Friday, August 12, 2016

Quiz Result: Missing Teen

SAN LEANDRO (KRON) — A San Leandro teenager that is

 believed to have run away over the weekend is still missing.

Her family is desperate to have her back home as soon as possible.

KRON4’s Alecia Reid spoke exclusively with the teen’s uncle.

Deanna Benedetto’s uncle was extremely emotional on Wednesday.

The family believes she may have left the house Saturday night to go meet with someone she met online, possibly an older man.

Now, she’s been gone for four days, and they’re concerned the 15-year-old might be in trouble.

She doesn’t have access to a cellphone, or money, and she’s not on any social media sites.

Her uncle says she hasn’t reached out to any of her friends since she went missing and this isn’t like her.

Deanna’s mother shut down the teen’s social media accounts about a year ago after finding out Deanna was using it to meet older men online and lying about her age.

Her family believes she may have been using various internet websites lately as a means of communication with others.

Now. they fear something is terribly wrong.


*************end of article**************************************************

The highlighted words (bold type) were submitted, and not added here.  

I’m worried that she’s dead,” missing teen’s uncle Angelo Benedetto said. 

Reporter: "What would bring you to that conclusion this early on"?

Uncle: "The way the world works and knowing how innocence can be prayed upon, you don’t hear about happy outcomes on the news, right, you don’t..you don't hear about, ‘hey, this kid took off and came back two days later.’ That doesn’t happen on the news. So it's...it's..err...That's where my mind is right now, i'm very fearful”

Deanna is about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 200 pounds.

She was last seen wearing a black, white, and gray jacket with gray pants with a logo of a cat on one leg.

If anyone thinks they’ve spotted the teen, you’re urged to call police.


Results:

There are no linguistic signals of guilt, guilty knowledge, or deception in this statement.  



It is his teenaged niece went missing; not a young child, nor a biological parent.  The setting is important.

  He gives us what is to be  expected.  She left her home to be with someone on line, and she has lied about the internet before.  

  The danger factor is extreme.  This is not a parent of a missing child but an uncle of a missing teen who's vulnerability is something he highlights.  

The news gives us her height and weight which give us insight into the possibility of desperation for attention; hence, the mother taking strong action last year to shut down social media. 



The uncle explains why he fear's that she is dead in response to a direct question.  The journalists noted the short passage of time (few days) as if he was a parent and the missing person much younger. 


His reasoning is

1.  The state of the world today 
2.  exploitation of innocence
3.  bad news repeatedly heard in the news.  

Regardless of the source of bad news, almost daily our news stories are filled with death.  Even if it is Islamic death, it is death and it can overwhelm us. In a vulnerable situation (missing niece), the increase in negative emotion is expected.  

He identifies that this is on his mind.  

Here is the key word:  Innocence.  (The article used  the word "pray" incorrectly) 

He  compliments his niece by saying she could be exploited due to her innocence.   

A signal of concern would have been a subtle insult or indictment of her.  This is done to justify killing within the guilty mind; finding a way to blame and/or condemn her.

 Instead, he affirms that she is innocent, which may not be accurate given her history as shown in the article.  This, then, would be a sign of denial, which is expected from parents or close relatives.  It is the "not my child" defense common in loving relatives.  


If he killed her, he has not given any signals in this short statement.  To read into his words such is to be correct a few times, but wrong most to the time.  This is the 'Andrew Hodge' method of seeing whatever we want to see within words.  

In analysis, principles applied must be consistent and provided for use in other statements in similar context.  

We only profile and seek embedded information after the analysis is complete.  

Even a broken clock is correct twice per day and as such, if he proves to be guilty, this statement will be looked at and said, "see?  there it is!"

But on the next case, following the same pattern, we will be wrong and wrong repeatedly.  

This is how analysis is so highly accurate. 

The Conclusion:  

it is not that "he didn't do it" because he does not address such.  The conclusion is that there is no deception or discernible leakage in his statement and he actually shows a sign of concern and defense for his niece, in spite of dire circumstances.  

83 comments:

Anonymous said...

Peter -

I was partially right, but for the wrong reasons. Can you tell me where I went wrong? Here is what I wrote yesterday as a comment:

Anonymous said...
The uncle is very sensitive about this. I wonder if he hurt her/caused her disappearance or facilitated her meeting with an older man, such as allowing her to use his electronics or knew a friend she might like, etc.
August 11, 2016 at 12:46 PM

Anonymous said...
continuing my comment from 12:46pm...
I think that the key word is either "innocence" or "prayed upon" or "this" or "so"
-KC
August 11, 2016 at 12:50 PM

Thanks,
-KC

Nic said...


It is his teenaged niece went missing; not a young child, nor a biological parent. The setting is important.

