IMO, we need to take care not to place her in the perpetrator column either just yet as I don’t feel that there is enough convincing evidence. For him, on the other hand, there are multiple corroborating witness accounts, official records plus his own words and behaviour on the witness stand that paint a definite picture of dishonesty, lack of empathy and a propensity for threats of violence and coercion. There is a very real possibility of domestic abuse directed at both her and the children spanning many years. Understand that it’s frustrating that she is not being cooperative when it’s highly likely that she is aware of significant information. She may have even wittingly or unwittingly been an enabler to him with his shady operations. She may, however, have not had a choice. She is certainly not the perfect victim. But with domestic abuse it is not usually black and white. Victims can sometimes display resistance (as in the neighbours’ story). This is not necessarily an inconsistency, just the reality of an abusive relationship. Not all victims are cooperative with their abuser 100% of the time. I can’t imagine that AKA would have been a joy to live with and it’s very plausible that she attempted to assert herself from time to time. She has been in the relationship for many years but that is very common in cases of domestic abuse when you understand the concept of entrapment. Why didn’t she leave? Like many victims of domestic abuse, she may not have had a choice. It is a well known fact that the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is after the victim expresses the intention to leave. There are plenty of recent cases that illustrate this eg Hannah Clarke. Perhaps Ilona was in a similar situation. Further, as a society, we have traditionally turned a blind eye to domestic abuse and as a result there is not a lot of support for victims who want to get out. There is more awareness now but we still have a long way to go. I just wonder if she did decide to leave now and cooperate with the investigation whether it’s realistic to expect that she would receive sufficient support. This man has been reported to the authorities on numerous occasions over the past 4 decades and he has never been held accountable and is still walking free. There’s never the guarantee of incarceration and she could be left in a situation where her life was constantly in danger. In addition, it’s highly probable that she has been voluntarily or involuntarily involved in some of his nefarious activities eg social security fraud, (also very common in abusive relationships) so she would have the possibility of getting caught for this Apologies for the long post but I believe it’s really important that we understand this case in the context of what we now know about how domestic abuse and coercive control operate.
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