The decision to let the children testify had been one of the hardest Emma had ever made. She had wanted to protect them, to shield them from the public scrutiny and legal pressure that testifying would bring. But Jennifer had convinced her that their testimony was crucial, that no amount of adult evidence could replace the impact of hearing from the victims themselves.

"The jury needs to understand what Daniel did," Jennifer had said. "Not just intellectually, but emotionally. And the ...