If the biological parent were to have given this statement would it have been a red flag?


The uncle explains why he fear's that she is dead in response to a direct question.

This is why I’ve found “so”, so difficult to grasp and/or leery to apply. Unless I hear the question and the answer in video, I am hesitant to highlight “so”. Many statements in the news are the result of [the interviewee] being peppered with questions from the media, so is “so” really sensitive? Speaking for myself, if I’m asked “why” I’ll not hesitate to use, “so” and “because” and even begin my response with “because". Not only that, what is presented in an article is heavily edited and “interpreted” (he said/she said,) in reference to the message the author wants to report. Sometimes the statements are out of context, i.e., appearing out of sequence and/or from a different reporter at a different time in the interview which the author caught on their own tape.

Looking back on the Mateen statement, (which can also be viewed in video format,) he said, “so” in response to the reporter’s direct question about why he was there. IMO, it was a flippant response (he showed a lack of sensitivity,) considering how “fresh” the attack orchestrated by his son, is. IMO, it also speaks to the soulless and disrespectful actions of the Clinton “campaign” to orchestrate such a stunt. (He was there because they invited him.)

It was a stunt. If stage attendees weren’t invited and cleared ahead of time, there would be a free-for-all to “get on TV”. In Canada usually a candidate has a multicultural representation behind them. It’s called trolling for votes.

jmo

Seagull said...

Having read this several times, I didn't notice any discernible language indicating any concern in relation to the uncle. the question, was, "What do you make of the uncle's statement?" Which assumes neither guilt nor innocence. The key principle I drew from the quiz was not to jump to conclusions. I read the statement numerous times. I even put it down and came back to it, slightly disspirited I couldn't find anything of obvious concern. I was looking for something which wasn't there. Unable to find it, I parked it even applying the 40% rule in this instance being 40% of zero, the same result. I didn't highlight any word. Using and applying principles I didn't see any subtle disparaging of the victim and by it's absence and absence of any obvious indicators indicating deception I reached a conclusion inadvertently. Overriding principle for me was to step back and not jump to conclusions and to set bias aside. I think the words highlighted could have influenced my thoughts. I blanked them out and read the statement on it's own without influence.

Alexandra said...

Peter, Thanks

That was an eye-opening learning exercise.

One thing that I did wonder about is the subtle disparagement of the missing teen by the family, who said "she lies about her age with the intention of meeting older men online. They also paint her as someone compulsively doing this, as the mother says she shut down all of her daughters social media accounts but that daughter was (lying/sneaking) by continuing to meet older men through websites. This confused me, bc it doesnt really describe the mossing teen in a positive light?

Bobcat said...

My first instinct was - there is nothing interesting here, because most of it is a response to the question "why?"

I then tried to "Andrew Hodge" the words, but they still were inconclusive.

Then I read the uncle's social media. He gives a complete social introduction when announcing his missing niece and strong expected language of frustration as she still has not been found.

The mother's social media language is interesting. She seems distant.

I have much to learn. Thanks for the practice!

Nic said...

bobcat said:
Then I read the uncle's social media. He gives a complete social introduction when announcing his missing niece and strong expected language of frustration as she still has not been found.

The mother's social media language is interesting. She seems distant.


This is interesting. I don't research the family/what have you until after I read the statement and even still, when I do google, it's for more media reporting. Whenever I find a Facebook page, it has been created specifically for a missing person. (In which page it will be "open").

I would be curious to hear whether the uncle's statement would have been red flagged if it had come from the biological parent (or if it was viewed differently *because* he isn't the parent. (Investigations start with the parents and work their way out; the uncle appears to be "close" as he made the statement to the media.)

It always boils down to context, but even "context" I find murky.

Hey Jude said...

Well, an all round fail for me. I'm not even going to try to justify that.

Anonymous said...

This uncle's statements don't bother me. It seems like maybe it's more of his personality to think or fear the worst.
OT:
Peter, can you analyze the statements of the father of the jogger who was recently killed--Vanessa Marcotte. Some parts of his statements jumped out at me, including distancing language ('I went with her,' rather than 'we') and the mention of showering (water).https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/09/heartbroken-father-remembers-slain-princeton-woman-great-kid/mUTVnnhtLndONFAtwYld2H/story.html

Anonymous said...

To add to my comment above, regarding the father of Vanessa Marcotte, he praises law enforcement though they have not found the killer and more strikingly refers to the killer as "this person."

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 4:42,

Uncle appears to have a flair for drama.

Alexandra said...

I am going to look at his statement.

