Thursday, March 6, 2014

Exercise: Casey Anthony's Method of Deception

We have previously analyzed Casey Anthony, who killed her daughter Caylee, several years back, and invented 'reality', making her a rare 'true liar'; that is, one who creates.

In analysis we learned that discerning her deception takes time, but she is not a 'brilliant sociopath.'  She may be a sociopath, but she is not brilliant.

Simply put:

If you look at her sentences, underline all "additional" words; that is, all the words that, if removed, still allow for a complete sentence to remain, with essential meaning in tact.

"I don't remember" is a common excuse, but with Casey Anthony, she actually signals when she is deceptive:  "I don't remember all of it at this time"; indicating that yes, she knows, but just not at "this time" (and "all"), which is not convenient for her, like, when she is under oath.  That would be an inconvenient time to remember.

Readers of Statement Analysis would do well to study Casey Anthony, including statements she has made that have analysis published.

Here is a wonderful example of not only deception, but how our words reveal our personalities.  This exchange in her deposition will give you insight into the wrath that Caylee met, while still alive, having duct tape placed over her mouth.

Click here for deposition transcript.

Note how many sentences she uses that she is unable to use in short, truthful form.  Note the abundance of qualifiers she adds, even, perhaps, when there is not cause to do so.

She is deceptive in the way you and I breathe; naturally, and consistently.

Post your findings in the comments section.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Peter,I am on a mobile/cell phone.When I clicked the link,I recieved 17 pages of a document marked"private and confidential"and "warnings"? Is the file the intended one? Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

Sorry 107 pages.

John Mc Gowan said...

Hi Peter,

I there another link to this Q and A were we can copy and paste to make it easier. My typing is not the quickest and it going to take me till Easter to finish it. LOL.

John Mc Gowan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Statement Analysis Blog said...

John,

I wish!

Had I been able to copy and paste it, I would have set it up here, and done some analysis.

It is fascinating.

thanks VitaK!

Peter

John Mc Gowan said...

Thanks Peter.

Anonymous said...

Peter thanks for posting this. It is rare we see a liar who lies so much. The way you took apart her sentence revealed her true nature. She is a liar, inventing reality. I wish the prosecution had you on their team to cross exam her on the stand so true justice could have been served.

Sus said...

I'm taking a break from reading it. Her explanation of why she was upset during the vonversation with her mother is head-spinning!

Anonymous said...

It always floors me how Casey made up Zanny the Nanny. Peter, is this what you mean by "inventing reality". I think I understand the term but I'm not quite sure because it's a little confusing. Did her body language indicate 'duping delight'?

JoAnn said...

I'm only on page 7 & have filled a notebook page. Did you really mean for us to post our findings while doing this, or just generalize after going through the whole thing. There is so much "I don't remember, and statements where "I'm sure" is immediately followed by a qualifier like " maybe" or "probably." Seeing it in print is really something! "I'm sure there probably were...."
Thanks, this is a good exercise, and will probably take days!

Sus said...

Whoops! I was spinning more than I thought...conversation.

Anonymous said...

I love when Peter gives exercises like this. Its going to take me a long time but I am thinking next to the word 'liar' in the dictionary there should be a picture of Casey's face. This is a rare opportunity to get a look into the words of a liar, one that invents reality.

Shelley said...


Speaking of Casey.... And the bags removed from Myra's home....


Bags of evidence were also removed from the homes of Zahra Baker, Caylee Anthony and Elaina Steinfurth

Not sure if that means anything, but it sure does concern me. Not that I was not immediately concerned by their lack of urgency and their lack of further action… But that does make me more concerned that my worst fears may be reality.

GeekRad said...

I can't wait to read the transcripts now that I am learning SA. Not today though- heavy workload with deadlines to meet.

JoAnn said...

"So I'm sorry, I stand behind what I said at the moment."
This could be the CA motto.

"My answer is going to be..."
"I would say that is absolutely not the truth."
"I didn't know it for myself."

I cannot imagine questioning someone who answers like this. It's making my head spin too, Sus.

ima.grandma said...

pg 45

Mr. Mitnik: You don't have to explain her position. I've heard it until I'm dizzy with it.

Mr. Mason: Okay.


Me too, Mr. Mitnik. I feel like my head's going to fall off, I'm shaking my head so much.

Anonymous said...

Casey was such a deceptive liar. She lied in a way that was tricky, not brilliant, but tricky. If I was in LE, and she said to me "I can't remember all of it at this time" it would throw off the investigation through her deception. I would think well OK I bet she will be able to remember it all at another time. This shows that although she was not brilliant, her ability to deceive was there.

Sus said...

I agree with Peter. CA is not brilliant. She is persistent. She wears everyone around her down untill they just give up and let her lie.

Anonymous said...

Sus yes that is a good way to describe it. Her persistence and inventing reality. She invented Zanny the Nanny. She just kept lying.

Anonymous said...

I wonder did they ever hook her up to a lie detector? I bet the machine would have been going crazy. That is, if it could pick up on her lies. Did she word things in a way that could have outsmarted it? Probably not if they had a skilled lie detector administrator.

John Mc Gowan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
John Mc Gowan said...

The most common answer by deceptive people in court are " I don't recall/remember"

If then challenged later and caught in a lie they will often say " I forgot to tell you"

Dr Paul Ekman.

