Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I agree that it must be incredibly difficult for his family to have so many unanswered questions and to try to wrap their heads around this. I can't fathom the behavior of these sick losers. I have been watching the trial on Court TV and never saw MS laugh or smirk when they were talking about his wife being hit--I saw him weeping and his face filled with angst. I will have to rewatch it. If he isn't guilty, he must have to contain a lot of rage which is why I think that he makes himself busy by scribbling to not get worked up. If he is guilty, then the scribbling is just the nervous behavior of someone who sold his soul.
QUOTE="jypsijemini, post: 15610504, member: 255467"]
I got the sense from scrolling through MS' Facebook timeline that his father passed away some time ago.
I can only speculate, but I imagine that Teresa's relatives are there because they want answers. They'd already feel as though there is some justice after CWW and JRR's convictions - but maybe they're still questioning whether MS was ever really involved. If I were in their shoes, I'd be replaying everything in my mind. It'd be torture. Having to sort through all the times they were concerned mixed with all the times they found something to like about him, things they thought were proof that he loved their daughter/sister. The times his behaviour made them feel like he was a good dad. The times Teresa may have confided in them about her concerns. It'd all be a mush of "buts" and "what ifs".
It'd be hard for them not to wonder what more they could have done. What they could have picked up on. How they could have helped. The grief, though years have passed, must still be so hard to deal with.
But it must be particularly difficult to see how uninvolved and blasé MS is acting during his trial. He's being accused of conspiring to murder his wife and there's a defining moment during the defences opening statement where he smirks and giggles to himself as his attorney is describing the first time Teresa is hit with the hammer. The attorney bellows "BAM" through the silent courtroom and the camera is fixed on MS. He smirks and can't hold it in. He giggles to himself. It's absolutely infuriating to watch. I wish the jury was allowed to at least replay any and all videos from the trial for themselves in their spare time rather than being limited to their short term memories and their notes - so that they could catch this moment. I wonder if any of them did. I hope that when they deliberate, at least one of them brings up his courtroom behaviour with the others. Not that this has very substantial bearing on their verdict but to me, it's incredibly important to note the way a defendant acts when put on trial for a felony murder.
Like Jodi Arias. Besides the damning evidence, I, and I believe most people were absolutely shocked by her behaviour in the courtroom. It brought out a whole other side of Jodi Arias and I think what we see in her are key trademarks of pure narcissism. It's a bit different when a person is just a stone-cold killer - they brag about it. They threaten to keep doing it. They attack and taunt the victim's family. That's just learned behaviour. It's immaturity. It's a product of their upbringing - often those sorts of people were known to police from a very early age, did time in juvenile detention and spent the majority of their lives in prison. They are just violent people, products of a violent and loveless life.
But people like MS and Jodi? They had supportive, attentive and honest parents. They did not suffer significant childhood traumas. They had successful relationships that ended amicably (before their victims). They were well liked by their friends and acquaintances. They both seemed to understand that violence and aggression only draws attention and doesn't get them what they want. A true narcissist is also a skilled chameleon. They know how to mirror people. They know how to mask themselves in a way that earns people's love and trust. They are incredibly patient - like a predator. They will only strike and show their true selves once their prey is lulled into and hypnotised into a false sense of security. When they're completely and utterly vulnerable.
MS couldn't get to this point with Teresa. She was too strong. Too independent. Too sure of what she wanted. I think he misjudged her right from the beginning and established himself as the doting, submissive boyfriend, which turned into the housebound, unemployed, sexually frustrated husband. He didn't play his cards well enough. He was tied up with the children and risked losing them completely if he murdered his wife himself. He had to get someone else to do it. But he wanted it done nonetheless. It didn't matter to him - he isn't a psychopath with a lust for gore, torture and death. He's just a narcissist.
He was never fully able to establish power and control over her. She brought in the money. She determined whether or not other people were allowed into their bedroom. She was direct and unapologetic when admitting that she fantasised about having another man join them. This must have made MS' blood boil. She didn't worship him like he'd wanted her to. He tried to be everything he thought a woman would crumble for - but not Teresa. She was her own woman. She was the master of her own life. You could ask Teresa to do something, you could suggest it to her and give her advice, but at the end of the day, Teresa always made her own decisions.
