Chrishope,
JR and PR both had to know that in BDI -w/o staging- they weren't going to prison. (Assuming for the moment that BR is the chronic abuser) They had not done anything and the crime scene would be consistent with BDI. So unless they were very slow witted (and we can be reasonably sure JR wasn't) they knew as an absolute fact they would not go to prison if they just left everything alone and called 911. There would be no reason for police to suspect anything other than BDI. This isn't mind reading, this is just a straightforward conclusion. They didn't do the crime, the evidence does not suggest they did the crime, so they aren't going to prison. Surely you'll give them credit for being able to figure that out?
Whether or not they knew BR was too young to be charged, could go either way, but how hard was it for JR to get legal info? He's the kind of guy who can call his lawyer at 3am and get a polite answer to his question.
If they did all that staging in the mistaken belief they were saving Burke from going to prison, it's very tragic. A phone call could have given them all the info they needed to make a better decision. I can't believe JR didn't know that nearly all states have a minimum age for charging someone. Even if he didn't know the exact age in CO, wouldn't that be worth finding out before implicating yourself in a murder?
It gets a little more complicated if JR (or some people prefer PR) was the chronic abuser. Then the theory is that he had a reason to cover up. That makes more sense, but IMO is not really that convincing. Pretty hard to prove he was the one doing the chronic digital penetration. People would guess, but it's pretty unlikely there would be enough evidence for an indictment. Even if JR thought he might be convicted of child abuse, that is still preferable to going up for murder. So why stage it in such a way that police (well, you know, real police) would suspect them of murder?
If BR was the chronic abuser staging makes no real sense at all.
Chrishope,
I agree with you. if its BDI, then both parents know dialling 911 on the spot means they never run any risk of conviction.
Now regardless of what we think the parents knew, who they could access for information etc, they chose to stage the homicide of JonBenet!
Now the staging was enacted to save someone's skin whether it be JR, PR or BR? I think we all intuitively know putting your hands up and saying Burke Did It, or John Did It, or Patsy Did It, carry a lower risk.
The R's patently decided to roll the dice and go for staging. John and Patsy must have agreed on this strategy since they both played their roles, even offering versions of events that could never have taken place, e.g. chair in front of the basement door.
So your assessment of the risk and theirs differs for some particular reason, probably because they thought they could mask whomever killed JonBenet and fake a crime-scene, which from their perspective seemed better than pointing the finger directly at say Burke.
Obviously there were more factors considered than sentencing outcomes?If BR was the chronic abuser staging makes no real sense at all.
Maybe the R's were fatalists, e.g. they thought if Burke is publicly blamed for the death of his sister etc, then our reputation will be tarnished, so they thought lets roll the dice and go for a staged crime-scene, that way we can defend ourselves, and if we are detected, well we get a similar outcome.
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