from the way the Rs denied even the possibility of prior abuse, I'd say it's a safe bet to assume the prior abuse was the motive. Either to keep her from telling, or because of the reported mega JonBenet intervention-this is where I think the Rs concern for outward appearances might have come into effect. No way would they want people to know or look down on them. IMO, it seems like their family dysfunction had gotten so far out of control, that others were noticing and planning to take action. IMO, this would be really hard for a friend to do, so obviously, a group of them discussed the situation and decided to handle it together. A soon as I 1st heard about the intervention, I thought it might have played a part in PR's rage...I wondered if she heard something about it at the Ws? PR wouldn't take kindly to outsiders poking into family business, and if you think about it, the murder of JB erased the planned intervention. IMO, the rape with the paint brush was probably done to 'explain' away the prior abuse. I don't think the killer realized that examiners would be able to tell the difference. moo