Why were Jeremy and Julie in a relationship?

[Erik Narramore]

We're told Jeremy was a psychopath, yet he was able to conduct a serious intimate relationship with a woman who, if you don't mind me making the observation, was a bit on the plain side in the looks department.  That said, I think there was an underlying psychological drive on Jeremy's part in the relationship: Julie was a facsimile of June and represented his attempt to appease his mother, who I am sure wanted him to settle down with a 'nice girl' - as all mothers do.

Haven't we all had that conversation with our mothers (and fathers too)?  "When are you going to find a nice girl, Chevalier, and settle down?"  And haven't we all nagged our own children in the same way, without even realising we're doing it?  Some of us can ignore or distance ourselves from the well-intended parental nagging, but Jeremy couldn't because of the situation he was in: he was tied to his parents economically.

We may ask: was Julie a long-term calculation on Jeremy's part, or a genuine love?  Maybe the truth is that Jeremy did not understand fully his own motivations.  I think it must have been genuine in Jeremy's mind, but with June dead, the underlying psychological picture shifted radically and Jeremy suddenly knew the relationship was over.  Thus, the family funeral also marked the end of Jeremy and Julie as a serious relationship.  The fooling around in the funeral car perhaps signified this.  Instead of being a marriage prospect, Julie became 'just another girl' again.

[Erik Narramore]

Actually, there are rumours of Julie sleeping around.  Interestingly, the pro-guilt camp don't mention this.  And rumours are rumours.  And it wouldn't mean that Jeremy's feelings were insincere anyway.

[Erik Narramore]

I know Jeremy and Julie were from very different backgrounds, though to be fair, that doesn't necessarily mean people won't see eye to eye and we don't really know for sure what the relationship between June and Julie was like.  If the shootings hadn't occurred, Julie would have matured, her subsequent life is testament to that, and it's not hard to imagine her slotting into a life alongside June.  Why not?

But back to my point.  I proposed that Julie was a facsimile of June.  In other words, I think Julie was an (imperfect) reproduction of June by Jeremy in an effort to generally placate June.  I'm not saying Jeremy went about it purposefully, just that he may have had this vague notion floating around in his head or it was subconscious.  Julie does look plain and conservatively dressed.  She is a sharp contrast to, say, Anji Greaves, who even when she turned up at court, looked 'sexy'.  I'm generalising, though.  I don't have any greater insight than anybody else here, which is why as a rule I stay away from conversations like this.

[Erik Narramore]

Was Julie and Jeremy's relationship in decline in the months leading up the shootings?

I think it was Michael Deckers who also lent credence to this, saying that he was surprised Julie and Jeremy stayed together after the autumn of 1984.  Thus it's strange that Jeremy shared his deepest, darkest secret with her: that he had killed his entire family, including two six year-old boys.  Then again, I suppose he would have had to be unhinged to commit such a crime, therefore maybe he did tell her, despite their relationship being in decline.