Sad but true. I had a thought that perhaps she miscarried in bed from the stress. Wasn't she having trouble conceiving? The problem with some families that have strict religious backrounds is that divorce is highly frowned upon, if not totally forbidden. If she had wanted to leave him, her family probably would not have taken her in. Perhaps this is why her mother is in a "fugue state". She might know more about her daughter's marriage than she's letting on.
I'm still holding out a little hope that she ran away from home, and a friend is sheltering her. Of course that chance is slim to none...
"The problem with some families that have strict religious backrounds is that divorce is highly frowned upon, if not totally forbidden. If she had wanted to leave him, her family probably would not have taken her in. "
That's not the case here. Divorce is not forbidden among Mormons and I've never heard of a Mormon family turning thier back on thier own kid because they got a divorce. We discourage it as a solution to relationship problems that can be worked out, but recognize that sometimes there are very good reasons for it, or that it can't be avoided because of one party insists on it.
My own sister was in an emotionally abusive marriage and was encourged to get out of it by her Bishop (and my parents and all the rest of us in the family).
Given that Mark has the history of lying and covering things up, I doubt that she suddenly decided to pull off a scam by framing him. What would she have to gain if she has to stay 'dead' forever?
The more I think about this the more I wonder. It's easy to see him as the bad guy. What if *she* was the one pushing him to achieve and go to medical school. She finds out he's never going to medical school and on the same day she miscarries (hence the blood on the mattress). He comes home to find the bloody mattress and realizes she has run away. He doesn't know that he's been set up yet(bloody knife in apartment)and wants to hide the evidence of the bloody mattress so her parents don't see it.
I had relative once who was very good at being little goody-two-shoes and portraying her husband as a bad guy. She forced him to go to dental school and the whole thing just about sent him over the edge. He finally quit and she divorced him claiming physical abuse and sexual abuse. Who knows - maybe they were both crazy.