# Why They Couldn’t Leave — The Psychology Behind Miller, Ellerup, Richins, and Murdaugh

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/true-crime-today-daily-true-crime-news-interviews-568948/why-they-couldn-t-leave-the-psychology-behind-miller-ellerup-richins-and-murdaugh
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/true-crime-today-daily-true-crime-news-interviews-568948/why-they-couldn-t-leave-the-psychology-behind-miller-ellerup-richins-and-murdaugh.md
Podcast: [True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews](https://stenobird.com/podcast/true-crime-today-daily-true-crime-news-interviews-568948)
Published: 2026-05-14T23:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://audioboom.com/posts/8903165
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/audioboom.com/posts/8903165.mp3?modified=1778697939&sid=5001260&source=rss
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/true-crime-today-daily-true-crime-news-interviews-568948/episodes/why-they-couldn-t-leave-the-psychology-behind-miller-ellerup-richins-and-murdaugh
Duration seconds: 3705

## Resource

Why didn’t she just leave? The question gets asked in every domestic violence case, every coercive control prosecution, every murder where the warning signs were visible to everyone except the person inside the relationship. The answer the public settles on almost always blames the victim. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott has a different answer — one grounded in neuroscience, clinical experience, and three decades of working with survivors. In this full three-part interview with Tony Brueski, Scott uses the cases of Mica Miller, Asa Ellerup, Eric Richins, and Maggie Murdaugh to dismantle the assumption that awareness is protection and explain what is actually happening inside the brain when a person stays. Scott recently explored these dynamics on her Substack, Spotlight on Psychology. This conversation brings that research into the true crime cases the audience already knows and turns it toward the women listening who have never heard their own experience described out loud. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #MicaMiller #MaggieMurdaugh #AsaEllerup #RexHeuermann #EricRichins #KouriRichins #TraumaBonding #DomesticViol…

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