Ok, so here's my take on SH now after today and revelations of her childhood and foster care situation.
I feel badly that any child would have the type of life that SH had growing up. It must have been scary, sad, loveless and life altering.
SH is a survivor. Her formative years in foster care made her a survivor. She knows how to get by and she has proven it. She is smart and manipulative. In fact, I think she's smarter than him. She works NM. She plays on his moods to get what she wants and needs. She gains some form of control even though he may not realize it. She gets knocked around and gets back up. She is not one to be taken lightly. She doesn't close her eyes, sway back and forth, hangs her head and cries. SH isn't crumbling at all. In fact she looks pretty strong and forthright after today's performance. She looks straight on and tells you what's what. She laughs at comments or suggestions that she deems ridiculous. Her mental strength is much greater than NM's. She doesn't appear to have much of a moral code. She seems not the least bit concerned that they are playing and manipulating the system to keep their benefits intact and that NM was getting paid cash and most likely not reporting it.
I am not a psychiatrist nor do I have any training in psychology but I do have real life experience with mentally ill family members with personality disorders. SH shows no empathy. I see crocodile tears where warranted. She knows how to work a crowd. She lies easily and tries to say all the right things and my guess is that she has had to lie her entire life to get by. She may have sociopathic tendencies. She tells you what you want to hear to get what she wants.
But we also know that she CLAIMS that NM was extremely controlling of her, i.e., what she ate, smoking, hair length, ability to go out on her own etc. etc. My big question is....if he was that controlling of her, how can we believe that he did not demand help of her during the whole thing, from murder to clean up to dismemberment to getting rid of the body? She may have put herself in the corner with NM on that one.
I think the lies will come undone, the discrepancies will widen and we will see her for what she is.
IMHO SH has just as much ability to kill someone, if not more so, than NM. She has the fortitude and the brains to pull it off.
Great post!
SH is a survivor and mentally stronger than NM without a doubt. As a child, she would have gradually learned to be charming and agreeable to fit in with a family and quickly realized that negative/rebellious behaviour could mean being sent on. As a survivor, shutting down emotions especially when things get too tough to handle is a great gift. People who have difficulties with this technique will usually end up resorting to heavy drug use or alcohol to dull the emotional pain, so I take my hat off to SH for her mental strength and resilience.
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There are two things that bother me about NM's story about his relationship with SH and his constant rebuttals to suggestions she was involved in the
'before, during or after' (his words).
Firstly, NM claims SH would have given him up to the police if she knew about the plan or subsequent hiding and disposal of the body. I don't believe this for a second. SH imo, would have immense difficulties in contacting the police for even a minor matter. SH didn't contact police after being physically assaulted on many occasions by NM. SH would have problems with authority which is extremely common for people who've been in care. I believe NM to be the opposite, and hold the police and authority in high regard even if he's a bit 'dodgy' himself. NM was confident SH wouldn't do it under any circumstances!
Secondly, NM says he brought SH to Becky's house
because he always took her with him. SH was his best friend, confidante and lover. Whatever designs he had on Becky he would share with SH. There are people who have a double life, I don't think this the case with NM, he has one life and it's with SH. NM would share his dreams, fantasies, fears and disappointments while SH had the role of consoling and cheering him up.
So in saying all that
, I believe SH knew about the plan and accepted NM's reasoning however bizarre. If it were to 'teach Becky a lesson' or take her to their attic for 'some fun', she'd be on board with that. NM putting the plan into action meant Becky had to die eventually and NM would be able to rationalize that also. SH probably didn't consider Becky had to die or didn't care. So with that being said, SH was part of the plan even if it was just approval of NM going ahead with it.
I think the argument they had was about the dismemberment of the body. I don't believe SH was agreeable to it and for once put up a fight. This is where I believe her when she says Becky didn't deserve that.........
the dismemberment.
If SH is found guilty on
perverting the course of justice, conspiracy to commit false imprisonment and preventing lawful burial of Becky, I think she will receive a very minimal sentence due to her history and the controlling nature of the relationship with NM since she was 15 yrs old.
SH could get off scot-free too. I say this because I believe SH knew enough to be complicit.
If SH had a larger role as in aiding NM with subduing Becky, helping with the cutting up/packaging of the body or worse, actually caused Becky to die by suffocation, well that's something she has to live with but she will probably manage by compartmentalizing, another useful trait used by survivors.
JMO
