Please write in detail whatever you know about this incident and how you would explain it.

Transcription

1 THIS STATEMENT INVOLVES A HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION INTO THE DEATH OF A YOUNG BABY. FORENSICALLY ANALYZE THE STATEMENT AND DETERMINE IF YOU THINK IT IS TRUTHFUL OR PROBLEMATIC. IF PROBLEMATIC, IDENTIFY AT LEAST THREE REASONS FOR THAT CONCLUSION. Please write in detail whatever you know about this incident and how you would explain it. On August 2 (Thurs) Jimmy (16 mos) arrived at daycare. As his mom handed him to me he threw a mild temper tantrum (which was unusual usually he comes right to me) He bumped his head lightly on door frame, she handed him to me, he continued being upset & hit me on chest. His mother stated he was tired & hadn t slept well. He settled right down as soon as I closed the door. Jimmy cuddled with me on sofa & soon he fell asleep he napped for a few hours in the morning. Nap time - Bobbie (baby that got hurt) was napping in his car seat. He was fussy not screaming but would wake up & fuss a bit either my husband (Charles) or me would rock him back to sleep. 3:05 my husband left to go pick up school children. I know the time because he said he was going to leave at 3:00 & I told him no reason to leave so early. I had been in on computer in adjoining room. Jimmy had been in his babyseat trying to nap. During that time I took Jimmy out of his seat & had him up on the sofa w/me playing w/toys. Baby (Bobbie) woke up (stirred) a few times fussed a lil & I would rock him back to sleep. Around 3:30 Jimmy was getting fussy, acting like he was ready to nap. I put him in the baby saucer to keep him safe & put up baby gate went in other room to kitchen to get his bottle ready & a lite snack & also got Bobbie s bottles washed out. While in the kitchen heard

2 Bobbie start screaming finished washing bottle but take time to get Jimmy s bottle went in living room & Jimmy had gotten out of saucer and was near baby. Had Bobbie s bottle in his hand took bottle from him & put him back in saucer. Observed Bobbie had scratches on his face one on his nose the had a some blood on it. Unstrapped him from car seat held him to calm him, wiped his face there was a small smear of blood. Checked him he had quite a few very tiny scratches on face (baby scratches), on eyelid, forehead etc. Changed his diaper & checked his body & arms thought maybe Jimmy had bitten him (as he had bite one of the other children two days before). There were no marks on him from the neck down his face was very red with red blotches one near on left near the larger scratch. He also had a lot of red raised (rash like) spots of his forehead one on the right side. My husband came home after that w/school children told him what I thought had happened w/jimmy scratching Bobbie. He said he thought he needed to get rid of Jimmy. I said he was just going through a stage. I also said I wasn t positive Jimmy had done it since I didn t see him do it. Called Bobbie s mom & told her that he had what looked like some kind of rash and had scratched himself badly. I should have just told her what I thought had happened but knew she would be very upset & I wasn t positive Jimmy had done it. Didn t mention it to Jimmy s mom when she picked up. Gave Bobbie the rest of his bottle before he got picked up & noticed a few very small drops of blood. Later when washing Jimmy up for snack noticed he also had a very small amt of blood on his fingertip. This was after Bobbie had left. When Bobbie was picked up asked the mom to call me & let me know how he was doing told her she should call his doctor was concerned about the red blotches (hives or rash exam exema) Tried to call her a few times that night to see how he was doing. At about 10:30 on Thurs. night Charles was outside working on our trailer & came in hollering up to me (was in the bathroom) that the police were there & wanted to take him in. I went downstairs & two police officers

3 were in my living room. The detective stated she wanted to bring us in for questioning concerning what had happened at the day care that day. Tried to explain to her then about what happened or what I thought happened w/jimmy. Thought I could clear it up right there.

