“She wanted it “stolen”— to cry for help “
Exactly. And Hunter left the laptop from hell with a computer repairman for the same reason and left it despite calls to come get it.
The kids in that sick family are TRYING to get him caught.
And now he says the grandchildren crawl into bed with him. This is why for cases of abuse, therapists are ethically, maybe legally obligated to report abuse claims, breaking confidentiality, to social services for investigation. This is to protect future potential victims, and to identify past victims, even if the perp is dead. Jill is out on the campaign trail, she needs to be confronted.
They can't say it out loud. Maybe they are subconsciously trying to get him caught.
Ashley left the diary somewhere, so apparently there is a law about returning lost property. The diary was not “stolen” in any sense of the word, someone failed to return a lost item.