There was a third. Victim, suspect, witness or lamb?

Much has been told to us about the events surrounding the killing of Darcy Alan Sheppard. He has been vilified beyond any logical reason. The alleged killer, Michael Bryant, has taken some flack but has gotten a lot of sympathy too. Yet there was a third person there through this dramatic story that we have virtually heard nothing about or from. Mrs. Susan Bryant, who is formally known through her maiden name Abramovitch. What is not clear is her role in all of this. Was it of a victim, suspect, witness or a lamb?

After the initial news got out that the alleged killer was Ontario’s former Attorney General Michael Bryant, a radio host picked up on the reported hair colour of the passenger in Bryant’s car. It was reported as blonde. The host was familiar with Bryant and his wife. He asked who was in the car with Bryant, cause his wife was a brunette. I immediately thought this was a case where the husband did not want to be caught with another woman. Later the police through the media would confirm that it was indeed his wife. Yet I have not seen any pictures of her at the crime scene nor leaving the police station beside her husband or for that matter leaving anything connected to this case at all. No eyewitnesses bandied about in the media telling us about the state of Mrs. Bryant as police arrived. Is a conspiracy theory to this shortly to follow?  The media has been all over this story, we know what the accused and victim ate before the collision, though little said about Mrs. Bryant.  There are no statements from Mrs. Bryant. Even the blog media has kept their distance. What was her role in all of this? If anyone could have stopped this madness before it escalated she was in the best position to stop it. Why is she so off limits?

Was she a victim? Did she fear for her life after coming into contact with Sheppard? Was she frozen with fear when things escalated? Did she fear her husband so much that she just kept quiet and just hoped she would live through it all to get out of the car with her body intact? Could she have stopped this?

Is she a suspect? Could she be a suspect? Did she incite Sheppard by calling him names? Egg on her husband into ramming Sheppard harder? Dig her high heel into Bryant’s accelerator foot, thereby not allowing him to stop the car in time? Did she want to stop this?

It is a pretty safe bet to say she was a witness. A witness to probably the most horrific thing she will ever experience in her life. There are whispers she has been seen with some very heavy duty family lawyers. This is not news. She is a lawyer herself, reportedly a very good one, and probably comes into contact with many different types of lawyers every day. Yet it is probably safe to say she and Bryant have substantial marital assets. These are at serious risk with anything short of a full exoneration for Mr. Bryant. There is no doubt in my mind that a prudent wife in this situation would take steps to ensure they are protected in case of a loss.

While maybe it is unfair to ask whether she could have stopped this before it got out of control, it is fair to ask why she has not put her story out there. If she has evidence to exonerate her husband why not speak up and get him out of this jam? Why wait months for a trial to do it. No one has suggested or even hinted that Mrs. Bryant will give nothing but the truth if she gives a statement or is called to testify. Unfortunately for her, she has been served a huge credibility problem the second her husband’s public relations firm, Navigator, was called in. Even as she tells us the absolute truth to what she saw and experienced we will be wondering how much of this will be coming from Navigator. It is hard to overcome cynicism when it comes to PR firms. This issue is one that has caused agreement from all sides as they speculate. Agreeing that anything, going forth, coming out of her mouth has been spun. Though maybe that is what she is, a sacrificial lamb. Her credibility and good standing to be served up in the very near future to keep her hubby out of the slammer.

There is only one person that can answer all of these questions. So far she has said nothing.