I wonder who's really the manipulator and dominant one in this relationship.
Ha. It does makes you wonder.
To me, he comes off as childish. Mentally immature. Has temper tantrums. Impulsive. Rude. Disrespectful. All based on his interaction with the investigators. I also see some remorse and shame when discussing what had allegedly happened. But somebody like that can also be easily manipulated because he is predictable and lacks individuality and mental self-control. He's not much of a thinker. He's more a do-er and a follower. An easy puppet. Its easy for a more level headed and poised individual (in the mind), a tactician and puppet master, to control the situation and to control an impressionable individual such as the male suspect and their actions. Who do we know that is poised and controlled under otherwise stressful situations?
Maybe: The male suspect is an impulsive meat head. The female suspect may be more of a puppet master throughout their relationship. Bouncing ideas off him. Planting ideas into him. Over the long term, you can shape somebody like that to do your bidding and be the controlling one behind closed doors. He may be older, and to friends and family it can be portrayed on the outset as the controlling one because he is also presumably obnoxious to boot, but the strong silent one sitting quietly in the corner is still the one who's running the show and who's really in control of the relationship, but have the benefit of playing victim.
When it comes to the crime, maybe there are shared interests in their joint venture. One is jealous of someone and feeling generally petty. The other may be angry at past actions of that same person. Over time, a long term psychological campaign may result in the puppet springing into action.
Just because the male suspect is older by way of age, it doesn't mean anything. Just because someone was younger when they first got into the relationship with an older person, doesn't mean the younger one is immediately the sweet innocent one being abused. They both know what they're doing. Some may even argue the younger one has her head on tighter than the older one, who's maturity isn't all there. To me, their relationship appears to be a symbiotic one. They feed off each other. Both get what they want out of it.
What are we observing now in this case anyway? The male takes all the blame for the entire crime. Continues to protect the female suspect in the legal sense of not casting any blame onto her. The "abused" and "submissive" female suddenly springs into action and produces a rap sheet full of deplorable behaviors and talking points against the male suspect.
