This brought back a very vivid memory of when my now 3 year old bit my husband while playing. His instant reflex reaction was to smack her..probably way too hard. He felt horrible, but stated it scared and surprised him, that was his first reaction. Is it completely unreasonable to wonder if her screams startled the abuser so much that the smack with the flashlight was almost like a reflex and not intended to be a fatal injury? Only a quick "knee jerk" reaction?
Possible, certainly. That is what is meant when we say her death may have been "unintentional"- which is different from accidental. Bashing her wasn't an accident. No one hits someone with enough force to crack open their skull accidentally. But it was not intended to be a fatal injury. Once it had happened, most forensic specialist agree that the head blow would have rendered her instantly unconscious, and possibly even comatose. She may have convulsed. (this would account for the vomit/mucous on her cheek). But she may have appeared dead to an untrained eye, especially if she did go into a coma or shock. If that happened, her body would get cold, as body temperature drops in a coma or shock, and her breathing might become so shallow as to seem to be absent.
Once JB seemed to be dead or so irreversibly damaged that there was no turning back- there were only two ways forward- call 911 and tell the truth- which may result in the sexual abuse being discovered and criminal charges being brought and certainly a "public relations" nightmare for the family and JR's business (including parent company Lockheed)- as well as a damaged future for BR if he was involved. The OTHER way was the coward's way- and obviously the way they chose to react. Stage it to look like a kidnapping by writing an inane ransom note (and leave the body there), blaming it on either a disgruntled employee (JR told Det. Arndt as soon as he brought up her body is was an "inside job", or a small foreign faction, or an intruder or all three -then call your lawyers immediately and get the governor's office involved and refuse to talk to police....well- that's why we are here today.