ABSTRACT
In court, Monique Henry, Jessica Davies’ mother, described her daughter as “an adolescent who was disturbed by family difficulties” and who was, as an adult, “unable to face day-to-day life”. Davies was also described as having had a troubled and dysfunctional childhood. Her mother seems to attribute much of her daughter’s distress to the fact that her father had been absent through much of her childhood, eventually leaving the family to live abroad with his mistress. While experts told the court that Davies’ consumption of alcohol, various anti-depressant pills, and cannabis would have made her aggressive, this is only a partial explanation of her behaviour. The story unfolded that after inviting Mugnier back to her flat, they tried to have sex but were unable to do so because of the drugs and alcohol they had both consumed. Cutting indicates a serious disturbance and is usually associated with extreme alienation and dissociation of feelings.
