Tara L., The Mistress/Soon To Be Wife #2

Nothing excuses Chris. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

But I really think she was the puppet-master. And I hope someday we find out more.

stmarysmead said:

Nothing excuses Chris. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

But I really think she was the puppet-master. And I hope someday we find out more.

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I was wondering if she wore the promise ring to show that it wasn't some fling that ended with Sheri and the boy's being killed. Doesn't make a hill of beans difference, but maybe its how she makes herself feel better about what happened. Maybe she just doesn't want to look like a *advertiser censored*.

I was also wondering if wearing the ring to show that CC pursued her. That its his fault, she is a victim of falling for a man.

But it is very obvious that she was the aggressor. She really strikes me as the type that gets off on being in control. She went on a cruise with another man, yet IIRC she was against CC going to Disneyland. I don't think that it had anything to do with not wanting CC to be with Sheri, but how dare he do anything that even remotely looks like CC choosing another woman, even his wife, over her.

That whole video of CC where he sounds like a little boy is telling too. I can't see any woman being attracted to a man that sounds like a little boy in those kinds of situations. But I can maybe see an extreme control freak being into it.

You make some interesting points that I hadn't thought about much. I have wondered a bit about T having a role in this crime, but honestly I think that CC would have said something by now. T may be a master manipulator, but CC seems like the type that would do anything to save his skin and avoid taking responsibility for his actions.

Then again, if he admitted that T had a role in it he would be admitting to his role too.

who knew? said:

I agree - Tara was definitely not loyal. If you remember, Tara went on a cruise with another man while she was "promised" to Chris. I also think she was involved in some way, but it doesn't excuse Chris for what he did. And she didn't need to worry about him talking because he didn't want to admit guilt and he would have had to.

When she was described in court, they said she looked at Chris for a long time. Did anyone see how he reacted to her? I don't remember seeing that mentioned.

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I believe Chris Hayes reported that he looked down and swallowed hard -- if you check his Twitter feed or Facebook page you can see all of his updates from the trial. He caught a lot of good detail.

the only reason to lie IMO is to cover up something bigger, such as her involvement

if everything came out in court, it makes no sense to lie about that minor detail unless that admission would lead to other things she's hiding

and the ring was IMO an obvious silencer - make Chris think she was still loyal to the end and possibly a reminder that she's the only one who knows the entire truth and the only one who will hold his secrets as long as he holds hers

I think there's much more to his life (and hers) that we haven't been privy to

Is it possible for Tara to be charged or was there an immunity deal to get her to testify?

IMO, she is every bit as guilty as CC. Whatever happens, I hope she never has another good night's sleep in this lifetime.

Once again, I'm betting on Karma.

LadyL said:

the only reason to lie IMO is to cover up something bigger, such as her involvement

if everything came out in court, it makes no sense to lie about that minor detail unless that admission would lead to other things she's hiding

and the ring was IMO an obvious silencer - make Chris think she was still loyal to the end and possibly a reminder that she's the only one who knows the entire truth and the only one who will hold his secrets as long as he holds hers

I think there's much more to his life (and hers) that we haven't been privy to

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I don't think she's loyal at all. I really can't figure out why she wore that ring to court but, I do believe she had an ulterior motive. I just can't figure out what it was:waitasec:. I just cannot believe she was truly "in love" with CC.

If it turns out she was in on the murders, I will not be surprised one bit.

Fairy1 said:

I don't think she's loyal at all. I really can't figure out why she wore that ring to court but, I do believe she had an ulterior motive. I just can't figure out what it was:waitasec:. I just cannot believe she was truly "in love" with CC.

If it turns out she was in on the murders, I will not be surprised one bit.

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I would love to know more about her past history with Sheri dating back to their high school years. This whole affair reeks of passive aggressive anger and massive manipulation.