If you're so concerned about the case, do you find the incredibly close proximity between the 111 Chophouse (where Vanessa and her father had dinner the night before) and the Main South serial killer's hunting grounds concerning? I find it very concerning and I am even more troubled that WPD doesnt seem to be making that connection. Especially since STALK Inc profiled the most important clue being the white chef's shirt he gave his last victim to wear. Why would he have discarded his last victim's body wearing a shirt he had given her if he wasnt playing some kind of cat and mouse game (high intelligence)? He gave them a clue.

Also Do you think they suspect the Main South killer and that is why they were interviewing the employees of the restaurant in Princeton? I feel they need to be talking to people in the restaurant where she was the night before near the killer's hunting grounds. What are your thoughts?

Alexandra said...

I would love for Peter to look at the father's statement also!
Although I feel she was killed by a serial killer.

Hey Jude said...

OT - Brendan Dassey's conviction has be overturned (Making a Murderer)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3737028/Federal-court-orders-release-man-featured-Murderer.html

Alexandra said...

I am curious what Vanessa's father's job is only because Im wondering if he usually wears a suit and tie/very well-groomed I wonder if that could have influenced his statement if he is just always used to showering/being presentable at 8 or 9 am for a suit and tie type job. Keep in mind he was brought in for questioning at 4 am and Vanessa was killed between 1-3 pm the day before, so if he was the perp dont you think he would have already taken a shower?

We definitely need Peter's help with this one.

Alexandra said...

I find the statement "not one negative note with this one" to be perplexing/converning. Does he work in an occupation where he receives notes or reports on people? Is he a prison guard, social worker, etc?

The Sheep said...

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_57ae2f42e4b0718404117823

Brendan Dassey's Conviction Overturned After 'Making A Murderer' Tells His Story

A federal judge on Friday overturned Brendan Dassey’s conviction in the death of Teresa Halbach.

The 26-year-old Dassey, who was featured in the Netflix mini-documentary series “Making A Murderer,” was sentenced in 2007 on homicide and sexual assault charges to life without parole over the murder of Halbach in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

In the documentary, Dassey appeared as a sympathetic character who seemed to be bullied by investigators during his followup interviews. According to court documents, a federal judge has agreed — stating that investigators made false promises to Dassey and claimed to “already know what happened” when they interrogated him.

The judge rendered Dassey’s confession involuntary under the Fifth Amendment. He’s to be released within 90 days unless the state wants to retry him, WISN reports.

Anonymous said...

Alexandra, I'm not familiar with this area or anything else related to the murder, except I read a couple of articles that included statements by the father. I hope they catch whoever is responsible. If it's a serial killer, terrible! Regarding your comment about showering, yeah I guess you may be right. Although I wasn't looking at making sense of the crime in terms of a timeline, rather than just the statements themselves.

He didn't seem to have the reaction I would expect.

In the Boston Globe article there is not one quote of his where he mentions her name, Vanessa. There's a lot of other details I don't have time to post. But I did see distancing language and minimizing of the crime. In one quote he states they had dinner then goes on to state "after that, the next day, she was dead." "Was" is passive language. She wasn't just dead; somebody brutally murdered her. "After that" implies after dinner, but then is qualified with "the next day."

He also seems to complain about the fact that he hasn't been able to shower because he's been at the police station. Also, when referring to whether Vanessa had a romantic partner, he states "there is nobody." Very emphatic. How can he be sure?

The Sheep said...

Dassey is the nephew of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man who was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and eventually exonerated — only to be convicted of murder years later under suspicious circumstances.

Police obtained what they said was a confession from Dassey, and that formed the basis of much of the prosecution’s case against Avery. At one point in the documentary, Ken Kratz, the prosecutor in the Halbach murder case, describes a supposed timeline of the murder in upsetting detail, and it’s implied that much of the information in that timeline came from Dassey’s detailed account. But in the tape of the actual police interview with Dassey, it looks less like a detailed confession and much more like coercion.

At the time of the interview, Dassey was 16 and did not have an attorney or a parent present. According to court records, Dassey has an IQ of somewhere between 69 and 73 — an IQ of 70 is often considered the threshold for intellectual disability — and the tape shows police posing detailed questions to Dassey, who replies with short, often one-word answers.

Saul Kassin, a psychology professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told The Huffington Post in an earlier interview that this controversial style of interrogation is called the Reid technique and has led to numerous situations in which an innocent person ends up confessing to a crime they never committed. Teens are especially susceptible to tactics like this.

In an analysis of hundreds of cases going back to 1989, false confessions were found to be one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions, according to the Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal clinic dedicated to exonerating people who have been wrongfully convicted. Overall, about 31 percent of wrongful conviction cases included a false confession, but for homicide cases alone, that number balloons to 63 percent.

