Chapter 14 - The old family story
Evelyn repeatedly said:
“You survived my parenting.”
Police eventually learned Daniel had heard versions of this before.
His older sister, Melissa, was forty.
She spoke to investigators.
When they were children, Evelyn sometimes gave them medications to make travel or illness “easier.”
I will not describe details.
Melissa remembered being given something before long car rides that made her unusually sleepy.
Was that the same medication?
Unknown.
No records.
No prosecution from childhood memory.
What mattered was Evelyn’s belief system.
She considered medication a practical parenting tool.
She trusted her own experience over medical guidance.
Melissa said:
“Mom thought doctors made everything complicated.”
Then:
“She loved us. She also thought if something worked once, that made it safe forever.”
May you like
That was the most accurate description of Evelyn I heard.
Love does not automatically produce safe decisions.
