I dunno....I am RDI all the way. But I just am not "getting" that this was a sex fantasy garroting or that there was a history of such activity in the family or extended family/circle of friends. I know these theories have been mentioned for years. I just don't see how JB would have been the apparently happy child she seemed to be (despite pressure from her mom and grandmother to excel in the pageant world). Teachers and friends' parents would have noticed something- a certain fearfulness, hesitancy, guardedness. Sadness. And I just can't accept a conspiracy that large that it encompasses the family, friends, school faculty and staff, pediatrician, lawyers, the DA, lawyers, etc.
If you research the Lisa Steinberg case, you can see photos taken at school or play where you see a sadness, a despair, in her sweet innocent face. She was beaten for years by her adoptive father, and so was her adoptive mother Hedda Nussbaum. I'll never forget the police photos of Hedda's swollen, bruised face or the bruises on little Lisa as she sat at her school desk.
I see no evidence of this with JB. Yes, there were some marks pointed out here and there. But SHE doesn't seem battered, as far as her demeanor.
With cases like this, it is easy to get carried away. Here's the way I see it in as simple a way as possible:
JB was a loved child. She was pressured to excel because her mother and grandmother wanted a Miss America in the family (something that both Patsy and her sister failed at). Patsy was driven and she drove JB. That didn't mean she didn't love her. I believe Patsy herself came from a dysfunctional family where there may have been sexual abuse.
Patsy sexualized JB, to be sure, but I'd bet she never looked at it that way. With an older male sibling (two, actually) in the home, and a flirtatious little beauty queen, sex play occurred. The parents knew, but failed to stop it, deciding to let him "grow out of it". It was probably discussed with the kids' doctor (one reason why I think BOTH kids medical records were sealed).
One night, it went too far, she screamed, was bashed on the head to shut her up. The parents called their "friends in high places" for advice and the events of that night took place. They were faced with a dying/dead/comatose child that seemed beyond help, and getting that help might have revealed the sexual abuse and then the dirty secret would be out. Remember, in addition to the internal vaginal injuries, there were bruises on the labia- easily noticed. One of the forensic specialist who studied the case said that if she had been brought to a hospital, the father would have been arrested. This is because he would be the presumed molester, not because he actually was.
In an adrenaline-fueled agitated state, they staged the death to look like a kidnapping/assault, including writing the most preposterous ransom note in kidnap history. They weren't thinking about how it would be picked apart later, or whether the ink could be traced to the exact sharpie pen in the home or the exact pad of paper (with practice note too) or whether an autopsy would show that she ate pineapple or had an eroded hymen. Or that a fluoroscope exam would reveal blood had been wiped from her pubic area and thighs. Or that fibers matching the parents clothing worn that evening would be found in incriminating areas. I actually think they felt that if they provided a VISIBLE cause of death (the ligature) there might not need to BE an autopsy. (they were mistaken- autopsies are usually always done on children, even if the cause of death is known and always done on murder victims as well.
Their defense team was powerful politically- they were "big guns". The DA caved in to their pressure. And the rest is what we are left with all these years later. Both the DA, the BPD and the attorneys all KNOW what happened that night, IMO. Because the actual murder case couldn't be prosecuted, the DA lied about the indictments that COULD have been brought. (I don't know how he got away with it- the same political machine I guess).
That's the way I see it.
And so here we are....