At the end of almost three months, with faces well tanned from walking
in the meadows, Pad and Gandalf walked free.
To the casual witness sitting nearby in the courtroom, the tension
between Phoenix's mother and father was almost palpable. They were not
sitting near each other but that didn't mitigate the silent hostility
which rose through the air like steam. Phoenix's divorced parents
provided a stark contrast to Nom's adopted parents, an older, suburban
couple who were very much married.
On Wednesday, 25 August 1993 Phoenix and Nom pleaded guilty to fifteen
and two charges respectively. The combined weight of the prosecution's
evidence, the risk and cost of running a full trial and the need to
get on with their lives had pushed them over the edge. Electron didn't
need to come to court to give evidence.
At the plea hearing, which ran over to the next day, Phoenix's lawyer,
Dyson Hore-Lacy, spent considerable time sketching the messy divorce
of his client's parents for the benefit of the judge. Suggesting
Phoenix retreated into his computer during the bitter separation and
divorce was the best chance of getting him off a prison term.
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