You think the original plot was to assault JBR, and it accidentally killed her, or do you think the original idea was to murder JBR for personal satisfaction?
Yes, Holdon- I think the first one's it. Either that or Number 6- rage attack gone wrong. Either way- sexual abuse gone wrong or rage attack gone wrong- the killers did not set out to kill JBR. All the more reason for me that it points to a family member and not an intruder.
Many people get confused by the "accident" concept here. When we read things like "this was no accident"- it implies premeditated murder. While I am firmly in the RDI camp, I do not think for a moment that they planned to kill their daughter that night. The head blow was intentional (a shove in anger, a whack with a bat or flashlight or golf club) but done in a split-second of emotion- rage or to stop her from screaming. But her death was not what was intended. Her silence was.
This may sound strange coming from an RDI, but regardless of what anyone thinks about the Rs and their parenting skills- regardless of how PR paraded her daughter in the pageants, and even regardless of whether JR (or JAR or BR) was sexually abusing JBR, they loved their daughter, and were both horrified that she'd been killed, though they were responsible. In the case of sexual abuse- it sadly does happen with little girls and fathers (and stepfathers) but rarely leads to the murder of the child. I can't think of any case where a father killed his little girl after abusing her. This kind of abuse usually goes on for years, until it is discovered, the child grows old enough to resist or grows past the abusers age of attraction. With JBR, her death stopped what the abuser was unable to stop him/herself.
Here's another thought- I believe they were both actually relieved she was dead. Here's why- PR had been building up the "Mega-JBR" thing into an entity of its own, and one she was frightened of losing control over if she died. It was getting away from her, and she knew it. Even her friends knew it. The crescendo of emotion leading to her death instantly put a stop to something PR could not stop herself.
As for JR, if he was abusing JBR, as I think he was, her death gave him the same release- it stopped what he was unable to stop himself. And if PR was aware of or suspected the abuse, it was double release for her. Mega-JBR had ceased to exist, and her fears that her husband was sexually abusing her daughter were instantly and forever rendered moot.
That explains a lot about their post-death behavior. For years after.
