Does Maguad Siblings’ Murder Resonate with the ‘Orphan’ Movie?
By Derco Rosal
O n December 10, when two siblings were killed in their own home, in broad daylight, many speculations emerged suggesting that the adopted daughter, Christine (her alias)is the murderer.
According to the multiple news reports, Christine was the lone survivor of the crime and she claimed that there were three robbers who attacked the siblings while she managed to save herself by hiding in her room. Netizens are not convinced that Christine is innocent because there are many suspicious details in her story, one of which is her taking a bath after such a terror event, and especially the corpse of the victims were still in the house.
While Christine is being investigated as she still is the prime suspect, many social media posts likened the story to [some elements] of the plot of Orphan, a psychological horror movie released in 2009. Although the Maguad siblings’ case does not replicate the plot of the movie, some elements resonate with it. Firstly, both the Maguad family and the family in the movie have adopted an older orphan, someone whose consciousness has been developed even before they became members of the family. Secondly, the first crime committed by Esther (the orphan in the movie) strongly resonates with the local, real-life crime with hammer as the weapon used. Lastly, (if Christine is proven guilty) the bottom line of both crimes is the envy or jealousy felt by those who committed the crimes.
6 Lessons ‘Orphan’ Movie Teaches us about Adopting Older Kids
1. Establish open communication among the biological family members before taking home a new member.
In a family that’s more than two members, it has to be agreed upon that every information coming from the new member must be known to everyone in order to prevent anyone from being burdened for keeping any truth within themselves. What kept Esther’s evil deeds on getting worse was the siblings’ denial of the fact that they were hurt by Esther. However, one admirable behavior of Max is her honesty to her brother Daniel when critical information must be told to get away with further violence.
2. Check the history of the chosen child.
The couple’s major mistake was their immediate adoption of Esther as though she is an infant, unaware of her surroundings. Her being already nine years old must be a sufficient reason for the couple to take a little more time to dig deeper about her history. That is zooming in on her previous family, her health condition, the number of times that she has been returned to an orphanage, the cause of her separation with her family, etc.
3. Observe the child’s behavior.
It should take longer time of visiting a child in an orphanage in order to calculate the behavior she’s exhibiting, the depth of her thoughts, the level of her skills, the vastness of her vocabulary, and the correctness of her reasoning. The couple has overlooked Esther’s impressive talent because they were just biting at every interesting fact about their prospect. It was evident that their weakness was their impulse to adopt a child, that they forgot about the risks of rushed decisions.
4. Be meticulous of the little mistakes they commit and determine if the acts are deliberate or unintentional.
Noteworthy in the movie is the scene where Esther intentionally showed up and interrupted the couple’s intimacy in the kitchen. Kate’s character is commendable for reading the early warning signs about Esther’s personality. People are real in the little mistakes they make, be it as simple as saying “fucking” without a tone of hesitancy.
5. Be mindful of the house climate.
Observe how the orphan relates with other members of the family. Did anything change in the behavior of those who were constantly interacting with the orphan? New members of the family either hype the family by attempting to crack jokes, or drag the climate by giving off negative energy. If the house climate gets filled simultaneously with tension and silence, someone is suffering from chilling effect; and with that, subtle distancing should be the first response.
6. Do not be too complacent.
It’s too early to let the guard down. Think ten times before disclosing sensitive information as it may be used for manipulation of people’s emotions. Kate has been victimized of this tactic. Esther cut the roses planted around Kate’s stillborn child’s remains. It was so effective that it triggered her to hurt Esther; a chance for Esther to play victim. To not be too complacent can also be said as “do not trust so quickly” because trust kills. As a proof, you see, trust killed John.
It is of great importance that we should practice proactive measures whenever we make decisions, especially those that might threaten the safety of the people in our house. The worst case that may happen as a consequence of carelessness is a commission of heinous crimes. With that, what is asked from us is to choose to go through the exhausting process of adopting so as to prevent the likelihood of being victims of fraud, deceit, and worse, murder.