In his petition for release, Dassey argued that his attorney had a conflict of interest in the case, that his confession had been coerced by law enforcement and that he was given false promises by investigators. But ultimately, it was the false promises allegation that persuaded Judge William E. Duffin to overturn the conviction.

“[T]he investigators’ collective statements throughout the interrogation clearly led Dassey to believe that he would not be punished for telling them the incriminating details they professed to already know,” Duffin wrote in his ruling. He pointed out that one investigator at one point said rotely “We can’t make any promises...” but that single and isolated statement was “drowned out by the host of assurances that they already knew what happened and that Dassey had nothing to worry about.”

Duffin added a harsh indictment of Wisconsin’s criminal justice system, saying that Dassey’s case represents “extreme malfunction” of the state system.

“Consequently, the court finds that the confession Dassey gave to the police on March 1, 2006 was so clearly involuntary in a constitutional sense that the court of appeals’ decision to the contrary was an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law,” Duffin wrote.

Dean Strang, one half of the defense team for Avery during the “Making a Murderer” series, along with Jerry Buting, said that he and Buting are “relieved and gratified” by the judge’s ruling Friday.

“Brendan’s statements were involuntary ― by the standards of common sense and decency that most Americans apply in their own lives, as well as under binding law that the Wisconsin courts repeatedly failed to apply,” Strang said to The Huffington Post in an emailed statement. “His statements were also wholly unreliable and flatly wrong on essential details, which is one of the obvious risks of coercing a statement from someone in custody. Our federal courts are often the last protectors of our liberties and justice. We are thankful and proud that a federal court fulfilled its fundamental role for Brendan Dassey today. In doing so, this federal court served all Americans.”

Hey Jude said...

Looking forward to Brendan's first interviews (if he is released in ninety days).

Alexandra said...

Anon--Excellent questions. I will respond later when I get freed up. The area she had dinner in with the father is about a quarter of a mile from the hunting grounds of a serial killer who previously killed petite Hispanic prostitues w dark hair and eyes. Vanessa strongly resembles one of his victims.
Vanessa does have a boyfriend who was cleared due to his being in Australia when Vanessa was killed. It is odd the father is so emphatic about there being "nobody" in her life romantically.
Allow me a bit of time to follow up with this.

Anonymous said...

Here's a thought. Sometimes there are physiological non-verbal statements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kgRFHaNo-Y

Alexandra said...

Ok, I have some time now.

Anon, the more I think about the father's language, the more concerned I become, however I am unsure what to think.

A huge area of concern is the shower comment. Not only due to its reference to water, but also due to the fact that I would think that if an individual's only child had been murdered the last thing on their mind, and which they would subtly complain about, would be the fact that they missed their morning shower.

What also has me perplexed and concerned is the comment which followed the father being asked whether Vanessa was involved romantically with someone

“There is nobody,” he said. “If you could understand what the State Police have told us — there is not one negative note with any of this.”

The father seems to imply that if she were romantically involved with someone that that would be "negative".
But the words not one negative note trouble me.
I feel like this is in the context of "her character" and also it brings to mind an actual written note.

Perhaps notes taken by police when they investigate these matters?


Switching back to focusing in on profiling the killer:

Whoever killed Vanessa seems to be of a mix of organized/disorganzed killer.

WE don't know whether it was a blitz attack or whether he stalked her (disorganized or organized?).
WE know he tried to destroy evidence (organized).
Her body seems to have been dumped not far or perhaps in the same location in which she was attacked (disorganized).

I think whoever killed her that it was NOT their first kill.
It is striking that the killer did not make much of an attempt to hide the body. He did not bring the body far from where she was attacked...in fact he probably just left it in the same spot. He tried to burn the body but obviously was not successful in obscuring her identity. This seems like a disorganized killer.

Also, if the killer has wounds on him from Vanessa fighting back as the police believe, that suggests a disorganized killer.

This could be a disorganized killer or someone who was previously an organized killer who has regressed to disorganized (Ted Bundy regressed in this way when he became very stressed about being caught).

I feel whoever did it has killed before and is in a state of stress when they did this kill, most likely about being caught. This certainly could apply to the Main South Woodsman who had become very fearful of being caught as of his last kill.

I just really hope they get the killer. I wish I could help in some way. This is a very dangerous individual who is not going to stop until caught.





Anonymous said...

Anon 747,

That's funny!

Lis said...

I'm glad to read this. I kept looking for a word that was pivotal. It was unusual to have someone come right out and say they are afraid she is dead- I imagine the parents winced at that wording. I get the feeling the uncle is a realist, tells it like it is.

Lis said...

Anyone seen Jerry Sanduskey's latest comments?

Appearing outside the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Penn., Sandusky ranted against "what they call victims," those he was accused of molesting. "I wasn't a pedophile," Sandusky declared. "I wasn't a preferential sex predator. I wasn't the monster I was made out to be."

