Hmm… Continuing with the dog theme, Palin was called "pitbull Palin" back during the No_Name run.
Simple, Anon. There is what happened, and then there is what the prepared story by the media said happened.
The media has long believed it is capable of dictating anything into reality by the control of public perception.
>>Or he shows up in court at a later date.
That would be the suicide weekend. In such a plot, this would simply be the epic foreshadowing.
Imagine how his public trial and execution would proceed.