She lived very isolated - I can't begin to imagine what 18 years of not really knowing what is going on in the world was like. How did she know if people would even remember her? She was only 11 years old when she was taken. She lived longer with the abductors than with her family. I think it just became a way of life - I doubt that she could see any way out. She had very little formal education and two young children - how could she run and maybe (in her mind) put their lives in jeopardy by taking them into the unknown? I doubt that she had any idea about women's shelters or anything. She had to feel she had no choice.

He may have had a computer but I doubt very much that he let her do anything on it.

very true.

 

[MBK]

I've thought about this question ever since Jaycee was found - how do we even know if she knew her family was still alive? How do we know what sort of things this guy may have said to her? Maybe he told her he had killed her whole family?

Even if she thought of running (after the girls were born) she had to think "Where can I run to?" She lived very isolated - I can't begin to imagine what 18 years of not really knowing what is going on in the world was like. How did she know if people would even remember her? She was only 11 years old when she was taken. She lived longer with the abductors than with her family. I think it just became a way of life - I doubt that she could see any way out. She had very little formal education and two young children - how could she run and maybe (in her mind) put their lives in jeopardy by taking them into the unknown? I doubt that she had any idea about women's shelters or anything. She had to feel she had no choice.

He may have had a computer but I doubt very much that he let her do anything on it.

If Jaycee was the one who read all those mystery novels on the bookshelves, she has a far greater grasp of the world than we are allowing. There are surely plenty of stories there about missing and abducted CHILDREN! I am just guessing, but it is a standard theme of popular mystery novels. She would read about parents who never forget. Another theme in mystery novels is often people on the run . . . she would see the possibilities there, too, if she could relate these books to her own life. She would read about "good" cops who never, ever forget certain cases. These, again, are common themes in mysteries.

There were newspapers in the Garrido house and in a box in the shed. So, it's very strange - - we don't know what information she had access to regarding news sources and what was happening in the larger world . . .

That having been said, she was probably told by her captors that her mother and stepfather had forgotten about her, stopped caring, etc., etc. And if that's what she was told, that, sadly, became her truth. Shame and guilt obviously played a part, too. And you are right, she maybe was told that her family was dead.

The psychology of this case is complex, and we are just beginning to scratch the surface as we learn more.