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

The man is the devil incarnate.

Fm25 said...

OT- update on Blackburn case. Larry Taylor trial date set for 03/20/17.

Nic said...

....She doesn’t have access to a cellphone, or money, and she’s not on any social media sites.Her uncle says she hasn’t reached out to any of her friends since she went missing and this isn’t like her

I can only find the same story over and over. Deanne has no phone and no money. Has any one in the family "called out" via the media to Deanna? Pleaded with her to call them and/or come home? Has the family pleaded with whomever may have her via media for her safe return?

Anonymous said...

Look, I'm just going to be blunt. Her family is basically calling her a lying whore. Seriously...isn't that what they are saying?

Let's say the teenager really is lying about her age and compulsively trying to meet older men on the internet. Do you think that this is because she has a healthy home life where she feels loved? Unlikely.

Regardless, they are painting her in a very bad light, and the uncle is coming right out and saying he thinks she's probably dead...do you think this family could be a little shady themselves?

I came from a family that badmouthed me as a child/teen..."she's this" "she's that"....it's called scapegoating and people who do it are hiding BAD SHIT about themselves. Think of the level this is at where they are badmouthing her to the whole country and as NIc pointed out, they are not calling out for her!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Here is the uncle's statement:

"The way the world works and knowing how innocence can be prayed upon, you don’t hear about happy outcomes on the news, right, you don’t..you don't hear about, ‘hey, this kid took off and came back two days later.’ That doesn’t happen on the news. So it's...it's..err...That's where my mind is right now, i'm very fearful”

This is the only part of the statement I find sensitive is what I bolded.

What did he cut himself off from saying? It seems he was about to say something like "So it's unlikely she'll come back alive."

This to me is somewhat concerning.

Could it be a subtle disparagement that he says "this kid took off"? To me, that at least means that he is implying she is a trouble-maker.

They do seem to be talking out of both sides of their mouth, on the one hand saying she lies about her age and tries to meet older men, on the other hand referring to her "innocence".


***I'm not seeing any red flags of guilt from the uncle, I'm just trying to look at the statement more in-depth.****

John Mc Gowan said...

OT Updates: Crystal Rogers' disappearance: Search warrant served at ex-cop's house

http://www.wave3.com/story/32739830/crystal-rogers-disappearance-search-warrant-served-at-ex-cops-house

Jesse Wilson update: Former neighbors say missing boy, siblings left unsupervised and hungry

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-west-valley/avondale/jesse-wilson-update-former-neighbors-say-missing-boy-siblings-left-unsupervised-and-hungry

Nic said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nic said...


Anonymous said:
Let's say the teenager really is lying about her age and compulsively trying to meet older men on the internet. Do you think that this is because she has a healthy home life where she feels loved? Unlikely.


hey, this kid took off and came back two days later.
________


Is there a large number of registered offenders in that area to make them think she is in grave danger? Deanna has a history of meeting "older" men on-line, and her history is to come back home, (two days later?) They suspect that this may be what she has done again, i.e., left to meet an older man. Why is it so much of a leap for them to think that now she is "older" (in her mind,) she could be sitting in a living room, watching TV and "playing house" with her boyfriend? How do they know she has no money? Did she never babysit? Sorry, my mind is going to all sorts of scenarios about ways teenagers can earn money without their parents knowing. Is this what they are worried about? A "date" gone bad? Did she spend time at the library? Libraries' computers have access to the internet. (How I communicated with family and friends when I travelled, i.e., in lieu of internet cafe ($) at the city's public library.)

If I were LE I would still investigate the CCTV at the bus (or train?) station. I would also check CCTV at whatever truck stops were in the area. Kids (teenagers, especially) are like a wet bar of soap. The tighter you clutch them (restrict them,) the harder it is to hang onto them. If I was a wounded, spirited runaway and didn't hear my family calling for me, I don't know if my uncle thinking I was dead would be enough motivation to "call" me back home.

Alexandra said...

Good point Nic! Why is uncle saying "2 days"? You extracted what appears to be an embedded statement "hey, this kid took off for 2 days and then came back".

Did she actually come back after two days, they were angry at her for being such a misbehaving teenager, became violent with her, and killed her?

Alexandra said...

Nic, if you have time this weekend, would you take a look at the statements from Vanessa Marcotte's father? She is the jogger who was killed in Princeton, MA last Sun.
Im thinking a serial killer got her, but a few posters had some questions about some of the father's statements.

Here is the link of the father's statements. Specifically, do you see anything concerning?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/09/heartbroken-father-remembers-slain-princeton-woman-great-kid/mUTVnnhtLndONFAtwYld2H/story.html

Hey Jude said...