Nothing is off limits to a narcissist. MS was just a dormant sleeper-cell. They will exhaust every avenue, every option until there is no other choice. Leaving is not a choice. That's like giving up to them. They can't accept that. They can't accept relinquishing control. They've spent so much of their time and energy on this person. Not all narcissists will kill or contract to kill, but they won't go down without a fight. They won't just let you go and accept defeat. Even something as simple as silent stalking allows them that feeling that they're still involved with their victim. They're keeping an eye on you. You're still unable to escape them - they will only move on once they've found someone else to control or practice their 'skills' on.
MS tried. He had numerous other women to contact. He was unfaithful. In fact, he could have probably had all the sex he wanted if he chose to pursue these sexual relationships with other women. He messaged "barb bonk" countless times with "good morning darling" messages. They spoke multiple times day after day - particularly in 2013. This was only two years before Teresa was murdered. He was married. He was living with his wife and two daughters. Hell, his daughter was potty training at this point. He had the "American dream" - a comfortable home, a beautiful wife, two well-educated daughters with many hobbies. He sat on his *advertiser censored* most days while Teresa brought home big money. They owned and ran their own private medical practice. Teresa, motivated and successful and hard-working, still did all she could to please him, nourish him, care for him, to meet his needs and desires.
This wasn't enough for MS. He wanted more. He spoke to other women. He *advertiser censored**** other women. He messaged them daily with the same sort of small talk he used to speak to his wife. But it didn't satisfy him. Not like controlling a powerful woman like Teresa would have.
And then he realised that she was holding the rug and getting ready to pull. She'd had enough and he knew that when she made up her mind about something, that was it. He knew separation was imminent. She'd been divorced once before. She wasn't scared to start again. She had enough money to divorce him. She had such a promising future that she wouldn't even have time to look back. If she left him, that would have been IT.
He was sent into survival mode. He couldn't save their marriage. He couldn't change her mind. He didn't really want to change. He wasn't capable of real, lasting change. He'd done what he could to convince her that it was possible, but he couldn't commit to it. He knew that someone else would prove himself to her as a better suitor and better partner and better lover and god forbid, a better father figure to their children. To MS, this was inconceivable.
He would have tortured himself for weeks with these scenarios playing out in his head. Moving out of the family home. Teresa meeting someone new. Maybe a client. Maybe a fellow doctor. Someone who mirrored her passion for health and healing, who understood energies and holistic medicine like she did. Someone who made his own living, was independent and strong. And then the divorce papers would come. Their lives would be separated all over again. He'd have to fight her for custody and he'd lose, reduced from a full time father into a weekend dad. She might move away - and then he'd only see the girls during school vacations and for the holidays. As they got older, they'd want to spend more time with friends and boyfriends than with him. They'd grow attached to their new stepdad. The pain he'd feel seeing the new man in family photos with his wife and daughters...
There was only one way to avoid any of this.
MS arranged to have his wife killed.
He manipulated his best friend of thirty years into murdering his wife. He bribed him with money. He guilted him with reasoning: that Teresa was cheating on him, leaving him and had threatened to take his daughters away from him. He took advantage of this life-long relationship with his oldest friend. He used him.
Like a true narcissist, MS didn't care what the repercussions would have been for CWW. He wasn't trying to protect him from getting caught - he just didn't want to be linked back to the crime once they found out who did it. In fact, it strongly seems like MS anticipated that the police would find out that CWW was responsible. He knew they'd need burner phones to organise the murder. He knew that he'd have to make any murder-related payments to CWW look like they were his regular wages. He knew that he'd need an alibi. He knew that someone would need to find the body before he arrived home with the girls. He knew that he'd need to contact Dr P the night before to "check on" him so that he could ask MP to "check on" Teresa the next morning. He knew the doctor's assistant would have to contact him when she couldn't contact Teresa. He knew that Teresa's absence from work that morning would not go unnoticed. He planned it all meticulously. He was incredibly calculated and thought that he'd covered all his bases.[/QUOTE]
