What else would you expect him to say now? If he makes any admission of guilt, it's prison time.
If prison time is in the cards, judges are usually more sympathetic when the perps show remorse.
Even if he realises he's done wrong now, he has a vested interest in maintaining his previous thinking.
He has a vested interest in looking like an insanely compulsive liar? If you say so.
I've gone from disliking him to feeling sorry for him.
That's called Stockholm Syndrome. It's treatable if you work on it.
I can't imagine what it takes to turn a person into the person he is now. He's also either terrified of what's going to happen to him or he's sociopathic - either way, this is someone's son. They must feel disappointed that this is what he's become.
I'm sure Josh is still telling them that everything's hunky-dory. But I don't really care either way.