Deanna is already in the Klass missing kids database:

http://www.pollyklaas.org/missing/kids/deanna-benedetto.html

---

It's about a week since she was reported missing and there is still no direct appeal to Deanna or to a person she could be with - no 'Come home, you are not in any trouble' type of statement, or, as it sounds she was in trouble, no 'come home - we can sort it out'. That seems odd, as she is only fifteen. There is just the one recycled news report in circulation, and also the few words from the uncle. The family is too quiet - how does anyone know if the given reason is the actual reason her mother didn't want her to have access to social media? If she's so worried she is with a stranger she met online, why is she not making a direct appeal to him, or to Deanna?

No social media, no phone, no money, no credit card - a potentially miserable teen, now probably aware, if she's still alive, that it's all over the internet that she goes off with older men she met online, and that so far her family is not appealing for her to go home. Maybe they will make an appeal now a week has passed - it would be interesting to hear from other family members. I don't get them letting it be known she meets up with men she met online, if not for the purpose of appealing directly to any such that she might be with - so far it seems like trashing her for no reason.

Anonymous said...

Lynda
My heart goes out to you today.

Nic said...

Hi Alexandra,

To be clear, I didn't extract an embedded statement per se. I just pointed out that he picked two days in reference to a kid taking off and coming back. I was wondering "out loud" if this is what happened in the past, i.e., Deanna taking off one day, spending the night with said "friend" and then returning home the next day (two days). LE broadcasted her missing four days after she left (she left on Saturday). So was the fact that they hadn't seen her for two days, typical of Deanna? Three days (2 nights) roll by and still no word, and then they worried? For all we know the parents could have been in contact with LE within 24 hours and there is information not being released. I just found it odd that we hear about her four days after she left home and *nobody* is calling out for her. I'm not on FB so I think I filter differently because I can't find any family FB pages (i.e., someone up thread made reference to the mother's FB page). But on any news source I can find and specifically those with comments, it doesn't appear that even friends of hers are posting on her behalf. I only saw one "familiar" comment and it was a friend of the uncle. The only one who has expressed concern for Deanna was the officer quoted. It makes me sad for her. I hope she is okay and in the kind care of "strangers".

Alexandra said...

Hey Jude,

I wascwondering that too if they were giving the real reason why she had been cut off from social media. Specifically, they may have been isolating her to keep abuse secret and/or isolating her as a tactic of abuse.

It seems noone is calling out to her, and that speaks volumes.

Alexandra said...

Nic,

I agree, something is very off. Maybe she had no or few friends from them isolating her.
I dont have a good feeling about the case.

Anonymous said...

OT but didn't you analyze Chris Christie's news conference denying that he had any prior knowledge of Bridgegate and say he was telling the truth? Because you were wrong about that. Please check the news and provide another analysis. It would be appreciated. Thank you.

Nic said...

To add, the uncle said he was "worried" she was dead. Yet knowing she had no money or phone, did not take the opportunity while given the public platform/reach, to address Deanna, incase she could hear him, or plead with whomever might have her, to let her go.

Nic said...

My observation: neglect, indifference, ambivalence

jmo

Nic said...

Anonymous @ 2:24,

Peter said:
If he killed her, he has not given any signals in this short statement.

To be an novice "arm chair" analyst in training is one thing. Peter putting his reputation on the line with a statement he feels is too small is another.

Matilda said...

Nic, You sound a lot like Me2l in your writing at 2:48.

Alexandra said...

Thanks for all the help everyone with the father's statement in the Vanessa Marcotte case. LE and FBI begging for any leads in this case for what looks to be a serial killer responsible, and complete apathy on this board.
Who cares about Chris Christie anon except maybe Hostess Cupcakes Inc????
Let's focus on what matters or just give up calling ourselves statement analysts!

Anonymous said...

ALexandra said:

The uncle killed her.
August 11, 2016 at 10:07 PM


Peter, Thanks

That was an eye-opening learning exercise.
August 12, 2016 at 1:58 PM


Let's focus on what matters or just give up calling ourselves statement analysts!
August 13, 2016 at 4:40 PM




ALexanda, what have you learned about analyzing statements from this last quiz Peter posted? What was eye opening to you?

Anonymous said...

Alexandra is a troll.

Do not feed.

Anonymous said...

You're a stalker anon/Me2l...Im not answering your questions. I thought youmd given up your obsession with me. Apparently not.

Alexandra said...

You're harrassing Peter about Chris Christie also. Get over yourself!

Nic said...

Matilda:

I am not Me21. Peter was clear in his analysis.

My analysis was incorrect and Peter gave (me) the reason why when referencing Andrew Hodge.

