The fact that Jodi's mom was initially horrified and disgusted to the point of physical sickness when first discovering information that suggested Jodi committed this hideous crime, and now seems a stalwart supporter of Jodi's is actually pretty common with the parents of those accused of crimes. Her initial gut reaction is, "Jodi's sick, she's mentally ill, her friends have been warning me, oh gosh how could she have done this and then seemed so NORMAL right after!". Because this realization is so painful, so abhorrent the parents then back away from those initial honest reactions and start to consider and cling to alternate reasons for this behavior to explain or minimize or justify the crimes of their children. It is a defense mechanism to protect themselves from the pain of the truth-that their child is capable of evil sick behavior. It is easier and less traumatic to believe that your child accidentally hurt someone, or killed only to protect their own life etc. if you recall Cindy Anthony's 911 call where she hysterically urges the police to come because her granddaughters missing and her daughters car smelled like a dead body!!! That statement was the truth and exposed Cindy's fear and understanding that her granddaughters dead little sweet body had been rotting in that car. She knew the truth in that moment. But then she backed away from that truth. Because Cindy is bad? No, because that truth was simply too awful and impossible to live with. It is human nature to do that. I have seen this time and time again in cases.
For the record, I do not condone these behaviors or think it is ok to trash victims because your reality is too horrible and you can't deal with it. I'm just saying this is a very common reaction for parents. I think it's better to hold the truth right in front of your face and confront it, so you can actually learn something and grow from it, and then do something positive for the world from your pain.