On the ring, I'm not so sure that it was HER idea to wear it. As she witnessed for the prosecution, undoubtedly to save her own skin, I can see her producing the ring back during the earliest investigation as proof that he pursued her. She may have spun it back then as his being obsessed with her so as to minimize her own guilt/responsibility. Back then, she may have been sweating bullets trying to keep from being charged also. So the ring may have been produced (by the prosecution) for the jury to see as the fastest and easiest method to make the point that Chris was indeed obsessed with her while he was still married to his wife, and seeing it ON her finger made that point in the starkest and most undeniable way, having the most shocking impact.

On the dates of when their affair started: if it is shown that the affair really did start before the "public consumption date" they gave, it sure looks pretty damning. If they were ALREADY involved, what happened on that ONE EXACT CONFESSED DATE that changed his life forever?? He hands HER the responsibility when he says SHE changed it forever, not that his life (in general) changed forever, but that TARA changed it forever. The only explanation I can think of other than she proposed a plan for him that would free him completely is that maybe he simply said he would divorce his wife if she would marry him and she said yes. If Tara and Sheri had not been "best friends" (NOT, blech, puke) I might be somewhat inclined to believe that. In this case, and given what we know about Tara's scheming personality, I don't believe it.

Another cue to the scheming personality is the WAY-out-of-boundaries communication between Tara and Chris's brother. I have a hard time believing he would text her what he did without a "come-hither" cue of some kind to him. I've known these types of women AND men who are walking "come-ons" any time their partner is looking the other direction. Strippers learn this technique to get men's friends to drool over them more to increase the desire from the "main man/deep pocket". Its sorta the same dynamic of walking across the stage holding an "applause" sign to work up the crowd.

OneLove said:

I would love to know more about her past history with Sheri dating back to their high school years. This whole affair reeks of passive aggressive anger and massive manipulation.

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respectfully snipped

No kidding! I was wondering what was going on then too. I remember recently reading that Sheri's brother asked her to marry him on Myspace or Facebook, although it could have been a joke.

I might have read that she sent him a nude picture as well, but I know I read somewhere that Chris' brother sent TL a picture of him naked. What is wrong with these people?

Great post, One Love!

You touch on everything that is gnawing at me.

I believe this whole tragedy began with one woman's jealousy of another. Tara's "best friend" was married to a man with a secure, well-paying job; she had two beautiful sons; she had a lovely home and the financial ability to go on church missions.

Tara had a job as a dog track waitress. That's it. But I believe she decided to take everything away from the friend she envied. But who wants kids? Not high-living Tara.

I think she went after Chris...who sounds like he has the maturity and"experience" of a 12 year old. ...and he was as soulless as she.

That "promise ring" does not look in any way like what it is supposed to be. She even wears it on her thumb. I can't imagine anyone asking her about that cheap, ugly thumb ring. It could so easily have been their secret. She must have been the one to "explain" it to police or prosecutors. Nothing else makes sense. It wasn't an engraved solitaire that she could not deny!

IMO she wore it to court on orders. And definitely, there was something in it for her. There cannot be enough evidence now to charge her...but, in time...either from the civil trial or from The Forgotten Inmate Coleman himself...we may get the full story.

Do you think Tara will write a book, or sell her story to a rag?

robinparten said:

Do you think Tara will write a book, or sell her story to a rag?

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I'm sure she'll try if she can. I can't imagine many folks will be sympathetic to her. She's more likely to be raked over the coals.

I'm surprised that promise ring didn't slip off from all the blood on her hands. Don't worry, there's a special place in h3ll reserved for Tara.

It's goodness I want to remember now - Sheri, Garrett, and Gavin.

Ten years later, and Tara has successfully slipped into obscurity.

Her life has gone on, as if the horrific murders of a woman and two children...are just something she once read about in the morning papers. Maybe she is in a new relationship, or married and had a child of her own. I doubt she has the moral capacity to carry any guilt for the part she played, whatever that might have been.

I wonder if she still has any contact with Coleman. I wonder if he still thinks she was worth it.

I wonder about all of that too, Stmarysmead.
I’ve been haunted by this case since it happened.
While I believe CC murdered his precious family,
Tara’s detachment of sheri’s suffering during the months long affair (she knew damn well Sheri was desperate for
her marriage to survive) was chilling.