I am highlighting, imo unexpected behaviour. My opinion (neglect, indifference, ambivalence,) is based on what I am "seeing"/not able to read or watch on-line. Big difference.

Alexandra said...

Nic, I will always yield to Peters interpretation.
I feel it is a bad sign they are trashing her reputation publicly. Saying something is a bad sign is not drawing a conclusion.
Saying *maybe* something happened is, again, not drawing a conclusion.

I would be very interested in hearing Peters take on Vanessa Marcotte's father's statements for LEARNING PURPOSES, as various commenters were struggling to make sense of the shower comment. Peter is the only one here knowledgeable and skilled enough to analyze it correctly.

Anonymous said...

Alexandra said:

The uncle killed her.
August 11, 2016 at 10:07 PM

Hey Jude said...

Nic - I had the impression only ta little of the interview was shown and the uncle had also said the things reported at the beginning of the news story - though maybe not, and the interviewer was using what the police had put out. Either way, I agree, it was the ideal opportunity to make an appeal, yet he did not - they would have shown that if he had.

----

Anon at 2.24

Peter wrote:

'The Conclusion:

it is not that "he didn't do it" because he does not address such. The conclusion is that there is no deception or discernible leakage in his statement and he actually shows a sign of concern and defense for his niece, in spite of dire circumstances.'

----

So - if it did turn out that the uncle 'did it' , those here who think or wrote that he did it would not correctly be able to say 'I knew that' on account of the interview, as such a conclusion should not, correctly, be drawn from the uncle's words here, and therefore would have been arrived at by erroneous analysis - the broken clock method. :-/. Even if he 'did it' let's hope nothing has been done) anyone here who has concluded he did would be even more wrong to think because they got lucky, they must have been right. Peter concluded that the statement doesn't indicate deception or discernible leakage, so some of us are seeing what is not there. It's no good arguing with that if the intention is to learn from our mistakes.

For myself - why did I think the uncle knows Deanna is dead?
Possibly because I did not read the statement three times - and I also did not begin from a presumption of innocence, which is how a statement should be approached on the first reading. I shouldn't have posted anything without even having read it in the proper way,
I also didn't consider the context - he was responding to a particular question.

--

Even so, I am still puzzling round 'can' and wondering what he did or didn't already know about Deanna - like is her mother making up the reason why her social media was suspended, and she had no phone? He doesn't confirm the mother's claims - is he intentionally contradicting her in a subtle way by referring to 'innocence'? I am not sure on that point. I want him to have said it differently, somehow - it seems impersonal.

He does not say 'her innocence' or 'how Deanna's innocence can be preyed upon' - there is something about that which niggles. Is it that he does not want, in contrast to the mother, to suggest her innocence has already been preyed upon - he doesn't want to badmouth his missing niece - or could he be distancing her from 'innocence' by not saying 'her' or her name there? It seems imperersonal - the world is vast - innocence is a condition, I want him to say something more like 'knowing some predator might have enticed my niece' - something less general, more personal. Did he not know his niece very well, or is it that he can't stand to think about what might be happening to her, so he speaks impersonally as a means of holding himself together on camera? I don't know.

Nic said...

I found these two posts on someone's "retweet".

She was spotted on Bart near the concord area but not found. Although it’s now a run away case, it’s still as important to get her home!

And was seen with a guy with pink hair

Nic said...

Hey Jude said:
Nic - I had the impression only ta little of the interview was shown and the uncle had also said the things reported at the beginning of the news story


I agree.

http://kron4.com/2016/08/10/only-on-kron-uncle-of-missing-san-leandro-teenager-speaks-worried-she-may-be-dead/
________

LR: ...Deanna Benedetto’s uncle was extremely emotional today. The family says she left the house on Saturday night. They think she might have left out to go meet someone she met online. Possibly an older man. Now it’s four days later and they think the teen might be in trouble. She doesn’t have a cell phone. She doesn’t have money, or any credit cards. They say she is not on any social media sights that they know of. Her uncle says she hasn’t reached out to any of her friends or her family since she went missing on Saturday night and this isn’t like her. Deanna’s mother shut down the teen’s social media accounts about a year ago after finding out Deanna was using it to meet older men online and lying about her age. Her family believes she may have been using various internet web sites that they don’t know of lately as a means to communicate with other people. Now they fear something has gone terribly wrong.

(cuts to uncle)

Uncle: ...and I’m worried that she’s dead.

LR: But, what would bring you to that conclusion this early on?

Uncle: The way the world works. And, knowing how innocence can be preyed upon. You don’t hear about, happy outcomes on the news, right? You don’t, you don’t hear about ‘hey this kid took off and came back two days later.’ (unintelligible) that doesn’t happen on the news. So its, it’s uh… that’s where my mind is at right now. I’m very fearful.

