I've always found the body language in this presser to be very interesting. TH seems to be trying to cuddle up to both DY and KH and neither is receptive. I was most interested by KH's responses to her. I definitely sensed he was giving her the cold shoulder. Even when he does put his arm around her, it seems like he's only doing it for show because it would be expected. The coldness emanating from him is very visible.
But the question I have is would someone who had planned and executed the disappearance and perhaps death of Kyron be acting like Terri is acting here? I'm not so sure. What I saw was a woman who knows the others are giving her the cold shoulder and is upset about it and grovelling to get some affection. Doesn't fit with her being the killer to me unless it was accidental. If she had planned the killing, she'd need to fake sadness at this presser, but I don't think she'd be grovelling. JMO.
The thing is, this presser was not what she imagined it to be. She was supposed to be the loving, perfect stepmom who's beloved stepchild was lost by a negligent school. She was supposed to be the one at the microphone, talking lovingly about Kyron and that day and how sad it is that he's missing and the school didn't have better procedures in place for tracking children that go missing. That presser was supposed to be her at the center of attention, everyone around her empathizing with her and believing and supporting every word coming out of her mouth. It was supposed to be her floor, her time in the limelight.
Instead, she's pushed to the background and given the cold shoulder. I don't think she expected that at all. I think things were already falling apart from her at that press conference. The people that were supposed to love her and support her like she did nothing wrong were instead treating her like a suspect. No one wants to hear what she has to say. No one is looking at school for fault, but at her already. Her whole plan is unravelling right before her eyes. It wasn't supposed to be this way. There wasn't supposed to be any criminal investigation. It was supposed to be a tragedy about a lost boy that featured her as the center attraction. Instead it became about Desiree, Kaine and Tony with Terri left flailing as to what her role was and why things were the way they were.
I just don't think Terri knew what to do or how to cope. She does well when there's support there. But when there's nothing and it's just her, she has no idea how to act or what to do. She was lost at that conference, lost in herself and the fact that she knew they were suspicious of her, so how should she act? How can she get back their love and trust? Maybe she thought cuddling and acting all loving was the trick, but that only made it worse. The more she made that conference about her needs, the more that the others suspected and disliked her. And she just didn't seem to get that one bit.
She is the killer. She's just gotten too lost in herself and what's best for her to care about anyone else and how they feel. Getting rid of Kyron was for Terri's benefit only. She could only think about how to get this annoying child out of her life for good. It's as if she can't feel anything except for herself. I don't think she likes being alone with herself, and that's proven in that first press conference. She was like a lost lamb, trying to find someone, anyone to understand, support, and love her in HER time of need. Kyron goes missing and it's HER time of need? How can she think about herself when an innocent child is missing? But she did. She made this all about herself and that is what has gotten her into trouble the most.
Her inability to think and empathize with others is crippling her. The more she's into herself and what's best for her, the more guilty she looks. It's no wonder Houze has put such a serious muzzle on her. It's not the just emails and texts he wants to avoid, it's her having any interaction with anyone outside of her family that he's worried about too. Unlike Baez, with an equally if not more disturbing client, he's trying to avoid Terri looking like an unempathetic, self-centered you know what. He's trying to some serious damage control for a future jury. He's going to have to work on her when the trial eventually comes because no jury is going to have any sympathy for her if she makes the whole trial about herself. It's not just about the evidence at trial, it's also about how the defendant presents themselves. I have watched crime shows (not fake ones but real ones) where jury members said out loud that it came down to how the defendant acted in court for them to make their final decision.
Terri's downfall is caring too much about Terri and not enough about what is going on around her.
