Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Led Into Temptation

Investigative Discovery recently aired “Led Into Temptation", the story of the murder of Christa Baker Alexander. Although I’m older than Christa and Couty so I never met them, we have acquaintances in common. Christa’s murder-- or more correctly the fact that Couty was the murderer—was one of many events that poked holes in the bubble I had been living in all my life. You raised your children “right”; as the child, you did “right”. Things like this weren’t supposed to happen to us. Things like this just would never have the opportunity to happen. Except. . . here was proof that they could.
I think that part of Couty wanted to do "right"-- which is why he courted and married Christa-- but another part of him just couldn't take the pressure and escaped into his job. That side eventually won and he snapped under the pressure of trying to live a double life. Those who knew Couty will tell you that they never saw this side of him. Everyone believed his original story at first because nothing else seemed to fit with what they knew of Couty. Some think that Christa was gathering clothes to leave him (maybe she had proof of the affair?). This would expose his cover. If his family found out about his double life, his relationship with them would be forever altered. I don't think it was that he thought that murder was the lesser of two evils—divorce vs. murder. I don't think he was that rational. I think he just wanted to stop his life from forever changing-- and then the gun went off. I feel for both the Bakers and Alexanders who did lose three members of their families that day—Christa, the baby, and the Couty that had been lost somewhere along the way.

I think the network did a good job at portraying a fundie family. . . though I'm snarky enough to point out a few errors!