Coquille is spinning with the news of the arrest, ten years later, of Nicholas McGuffin for the murder of fifteen year old Leah Freeman. Emotions ran high today as McGuffin plead not guilty and requested a hearing to reduce the $2M bail and possibly be let out on his own recognizance.

Cory Courtright, having kept her daughter’s long cold murder case alive by sheer will these last ten years alternated back and forth between tears and relief and tears again.

Nicholas McGuffin, the former boyfriend charged with Leah’s murder, shook uncontrollably and his eyes were red with crying and he sniffled throughout the hearing.

Some members of both families cried during the proceeding.

All of these emotions displayed were natural and to be expected but the one display of emotion I can’t get my head around is that of McGuffin’s mother. Before entering the courtroom she spoke to Cory’s back saying, “Cry all you want, Cory. Nick is innocent”.

Honestly, what was that? Cory didn’t indict or charge her son with murder. Why confront the grieving mother of a long dead child? Why make it personal, like it was between the two of them? What was that?

Does McGuffin blame Cory for not letting the case go cold? Does she believe Cory influenced the grand jury?

Hours later I am still chilled by that act. As pitiful as Nicholas McGuffin appeared today in court, after witnessing his mother’s behavior I could almost imagine her spawn being capable of disregarding another human life enough to take it.

Having said all that I, of course, can only speculate upon how I might behave in the same situation and hope it wouldn’t be the same.