4 Our analysis: Please write in detail whatever you know about this incident and how you would explain it. On August 2 (Thurs) Jimmy(NSI 1 ) (16 mos) arrived at (X 2 ) daycare. As his mom handed him (chl 3 ) to me he threw a mild temper tantrum (which was unusual usually he comes right to me) He bumped his head lightly on door frame, she (chl 4 ) handed him to me (double 5 ), he continued being upset & hit me on (X 6 ) chest. His mother (chl 7 ) stated 8 he was tired & hadn t slept well 9. He settled right down as soon as I closed the door 10. Jimmy (chl 11 ) cuddled with me on (X 12 ) sofa & soon 13 he(chl 14 ) fell asleep he 1 No social introduction: A truthful writer wants the reader to understand their statement. Therefore, when people are introduced into a statement they will tell us who they are. Failure to do this may indicate a problem with their relationship, or an attempt to conceal information. 2 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 3 Change in language without a change in reality is a sign of deception, except where it is from a name to a pronoun of a person already properly introduced. 4 Ibid. 5 A double indicates mental conflict or confusion, often present during deception. 6 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 7 Change in language without a change in reality is a sign of deception, except where it is from a name to a pronoun of a person already properly introduced. 8 Any conversation in an open statement is an important conversation. Stated appears to be a very formal word. 9 Explaining why something is done indicates this is a sensitive area to the suspect. 10 Closing the door in an open statement is indicative of past abuse or abuse. 11 Change in language without a change in reality is a sign of deception, except where it is from a name to a pronoun of a person already properly introduced. 12 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 13 Missing time. A deceptive suspect would rather lie by omission. Therefore, we do not seek deception in a statement, but where 14 Change in language without a change in reality is a sign of deception, except where it is from a name to a pronoun of a person already properly introduced.

5 napped for a few 15 hours in the morning. 16 Nap time Bobbie (baby that got hurt) was napping in his car seat. He was fussy not screaming but 17 (X 18 ) would wake up & fuss a bit either my husband (Charles) or me would rock him back to sleep 19. 3:05 my husband left 20 to go pick up school children. I know the time because he said he was going to leave at 3:00 21 & I told 22 him no reason to leave so early 23. I had been in on (X 24 ) computer in adjoining room. 25 Jimmy had been in his babyseat trying 26 to nap. During that time 27 I took Jimmy out of his seat (chl 28 ) & had him up on the sofa w/me playing w/toys 29. Baby (Bobbie) (chl 30 ) woke up (stirred) a few times fussed a lil & I would rock 31 him back to sleep 32. Around 33 3:30 Jimmy was getting fussy, acting like he was ready to nap. I put him in the baby saucer 34 to keep him safe & 15 Missing time. A deceptive suspect would rather lie by omission. Therefore, we do not seek deception in a statement, but where 16 Unnecessary information. Could indicate a deliberate slowdown, often done by a deceptive person trying not to get to the part of their story where they will have to lie. 17 The word but often cancels part of a sentence, usually what comes before it. 18 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 19 Explaining why something is done indicates this is a sensitive area to the suspect. 20 Left in the first sentence of a suspect possibly involved in a homicide is a sign of deception because it gives the suspect opportunity to commit the crime. In this case it serves the same purpose. 21 Explaining why something is done indicates this is a sensitive area to the suspect. 22 Told generally indicates a strong statement. 23 Explaining why something is done indicates this is a sensitive area to the suspect. 24 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 25 Unimportant information. 26 To try often implies failure. 27 Missing time. A deceptive suspect would rather lie by omission. Therefore, we do not seek deception in a statement, but where 28 Change in language without a change in reality is a sign of deception. 29 Unimportant information. 30 Ibid. 31 Failure to talk about the past in past tense is a sign of lack of commitment to what is being said. 32 Unimportant information. 33 Missing time. A deceptive suspect would rather lie by omission. Therefore, we do not seek deception in a statement, but where 34 When yellow and blue come together it is very sensitive information to the writer.

6 put up baby gate 35 (X 36 ) went in other room 37 to kitchen to get his bottle ready & a lite snack & also got Bobbie s (chl 38 ) bottles washed out While in the kitchen 41 (X 42 ) heard Bobbie start screaming (X 43 ) finished washing bottle but (X 44 ) take 45 time to get Jimmy s bottle (X 46 ) went in living room & Jimmy had gotten out of saucer(chl 47 ). and was near baby (chl 48 ). 49 (X 50 ) Had Bobbie s bottle in his hand (X 51 ) took bottle from him & put him back in saucer (X 52 ) Observed Bobbie had scratches on his face one on his nose he had a some blood on it. (X 53 ) Unstrapped him from car seat held him to calm him, (X 54 ) wiped his face there was a small smear of blood. (X 55 ) Checked him he had quite a few very tiny scratches on (X 56 ) face (baby scratches), on eyelid, forehead etc. (X 57 ) Changed his diaper & checked his body & arms (X 58 ) thought maybe Jimmy had 35 Explaining why something is done indicates this is a sensitive area to the suspect. 36 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 37 Unnecessary connection. 38 Change in language without a change in reality is a sign of deception. 39 Explaining why something is done indicates this is a sensitive area to the suspect. 40 Beginning of incident. 41 Missing time. A deceptive suspect would rather lie by omission. Therefore, we do not seek deception in a statement, but where 42 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 43 Ibid. 44 Ibid. A statement that suddenly lacks a great deal of pronouns would be a likely place where a crime is being committed. 45 Failure to talk about the past in past tense is a sign of lack of commitment to what is being said. 46 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 47 Change in language ( baby saucer to saucer ) without a change in reality is a sign of deception. 48 Change in language without a change in reality is a sign of deception. 49 Incident is over. 50 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 51 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 52 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 53 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 54 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 55 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 56 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 57 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 58 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement.

