I'm a little bored hearing about how this tape somehow proved she was happy her kids were dead. Two weeks after my fiance died in a car accident (who I had been with for seven years) I went to a party where most of the people there were drinking, laughing, playing games, telling stories about him, etc. We all loved him, missed him and were devastated by what happened. Our partying wasn't a reflection about how we felt about him or what had happened to him in the slightest. And a few times after he died I even went to his grave and drank.
I'm sure if I had been accused of killing him my actions could have been construed as an uncaring party girl or toasting his death at his grave site. Neither of which would have been true but I have no doubt people could have viewed it that way. Lucky for me I was allowed to grieve however I needed to without anyone telling me I wasn't adhering to some publicly acceptable unwritten handbook. My fiance's birthday was a month after his death. His parents took balloons, flowers and cards to his grave. They certainly weren't happy about his death but they did want to celebrate his life. Thankfully noone had the nerve to say that their celebration of his life meant that they were really just happy he was dead.
Come to think of it Cynthia Sommer is a prime example of how society imposes a certain behavioral standard of grief on a person. Her behavior after her husband's death lead to her arrest and conviction. Years later it was proven (abnormal grief behavior aside) that she didn't kill her husband. Look at Michael Jackson..... his family had a concert!!! Nobody is accusing LaToya or Jermaine of being happy about his death. Certainly there are also everyday people who don't grieve in a way that society would deem normal. I know I have been to a number of receptions (or gatherings) after funerals and I haven't been to one yet where people weren't laughing or joking around, alcohol was served or odd music was played. My MIL passed away last summer and around twenty of us went to a restaurant/bar after the viewing to eat. We were loud, we laughed and we had a good time. Society just doesn't know what normal grieving behavior might be because, for the most part, everyday death isn't observed nation wide. Most people grieve privately and we don't see how odd behavior may, in fact, be normal.
As for Darlie and the "silly string" tape..... first, there was a prayer service just prior to the birthday party and noone knows how emotional she was at that. For all we know she cried the whole way through it. Secondly, Darlie's sister brought the silly string so I gather she too was celebrating their death? Third, there were other people there during this party. Were they all celebrating that the boys were dead as well? Sorry, but I'm not going to believe (or be swayed) that she killed her kids just because she seemed happy at an event that clearly was meant to celebrate the life of her children.