ITA. His behavior was VERY odd at the time. Siblings fight sometimes, there are jealousies and rivalries in nearly all families. Regardless of how much he may have felt he was always second to JB in the family or resented her, this was still his little sister who was DEAD. Asking about the Rolex is just one more evidence of his strange detachment from his sister and her death. Kids cry when a PET dies. I do not recall seeing or hearing that BR cried that day or any other. He reportedly said that he was disappointed because it looked like they were probably not going on vacation. He left for the White's carrying his new Nintendo (nothing too odd about that, though) and seemed otherwise not upset. He did NOT leave the house in tears. I often wonder if FW and his family were questioned about BR's behaviors or what he may have said while at the White home that day or on the way over in the car.
It was also reported as odd that when he was seen by the therapist or psychologist, he was asked to draw his family, and he did not draw JB. Though she was dead, I recall reading that this was though of as unusual, because kids that age will still put the deceased sibling in their drawings, especially as this was so recent.
He told the therapist he "just wanted to get on with his life". This was DAYS after the murder. Never seemed worried about his own safety, though. Neither were his parents. No danger there.
Whoa! These are some tidbits about Burke I didn't know or had heard. The phrase
just wanting to get on with his life, certainly is strange coming for a boy nearly 10. My guess he was mimicking some adult with that statement.
But yes, there are so many unanswered questions about the boy's behavior or mood the day he left for the White's home. And, why was he sent off. He did have questions for his parents asking them what they found and being told by his dad that in short it wasn't his business whatever was going on in the home.
I've always felt Burke was advance enough to be "playing doctor" with his little sister. And, that Patsy had caught him a time or two. And, she would explode and handle the act with shame and anger threating him not to do it again. It would be the dark family secret that Patsy could not face.
With that in mind, I can fit this into the Christmas evening in question. The family arrives home, the kids beg for a pineapple treat. Then the kids go off to Burke's room, they are playing with their Christmas toys and Burke decides it's time to be the "doctor" again. Patsy catches him when she hears Jon Benet scream. He has the flashlight aimed at his sister's pelvic area in order to see better, Patsy grabs the flashlight from him and by accident
hits JonBenet in the head. And Burke is banished from the room once John arrives to see what has happened.
However it would seem to me that for most boys his age, that would be a tramatic event. However, maybe for Burke it wasn't because being caught by his mother had happened before, minus the head injury of course.
I can also see that the scene of Burke molesting his sister would be a reason Patsy and John didn't rush JonBenet to the hospital with a head injury. The fear and the thought that she might be dead would make them take matters into their own hands.
But, I'm just rambling on here, almost off topic. But these images of Burke and how he reacted to his sister's death and that entire evening keeps me conjuring up all sorts of situations to understand what really happened.
jmo
