#Lisa the babysitter trial
At his trial for multiple murders, Avis blows kisses to Tony when she enters the courtroom with her boyfriend. Later, with three children, she and Tony divorce, but she continues to help Tony, giving him rides and lying to police for him, despite the sexual abuse she faced while married to him. Together they get pregnant on purpose to force her mother to sign off on their marriage. At fourteen, Avis starts dating Tony, who in his twenties often tried to garner the attention of early-teen girls. The most bizarre character in The Babysitter is not Tony, but his child bride, Avis. The result of so many interviews is over 50 hours of recordings with Tony from which Jennifer Jordan can include information in The Babysitter. After Tony’s capture, his lawyer does not believe Tony is innocent, and instead works to find a doctor who will declare Tony “guilty but insane.” It never works although all the psychologists and psychiatrists agree Tony has mental health issues, he can tell right from wrong. She’s able to quote many people, giving them voice on the page. Jennifer Jordan’s chapters are all carefully cited, with pages of endnotes containing sources. Basically, Liza’s life provides context for Tony’s world. I’m referring to seat belts, Child Protective Services, and laws ( a new one in Indiana) that requires you to report suspected child abuse lest you face the same charges as the abuser. At every turn there’s a moment when I would think, “I’m so glad there are safety regulations in place today to prevent children from needlessly suffering.” I’m not talking about helicopter parenting or preventing kids from independent outdoor activities. The accepted behavior toward children - the time Liza’s car door wasn’t secured and she flew out on a turn, hitting children, dumping kids off with strangers - all come through crystal clear.
Biscuit was born the same year as Liza and eagerly pointed out similarities between Liza’s experiences and her own, especially the way hippies traveled to and from her town, often without a trace. Liza’s chapters gave context for the time period. During our book club, Biscuit and I asked whether Liza’s chapters were needed, given that at some point her mother moves the children to a different city in which Tony does not live. What you get is a cool, multi-genre nonfiction book. Liza Rodman writers her experiences (memoir) and Jennifer Jordan uses sources to put together Tony’s story (journalism).
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