The BIG difference is that both Klass and Walsh felt guilty and had remorse/guilt about the events leading up to the abductions of their children (what if I had done this that night instead), while the VD's stated they had no remorse about anything they had done that night, and that they would not have done one thing differently.Can you imagine how you would feel? One time I thought my one son then 8 had gotten lost..all the neighbors were out..the police were out..I felt awful..it must have been my fault because I had not watched him well....(it ended up he was sick and had gone to bed early...I never said I was a brain surgeon:>)
But I remember the guilt and fear..I did not see that with them..
I have had the same thing happen, twice. Once my oldest girl, (6 at the time) fell asleep in a cardboard box. And not two weeks ago, my son who had received permission to cross the street and play with the neighbor boy until dinner, inexplicably crawled into bed and went to sleep. When I went to get him for dinner, it was panic city. Thankfully, I checked his room before dialing 911. I was freaked and he was mad that he missed his play date.
The fear and guilt is overwhelming, and the relief is indescribable.
I'm not willing to judge the Van Dams feelings of guilt or grief, or the lack of it. Public appearances and interviews are not a window into the inner heart.