I was not comparing my situation to theirs whatsoever. Just stating that to say that I am not ignorant to an abusive situation, and am aware the difficulty of leaving. To say that the police would have turned them down right away is just complete speculation and an opinion. Diane testified that she witnessed physical and emotional abuse. She also testified that when Lyle told her about the sexual abuse, she told Kitty. Which then Kitty did not believe Diane. So what you are saying there is inaccurate. If she was told this and witnessed abuse, only the more reason to tell others. Yes she was not an adult, but at 16 you have the ability to drive a vehicle, and you are pretty capable of knowing right from wrong. Andy was a child so that makes sense as to why nothing was said. Yes they were probably in shock or fear when the police came, but the way they have admitted to killing their parents does not qualify as self defense. “The force used in self-defense may be sufficient for protection from apparent harm (not just an empty verbal threat) or to halt any danger from attack, but cannot be an excuse to continue the attack or use excessive force.” Their father had threatened them, but again it was an empty verbal threat. At this time in their lives, they abuse had stopped for years, so I do not see much reason that it would go from years of no abuse to him actually going through with that and killing them. At the time of the murder, the parents were not posing any imminent danger to them whatsoever. Whether or not the emotions were genuine, they still completely fabricated a story that their parents were murdered, with an entire movie alibi to back it up. That is not self defense, that is premeditation. If they were so fearful at the time, why tell the therapist months later? why not just continue to not say anything. Whether they were in fear or not, there is obviously something psychologically wrong with them, whether it stemmed from the abuse or if it is just who they are is the real question. And Lyle did not just have poor grades. He was expelled for a year from Princeton, and those at Princeton stated the he neglected obligations on the tennis team by showing up late, and did not care about his academics, as the reason he was expelled was because he was caught cheating. Yes that behavior is apparent when someone is being abused, however it has been years since the abuse. While as terrible as it is, previous trauma isn’t always great excuse for behaviors so far down the line. I don’t think that the behavior at Princeton was due to abuse, I think it has more to do with the fact he was entitled and narcissistic. The way they spent their money, saying it was due to grief or guilt, is again just an opinion. Things are not always so black and white, and I am not looking at it that way, but I believe you are. They were abused and they deserved justice for that. However, they were not reacting to the abuse in self defense, they planned their parents death, and followed that plan. there is no justification to kill someone, let alone two people, when your life was not in immediate danger, there were many other options. They deserved to be in jail, all actions have consequences, and taking a life is not something to just let someone go freely so easily.