LC said...

I think the most remarkable thing about Casey's lies is that she is so defiant that they are truths. She remains adamant & steadfast even whilst her hand is caught in the cookie jar.

Terrence said...

"...statements she has made that have analysis published."

Where would I find these?

Anonymous said...

It is mind-blowing how the dumbed down jury found her innocent. Do you think it was Casey's rare form of lying that tricked them or the dumbed down educational system?

John Mc Gowan said...

Hi Terrence.

There is a search box on the right hand side on the home page. You may find some analysis there if you type in her name.

Anonymous said...

LC, Exactly she is the rarest of liars who only increases the number of lies whilst her hand is in the cookie jar.

Terrence said...

Thanks John. Found the analysis of her original statement, but that was it.

A poster on this blog said...

all the words that, if removed, still allow for a complete sentence to remain, with essential meaning in tact.

"I is a pedophile"

Ivanna-Anna said...

For those interested in analysing the text:

I have the 107 pages as a text version. I will be happy to share it as soon as I figure out how to get it to Peter. (Peter, I sent you a message via FaceBook).

Nic said...

Wow, she is exhausting. I had to step away from the disposition because it was frustrating reading her evade what she was "acquitted" from. No need to plead the 5th if you're acquitted/found "innocent".

"I've already had that conversation with law enforcement."

"My answer is going to be I don't know what law enforcement did or who they spoke to, no."

She makes responding sound like multiple choice.

"I did not know it for myself. I didn't see it with my own two eyes or hear it with my own two ears. I heard it again from my attorney much after the fact"


She is pedantic but slips with the word "again". IMO, she saw and heard and then heard about it again from her attorney. Then she contradicts herself again by saying "There were several occasions where she interjected herself in the situation and went on television. You'd have to be more specific on which one."

"cover my ass" (CA's words) is a great description about what the disposition is about.

"...did you tell your mother don't repeat that?"

She doesn't answer the question directly. She goes on a tangent about responsibility for her mother to say/not say anything... just being responsible for herself.

"You're looking for an answer that I'm not going to give you. So I've already answered your question."

The lawyer is a very good analyst. He challenges her every time she doesn't answer the question (he's asking).

The word 'so' answers why she won't. In other words, she answered the question, take it or leave it.

Unknown said...

I doubt anyone is coming back to these old posts, but i would like to add some... Rare thoughts on this case for anyone reading the blog from beginning to end. Like i am.

I used to be a philosophical
Pathological liar. Not because i liked lying, but i had a terrible combination of narcissism, a drug habit, and a wife that is so anti drug, she won't even take Tylenol during a migraine, so severe they cause her to lose eyesight for nearly30 min.

I will not attempt to justify my actions. I have conquered my demons and am no longer addicted, and more importantly, no longer lying to my wife.
Prior to getting off drugs, i lied constantly, and with my childhood and narcissism, i have a super duper unparalleled need to be believed. Even when lying, but ESPECIALLY when telling the truth.

I constantly analyzed my speech and wondered what does a true statement sound like? This was before statement analysis and this blog.

Compounding my dilemma, i have a strong background in sales and mastered body language, and confidence when speaking with people. I learned nobody wants a deal. Everyone wants a "a good deal" and "a deal so unbelievable it will blow your socks off your feet! " is even better.

I noted that parole boards did not want "i have remorse" but wanted "remorse so intense it destroys my sleep with nightmares so terrible i can't bring myself to close my eyes. I am so so so sorry" etc

This led me to believe one must truly persuade and emphasize to express truth. I really believed if i was telling the truth, it would be believed after i put enough emphasis on it. And of course, lying would be believed too.

This caused me add qualifiers to every statement. It became habit. It was the way i told the truth even after getting off drugs, and not until this blog did i realize why i sounded so dumb.

Of course everyone took my word for it, because i was so adamant about a true statement, but nobody believed... Truly believed me.

Because even if they never studied statement analysis, they still subconsciously caught all the signals that would trigger a deceptive conclusion.

Casey Anthony, without a doubt, has or had a secret she was keeping from someone very important to her. Her mother, a significant other, whatever.

She learned not just to lie this way, but to always talk this way. Completely in circles. I recognize the strong need to be believed, and the stronger need to maintain her freedom.

I am not suggesting she does not have guilty knowledge of her daughter. However, i think the same way we are learning to look through the lens of sa, i...unfortunately have the added lens of narcissistic pathological liar.

I understand the subject is dead while the statement is alive. But we, the analysts are alive too. You should never turn off your intuition or amazing ability to read people, and you should not turn off your history or past, even if it remains the biggest mistake of your life and the constant source of shame and guilt.

Do not let it influence your conclusion, but instead guide you to the "why" of it.

Mine tells me Casey had a strong need to hide the truth, yet had a desire to tell anyone when they were simply wrong. this Internal conflict is real to me. Casey most likely did not murder her daughter, buy killed her through an extreme narcissistic neglect. Meaning, casey felt she had every right to keep doing her drugs while staying all night at the club, or whatever her dark secret was/is. And, like a true narcissist, was simply not capable of admitting her lies. I get it. I truly do. i would go to absolutely asinine lengths to prove my lies especially after being called out.

I believe all the evidence on the body, tape and everything was her way of trying to keep the lie going while pointing the finger elsewhere.