[/B]Ahh...if only I could!!
This is what I meant when I said in a couple of posts that I didn`t understand why the prosecutor`s questioning had been so basic and gentle. The obvious further delving into the Joe/Nick story is one example - all the points raised above and more - and also another example is Helen`s apparent incident with her car that made her come home and say she wasn`t going to drive again! That was never asked to be expanded upon.
I can only think that this is a most delicate situation and had to be handled with great sensitivity. Bear in mind that as someone has already said, if IS does not take the stand then the evidence of Nick/Joe is worthless anyway. If IS does take the stand, I assume his fable will be torn to shreds quicker than a paper bag.
I understand the "thinking outside the box" regarding J and O. All I can confirm is what the previous poster said regarding the warmth between J and O and Helen`s brother and partner (and support). This was my strong observation too. Most definitely.
Hopefully none of us have ever been faced with such a terrible dilemma (J and O dilemma). What I personally have learnt, through an experience with a friend`s previous con artist boyfriend (who also ended up in prison),...I had known this guy for two years as my friend`s b/f and saw him often. When the truth came to light, the time it took for me to absorb the fact that he wasn`t what I thought, and that he was actually this awful other person...it took a long, long time for my emotions and thoughts to shift and to think of him as the person he really was, rather than the person he presented as. It was a long, emotional process as what we know factually takes much longer to internalise emotionally.
Can you imagine therefore how it is for J and O?
BIB Very salient points I agree. Ditto not asking mum to elaborate on why she was "uneasy about the HB IS relationship" when HB started to become more unwell. ( ie. Sparing further anguish of a 90 yr old grieving mum)
yes. as far as prosecution is concerned it's better to let sleeping dogs lie. They have their culprit and their major charges on the table- IS. And they have every confidence in a conviction.
IMO He is a manipulator and the boys too have been manipulated. They have been placed in a very difficult position by a devious man. Add to this the unanswerable question of whether this man does have APD or some kind of long-standing sociopathy whereby they may have been victims of manipulation for decades.
Although they are adults, they arrive with every sympathy, because they lost their mother too before their father's heinous crime.
I am not in their shoes as they face the horrible task of testifying , BUT if I had been, at this particular point, I would've been been relieved to add ( re my OP) wtte: Dad told me about N& J and to be honest I thought he was off his head at that point, I didn't even take it seriously OR something like - this was a curveball that I hadn't expected and I stormed off, couldn't take any more, i just stopped listening......
"taking the court into your confidence" is a phrase all of us here are familiar with and it's really significant IMO.
I wouldn't have expected anything different from J.Bailey nor his partner who has ministry in London. Strength, dignity, privacy: forgiveness says a lot, about the giver IMO.
This case will be rehashed over and over, after the WS threads are closed, in MSM, on SM, in programmes,publications, real crime etc etc for some years to come. (Talented author, survivor of one huge life- tragedy finds love again, murdered in her prime, male "gold -digger", horrific means of disposal, pitiful tiny pet with her, a slow poisoning....... sadly men kill women they loved every day without making much of an impact on the press.) So there are implications here.
Maybe when dealing with a manipulator there comes a point where you have to say no more, cut loose? ( No I don't expect a priest to say that but for many victims I think that's relevant, however painful, to not remain a victim.)