When a child goes missing, the first thing the public starts doing is tearing apart the parents' appearances on TV. Never mind the fact that they're not always going to act hysterical on TV, because they're still reeling from one of the worst blows life can give a parent! But seeing Trista Reynolds, mom of missing Maine toddler Ayla Reynolds, finally lose her cool on camera this past weekend is not exactly the win that rubberneckers were looking for. At least, I hope not.
Trista, whose 20-month-old disappeared from her crib in early December, broke down on camera with the Bangor Daily News when they showed up at a vigil for the missing child over the weekend, and I can't blame her. Reporters were pressing Trista on blood found in the basement of the home Ayla's dad, Justin DiPietro, shared with the little girl's grandmother.
According to a website run by Trista and her family, Bring Ayla Home, cops have confirmed to the family that the blood was Ayla's, and there seems to have been a significant amount. They're describing the amount as "more blood than a small cut would produce."
Just reading that fills my stomach with dread. And what about the news that the blood was found in the basement? What the HECK would a child's blood be doing in the basement? Ayla is supposed to have gone missing from her bedroom, where DiPietro says he put her to bed on the night of the December 16 in her polka dot PJs ... only to enter the bedroom the next morning and find an empty crib.
It's all so confusing. And chilling. And I'm not even little Ayla's mom. If I'm feeling this way, can you just imagine what it's like for her flesh and blood?
People have spent an awful lot of time judging Trista Reynolds on her on-camera appearances. Some said she was too calm. Some said she was a crappy mother. The insults go on.
Well, here you go folks, you got your angry mom going off on reporters ... because she's in a situation that no mother should ever have to face:
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Can you BLAME her? Here she was at a vigil, for one thing, where emotions were bound to be high. Add in this is the first time DiPietro met with her face-to-face after weeks of unanswered questions!? And worst of all, that blood.
Maybe Trista Reynolds' outburst will win her more credibility in the public's eyes because now she's acting the way a mom "should" act when her kid is missing, but this is not a win for her family by any standard. It's a good reminder that maybe we should stop judging these parents on how they act and just look at the awful situations they're going through. I know I couldn't bear this kind of horror ... could you?
How have you felt about the way Ayla Reynolds' family has comported themselves in public?
Image via National Center for Missing & Exploited Children