It was a story that gripped the world. Michael Smith, aged 3, and his brother Alexander, 18 months, had disappeared both reportedly in the backseat of a hijacked car. Their mother, Susan Smith, was the only witness to a shocking crime in the quietest of places. But all of that would change on October 25th 1994. Faking It: Tears of a Crime s3e9: Susan Smith
The press also began questioning the details of Susan Smith’s story, they began to delve into her private life. ibid.
She’s telling us it’s a lie because her head is moving left and right to contradict the positive affirmative statement. ibid. Cliff
What we’re hearing here is almost a laugh. ibid. Cliff
She admitted driving her car to the edge of a local lake, then letting it roll into the water with her two young sons inside. ibid.
* Cliff: Micro gestures contradict positive statement
* Dawn: Use of God to justify claim = trying too hard
Expecting her first child but then Laci Peterson disappears. Her husband said he’d gone fishing. But is he faking it? Secret phone calls, a secret lover. Faking It: Tears of a Crime s3e10: Scott Peterson
The missing person: Laci Peterson, aged 27. Laci’s husband, Scott Peterson, aged 30. The 911 call was made not by Laci’s husband but by her stepdad. ibid.
He just seems altogether too casual, too unconcerned. ibid. Kerry
Laci and her unborn child were washed ashore. ibid.
* Cliff: So calm & slight headshake
* C: It’s a smug smile and this signifies the thrill = dupring delight several times
The policewoman suspected of murder. On camera the full interrogation. Los Angeles, June 2009: the moment a murder mystery is about to be solved. For the next 70 minutes detectives would interrogate Stephanie Lazarus about a cold-blooded murder committed more than 20 years earlier [Sherri Rasmussen]. Faking It: Tears of a Crime s3e10: Stephanie Lazarus
We can see stress, anxiety, by a reddening of cheeks, nose, ears. ibid. Cliff
A female bite-mark … Officers had matched her DNA with a sample recovered from the body of the victim who’d been bitten, beaten and shot three times at close range. ibid.
You effectively see someone in turmoil. ibid. Dawn
*Cliff: Anxiety levels skyrocket: drastic reaction of skin tone, nostril flare and lips tighten
He said he lost his family in the Grenfell fire. But his story sparked suspicion. Faking It: Tears of a Crime s4e1: The Grenfell Conman
It was Britain’s worst residential fire since the Second World War. The fire broke out on the 4th floor when a faulty fridge-freezer sparked flames that set alight polythene-filled cladding that covered the Tower. ibid.
The public responded immediately moved by images and stories of families who had lost everything. More than £1 million was raised in the first 24 hours. In total £26 million was donated, and 10,000 people volunteered to help. ibid.
Anh Nhu Nguyen presented himself at the emergency health centre, telling his heartbreaking story of losing his wife and son in the blaze. He received £360 in cash, fresh food and clothing and temporary hotel accommodation … Now he was applying for a further £5,000 from the Grenfell fund. ibid.
He never lived there and nobody had ever heard of him. ibid. Kerry
Cliff: Anger & exaggerated gestures & stares at interviewer (unusual) = he’s struggling
* Dawn: Hguyen says he saw dead bodies then he says he couldn’t see anything
* C: Pitch of response increases at excitement of being believed & hesitation, lip presses,
A mother murdered found by her husband. Faking It: Tears of a Crime s4e1: David Pomphret
Warrington, Cheshire, November 2018: The victim – his wife: Ann Marie Pomphret. The scene – the secluded stables where they kept horses, 2 miles from their £500,000 home. ibid.
The first clue – his reluctance to mention Ann-Marie’s name in the 999 call. ibid.
If this was genuine sadness, you would expect to see tears. ibid. Cliff
After murdering his wife, Pomphret moved quickly to cover his tracks. ibid.
* Cliff: Raised eyebrows, asymmetric (genuine sadness brows symmetrical) & this is a forced sob & no tears & he relives incident with aggressive fists and hand gestures
Jeremy Bamber, charged with killing five members of his family … It was in the early hours of August 7th 1985 that a report came in that would shatter for ever the peaceful image of White House Farm. Faking It: Tears of a Crime s4e2: Jeremy Bamber
Bamber’s slow driving seemed odd. So did his explanation of his father’s phone call. ibid.
Bamber said straight from the outset, My sister’s a nutter. And because they believed that she was ‘a nutter’, it was easy for them to believe that she was capable of being the killer. ibid. Kerry
Massacre at White House Farm: Suicide girl kills twins and parents. ibid. Daily Express front page
I’m very confident he’s not sad. This is a fake pose. ibid. Cliff
* Cliff: Fake grief: all we see is side of face, hand covering face, brows asymmetric (we should see raised brows), pout on bottom lip (forcing chin boss upward, or pout) = we can be sure he’s faking it
Luton, Bedfordshire, May 23rd 2016: Just before midnight paramedics call police to a house 3 miles west of the town centre. They had been trying to save a woman [Saima Khan] stabbed in her own home but it’s too late. The victim is Saima Khan, a 34-year-old careworker. Her 4 children were asleep in their beds while their mother was murdered. Faking It: Tears of a Crime s4e2: Sabah Khan
Sabah Khan said she was upstairs in the bathroom when her sister Saima returned home. She had called down to her. ibid.
The murder had been long and brutal. ibid.
When the police started looking at the family, things got more complicated and dire. ibid.
‘She wanted Hafeez to herself. And she referred her sister as ‘that bitch’ in text messages to Hafeez.’ ibid. woman
Sabah Khan’s own words give her away. ibid.
* Cliff: Eyes wide open (fear) … high-pitched whiny voice
He threatened some of Britain’s most powerful falsely claiming they were paedophiles and child-killers. But what clues were there about the man known as Nick. Faking It: Tears of a Crime s4e3: Carl Beech
He claimed that as a child he and other had been sexually abused by a group of powerful men, a VIP paedophile ring that went to the top of the British establishment. ibid.
‘Crucially, he said three children had been killed.’ ibid. man
The emotions and the behaviour he’s exhibiting don’t fit with the account that he’s relating. ibid. Cliff
* Cliff: Very little eye contact, head down, not connected = deception may be at play
* C: Slight headshake no, micro shoulder raise contradicts ‘taken out of school’, pauses = depception
* Dawn: long pauses throughout, generic vague
*C: manipulating leg, feeling anxious &
*C: issue prop, no tears
Pembrokeshire, west Wales, 2011: Police receive a heartbreaking phone call. 4 days later Betty Guy was cremated. 4 years later a murder investigation began: a woman approached police claiming Betty Guy had been murdered. The man she accused – her former partner and Betty’s grandson, Barry Rogers. Faking It: Tears of a Crime s4e3: Barry Rogers
But why would anyone want to suffocate an 84-year-old woman? ibid.
Another interview, another giveaway. ibid.
He’s not convincing anyone and he’s panicking. ibid. Kerry
* Cliff: Legs moving up and down 45rpm, anxiety, stress, convince mode, checks interviewer with eye stare, drop of volume = lie
C: left hand manipulates, uneasiness, increasing anxiety, dry mouth (takes drink)
* C: mother head shakes no & lifting shoulder while claiming she didn’t head question & hang wringing then hand shrug = lie