7 bitten him (as he had bite 59 one of the other children two days before). There were no marks on him from the neck down his face was very red with red blotches one near on left near the larger scratch. He also had a lot of red raised (rash like) spots of his forehead one on the right side. My husband came home after that 60 w/school children (X 61 ) told 62 him what I thought had happened w/jimmy scratching Bobbie. He said 63 he thought he needed to get rid of Jimmy. I said (chl 64 ) he was just going through a stage. I also said I wasn t positive Jimmy had done it since I didn t see him do it 65. (X 66 ) Called Bobbie s mom & told (chl 67 ) her that he had what looked like some kind of 68 rash and had scratched himself badly 69. I should have just told her what I thought had happened but 70 knew she would be very upset & I wasn t positive Jimmy had done it 71. (X 72 ) Didn t mention it to Jimmy s mom when she picked up. (X 73 ) Gave Bobbie the rest of his bottle before he got picked up & (X 74 ) noticed a few very small drops of blood. Later 75 when washing 59 Failure to talk about the past in past tense is a sign of lack of commitment to what is being said. 60 Missing time. 61 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 62 Told generally indicates a strong statement. 63 This is not a change in language since she told and he said, therefore we have two different dialogues. 64 This is a change in language from she told to she said. Change in language without a change in reality is a sign of deception. 65 Truthful people generally do not tell us what didn t happen; only what happened. This explanation also shows a lack of credibility to what happened. 66 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 67 Change in language ( baby saucer to saucer ) without a change in reality is a sign of deception. 68 Lack of commitment to statement looked like. 69 This is inconsistent with what she said she believed actually happened. 70 The word but often cancels part of a sentence, usually what comes before it. 71 Truthful people generally do not tell us what didn t happen; only what happened. 72 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 73 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 74 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 75 Missing time.

8 Jimmy up for snack (X 76 ) noticed he also had a very small amt of blood on his fingertip. This was after Bobbie had left 77. When Bobbie was picked up (X 78 ) asked the (X 79 ) mom(chl 80 ) to call me & let me know how he was doing (X 81 ) told her she should call his doctor (X 82 ) was concerned about the red blotches (hives or rash exam exema) (X 83 ) Tried to call her a few times that night to see how he was doing. At about 84 10:30 on Thurs. night Charles (chl 85 ) was outside working on our trailer & came in hollering up to me (X 86 ) was in the bathroom) that the police were there & wanted to take him in. I went downstairs & two police officers were in my 87 living room. The detective (chl) stated she wanted to bring us in for questioning concerning what had happened at the day care that day. (X 88 ) Tried to explain to her then about what happened or what I thought happened w/jimmy. (X 89 ) Thought I could clear it up right there. 76 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 77 This is out-of-sequence information. She is writing what happened after he is picked up before he is picked up. Deceptive people often use out-of-sequence information as a strategy to lie. 78 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 79 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 80 Change in language ( baby saucer to saucer ) without a change in reality is a sign of deception. 81 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 82 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 83 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 84 About is a hedge phrase indicating this might not be the correct time. 85 Change of language from my husband to Charles may indicate a distancing in their relationship. 86 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 87 Interesting, she uses the possessive pronoun my instead of our, which may again indicate a problem relationship. 88 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement. 89 Missing pronoun indicates a lack of commitment to the statement.

9 Our conclusion: This statement is very problematic. A statement can be broken into three parts: Pre-Incident, Incident, and Post-Incident. We expect the flow of a truthful statement to be approximately 20 percent Pre-Incident, 50 percent Incident, and 30 percent Post-Incident. This statement is 58 percent Pre-Incident, 24 percent Incident, and 18 percent Post-Incident. When the Post-Incident is smaller than the Pre-Incident, and the Incident is also smaller, it is clearly an indicator of a problematic statement. In addition, deceptive statements often lack commitment. There are two indicators of this: missing pronouns, and writing of the past in present tense. This statement had many missing pronouns, as well as present-tense language. Deceptive suspects prefer to lie by omission. This statement has numerous areas that reflect missing time and information. Changes of language without changes in reality are indicative of deception. This statement has numerous changes of language without changes in reality. Deceptive people often exhibit mental conflict or anxiety. This is reflected in repeated language, such as a double, which this statement has.