Chapter 10 - Maris Did Not Want Revenge
I expected my mother to demand the harshest possible punishment.
She didn’t.
That confused me until she explained.
“I want the truth named correctly.”
We were sitting in her smaller home after investigators interviewed her.
“What does that mean?”
“If she meant to kill your father, say murder.”
I nodded.
“If she meant to drug him to control him and he died because of it, say that.”
Her voice shook.
“Don’t make it worse because we’re angry. It is already terrible enough.”
That was my mother.
Even after Lenora swung a broom toward her.
Even after learning what had happened to her husband.
Accuracy mattered.
The criminal case ultimately focused on unlawful administration of medication, fraud-related conduct, reckless endangerment resulting in death, and evidence concealment.
The exact charges shifted as prosecutors reviewed state law and medical causation.
No courtroom fantasy.
No instant conviction.
No dramatic confession before a jury.
Lenora’s recorded admissions, medical evidence, and documentary trail made the case strong, but causation still had to be argued carefully.
Her lawyers emphasized Alistair’s underlying heart disease.
Prosecutors emphasized the excess medication and intentional manipulation.
Both could be true.
My father had a vulnerable heart.
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Lenora deliberately made that vulnerability more dangerous.
That was the legal and moral center.
