I assumed that Mahon was working with the Smart family; I may have been wrong. I'm pretty sure that the family put up the billboard but that was back in the late 1990's.
Apparently Susan Flores' yard was undergoing some work at the time of the disappearance and some cement was poured a few days later. This was the basis of the search warrant to dig up the yard. The mother aggressively fought the warrant. The obvious implication of this is that if the body was buried in the yard, the Mother must know about it and was actively involved in covering up the crime.
From the earliest days of the investigation, there was a certain cloud of suspicion hanging over Susan. The local press seemed to cast her in a negative light and there was rumor and speculation that Paul called her after he killed Kristin and she helped him dispose of the body. (There is no evidence that this is the case.) The family seemed to "circle the wagon" and Susan professed that Paul was innocent and was somewhat abrasive and hostile to the media (in contrast to the Smart family) Mahon's justification for the harassment of Susan was that it was to pressure her to consent to the "dig" in her yard and otherwise cooperate with the investigation. He clearly believes she knew something. The harassment probably had something to do with Susan’s decision to consent to the "dig" that tends to vindicate her.
Overall, I think a certain amount of animosity towards Susan is based on the assumption that when a child commits a serious crime, the mother is somehow at fault. While understandable, this is obviously an unfair and cruel judgment.
Apparently Susan Flores' yard was undergoing some work at the time of the disappearance and some cement was poured a few days later. This was the basis of the search warrant to dig up the yard. The mother aggressively fought the warrant. The obvious implication of this is that if the body was buried in the yard, the Mother must know about it and was actively involved in covering up the crime.
From the earliest days of the investigation, there was a certain cloud of suspicion hanging over Susan. The local press seemed to cast her in a negative light and there was rumor and speculation that Paul called her after he killed Kristin and she helped him dispose of the body. (There is no evidence that this is the case.) The family seemed to "circle the wagon" and Susan professed that Paul was innocent and was somewhat abrasive and hostile to the media (in contrast to the Smart family) Mahon's justification for the harassment of Susan was that it was to pressure her to consent to the "dig" in her yard and otherwise cooperate with the investigation. He clearly believes she knew something. The harassment probably had something to do with Susan’s decision to consent to the "dig" that tends to vindicate her.
Overall, I think a certain amount of animosity towards Susan is based on the assumption that when a child commits a serious crime, the mother is somehow at fault. While understandable, this is obviously an unfair and cruel judgment.
