Was Patsy abused as a child? I keep seeing hints at this around...?
There has long been suspicion that this was the case with Patsy and possibly her sisters.
When asked this very question by police, Patsy's voice trailed off and became very "small" and childlike when she answered "No". She did not answer it in the manner of someone who felt vehemently that this was not true, and she vener answered that question in a polygraph.
Patsy's mother Nedra made on odd comment about JB's evidence of abuse. She said that JB was "only a little bit molested"- as if only a little bit of sexual contact with a child is no big deal.
Nedra was of the generation that DID sometimes look the other way when these things happened, considering them a family matter or the kind of thing that happens sometimes.
Sometimes the shame keeps the secret. Sometimes the secret is kept because it would be too damaging to the family or the molester (pillars of the community/church often turn out to be the worst offenders). It was thought the child would "get over it"- no real harm done, etc.
Sexual exploration among children, especially siblings, is fairly common and not what we are talking about here, but sexual exploration between siblings that results in injury (bruising, bleeding, hymenal erosion) and/or death is certainly NOT common, usual or acceptable.
And of course, ANY sexual contact between an adult and child is NOT acceptable and ALWAYS illegal, regardless of who the molester is or whether any physical harm is done to the child.
Some people feel the complete silence of Patsy's OTHER sister as far as the death of her niece was most unusual, and I agree.
Patsy's sister P, who also was a Miss West Virginia, never married or had kids, and became obese was also molested- and although these "signs" are common in abuse survivors, there is no way to prove that any of the sisters were molested by someone in their family.
