This was all covered in detail on page 12 of Blue on a thread started by egap1 entitled "Did Sheila Suffer An Attachment Disorder Resulting In Affectionless Psychopathy?"
A theory was put forward re dissociative disorder and catathymic rage linked to adoption pathology with attachment disorder as a somewhat separate issue.
I guess those closest to Sheila and Jeremy were Colin and Julie respectively. In this regard and taking into account the above it is interesting to note that throughout Julie Mugford's witness statements not once does she make reference to adoption even insofar as stating Jeremy was adopted. I believe the reason for this is that Jeremy very rarely gave the matter any thought. He considered his adoptive parents as his Mum and Dad period. This can be further evidenced by the fact that he showed no interest whatsoever in reuniting with his birth parents until after his failed 2002 appeal when he sought their help and support.
Julie Mugford's mother, Mary Mugford, makes reference to the fact he referred to her as "Mummy" and made some adverse comments regarding June specifically around her interest in religion.
The witness statements of Colin Caffell, Freddie Emami, Mrs Brencher (Colin's mother) and Dr Ferguson all make a point of stating that Sheila was adopted and refer to Nevill and June as her adoptive parents. Or in the case of Freddie Emami he incorrectly refers to June as Sheila's "step-mother". This to my mind is telling and I believe indicative of the fact that Sheila had a lot of unresolved/unidentified issues surrounding her adoption which she may have touched on with others, hence their comments, and were brought to the fore by her reunion with her birth mother only weeks before the murders.
I accept this is just my take and I may be wildly wrong but I really think it is time that psychiatrists/psychologists and other professionals appropriately qualified in adoption pathology and attachment review the case.
Imo there is a real lack of understanding regarding adoption pathology and attachment. Consequently these vital aspects are overlooked and instead other more readily understandable motivations for the murders fill the vacuum ie hatred and greed.
How many people have heard of adoption pathology and attachment -v- hatred and greed? Less than 1% of the population that's for sure. So in the absence of any real forensic evidence from the soc, certainly based on today's standards, we are presented with two explanations:
Jeremy - motivated by hatred and greed - easily understood by almost everyone
Sheila - mentally ill and diagnosed as a schizophrenic
What if Sheila's diagnosis was incorrect and she was suffering from various issues associated with adoption pathology and attachment? Might she have suffered a catathymic rage brought on by the reunion with her birth mother and Nevill and June's discussion over the twins' welfare? Sheila's visit to WHF in August may well have been the first time she had spent any length of time with Nevill and June since meeting with her birth mother in April.
I certainly think the above should have either been eliminated or accepted as a possibility with some statistical likelihood of it being correct and presented to the jury accordingly.
