Diena Thompson Vows to Attend Trial
The story of Somer Thompson is a sad one. She was a little seven-year old girl who disappeared on October 19, 2009, in Florida, and was found several days later in a Georgia landfill. Her mother, Diena Thompson, made several pleas for her daughter before and after she was found, and in an irony, leaked a lot of smiles just like Tiffany Hartley does. Yet police arrested a young man, Jarred Harrell, 158 days after Somer disappeared for her murder. They searched his house days after the murder. Then four months later, he was their man. We are now waiting for the trial to begin.
Read moreThis case has fascinated me from day one. Something is amiss, but until all the facts come out, I don’t know that we will know what it is. I do not trust Diena Thompson.
I can tell you that just like Tiffany Hartley, I have not seen one interview with Diena where she comes across as consistent, and both of these woman have done dozens and dozens and dozens of interviews. How can that be, if they are telling us what they know is true?
In this video, when they first show Diena talking about Harrell being a monster, you can’t miss the glowing joy that she is feeling. One could almost use the word “euphoric” to describe her and we’ve seen this emotion from Diena before.
What monster who killed your daughter is going to make you glow like that? What would make her glowing make sense?
When Matt Lauer talks to Diena, she is truly hurting here. It’s noteworthy for me because while we did see small glimpses of it over the past year from Diena, we didn’t see it to this degree.
Was she in shock before, and it wore off? Did Diena show signs of shock in the first few days and months of her interview? I don’t recall seeing her shock, but I am not an expert on shock.
When Diena talks about the one year anniversary vigil to remember and celebrate Somer’s life, she is truly feeling authentic pain. This has been a very rare expression for Diena. I can’t help but question: What has changed? What has she comes to grips with over this past year, if she wasn’t in shock and denial, that is causing her so much pain now?
Matt Lauer asks Diena if it is the best thing for her to attend the death penalty trial, and we see the first of Diena Thompson’s smirks again, but it quickly fades as she gets real again. She says, “I feel like it is, you know. I still feel guilty for what happened to Somer, and so I want her to know that I’ll always be there for her no matter what the…”
Matt Lauer asks an excellent question about Diena feeling guilty. He says, “You did talk to your daughter about stranger danger [Diena nods her head yes], but you feel that there is more you could have done. What did you say and what do you wish you’d had said?”
Diena speaks truly from the heart here, which is so notably to me and what she says has significance to me. She says, “I don’t think it is so much what we say. Of course we should tell our kids not to talk to strangers, but at the same time, if I were to invite you to my house, and I introduce you to them, to them in their little minds, their young minds, you’re no longer a stranger. That doesn’t mean your a safe person and we need to stop just telling our children things and teaching them, if you have a bad feeling, run the other way, if someone tries to snatch you, you kick scream, punch, bite, I don’t….”
This stands out to me. Diena seems more focused on people we invite into our house rather than the stranger down the street, like the one who allegedly killed Somer.
Diena truly doesn’t want this to happen to anyone else. She makes this very clear for the first time. But she says something really odd, she says she couldn’t afford the expenses after her “baby passed away.”
Passed away? Poor little Somer was murdered by a ruthless murderer, if the police have the right suspect. Why isn’t she angry about that?
When the trial in this case happens, I will be glued to all the news reports. I want to see what the evidence is in this case. Somewhere, somehow the pieces, if they are correctly identified in this mystery, will make everything make sense. If we fail to get to the truth, however, things will never add up.
Thanks to Karon for the video lead.