LR: Deanna is about 5-5 and weighs about 200 pounds.She was last seen wearing a black, white, and gray jacket with gray pants with a cat logo on one leg. If anyone thinks they’ve seen the teen, someone that might have looked like her, they’re urged to call authorities. They’re trying to get her home safely with her family as soon as possible. ...

Nic said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nic said...

Hey Jude said:

I also didn't consider the context - he was responding to a particular question.


Technically he referenced being worried she's dead before the question why was asked. Not all of the interview has been made available, so in reference to why he said, "and I'm worried she's dead" is unknown.

As Peter said, he's the uncle, not the biological parent ... whether he refers to her as his niece is also unknown because not all the video has been made available. He doesn't use pronouns when talking about knowing (what I was focused on). So perhaps he's not referencing Deanna at all when talking about knowing how innocence is preyed upon.

The sunglasses bothered me, too. The uncle wearing sunglasses reminded me of the Hailey Dunn case.

Bottom line, I was wrong.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Since this was posted Anonymously, I will comment on it:

Anonymous said...
Look, I'm just going to be blunt. Her family is basically calling her a lying whore. Seriously...isn't that what they are saying?

Let's say the teenager really is lying about her age and compulsively trying to meet older men on the internet. Do you think that this is because she has a healthy home life where she feels loved? Unlikely.

Regardless, they are painting her in a very bad light, and the uncle is coming right out and saying he thinks she's probably dead...do you think this family could be a little shady themselves?

I came from a family that badmouthed me as a child/teen..."she's this" "she's that"....it's called scapegoating and people who do it are hiding BAD SHIT about themselves. Think of the level this is at where they are badmouthing her to the whole country and as NIc pointed out, they are not calling out for her!!!!!!!!
August 13, 2016 at 1:09 AM >>


The writer, Anonymous, shows how "the expected versus the unexpected" is influenced by projection of self, which is why we not only seek the protection of principle and study (which means lots of repetition), but we work with other analysts to make sure we are never the begin all and end all of a statement.

The writer's own history is inputed to the statement which then "sees" what is not there.

As to not calling out to her, the uncle's statement is brief.
As to her history, there may even be hope within it, since she has lied about this in the past, to attempt to meet someone.

This, versus the frightening desensitization of society today, combines within the uncle's statement. As to "drama"; this, too, is projection.

This is a good example of why some low level reading of detecting deception can lead to serious error, and why systematic study is needed. If it was this easy, everyone would do it and lying would be restrained.

Lying is more popular today than at any other period in our history, including the propaganda of two world wars and in 1861-65 in which emotionalism was in high use.

Today, it is so severe that it can actually backfire. Consider the dire "Armageddon" like statements about the imminent collapse of Britain should they vote to leave the European Union, and the threat by the president of the United States.

You would not want Anonymous doing analysis for your family member, nor on a jury, nor servicing as a judge, or even a supervisor of your job. Whatever you say can and may be twisted through the filter of projection. Anonymous then is next further vulnerable for a specific type of deception and manipulation: feigned empathy and agreement.

I could not readily use such clarity had a name been chosen here, with Anonymous, no personal offense is realized, but it provides a good opportunity to encourage learning.

Tread lightly.

Peter

Hey Jude said...

Yes, sunglasses and transition lenses are annoying when someone is interviewed - he's not necessarily trying to hide behind them, though. If he was very emotional he might not want to look that way on camera. I'd think he must be close to Deanna if he was emotional but that's not necessarily the case either.

I didn't see those tweets - can't find them. I tried to find the uncle's but have not had any success - quite a few profiles with the same name, but I don't think his is one of them. Today I have seen appeals posted by a young mother who is a cousin of Deanna, there doesn't seem much else - perhaps I have not looked well enough, or perhaps it raises the question as to whether she was socially isolated.

Deanna is quite overweight for her age and height (200lbs, where should be around 115-120lb) - which might speak to emotional problems, boredom, dietary issues or neglect.

Later:

I found an old website of the uncle - his interest is theatre, scenery, and he describes himself as a social media expert - can't find him on social media, but I probably am not looking in the right places. The website has not been updated for a couple of years.

If the mother's name is Ronni (odd how her name is omitted) - then, from my sleuthing, it would appear that the uncle shared a home with her and Deanna at some point - there is a nice photo of uncle and Deanna, she looks around aged twelve, on Ronni's profile, so yes, likely he knew her well enough to be emotional on camera.

It is a little odd the mother's name is omitted from the news reports - is there maybe a reason the mother does not want to be identified, and it is the uncle who speaks for the family?

In the photos, the uncle wears clear glasses - they are old photos.

There is still hope Deanna will be found safe soon - it is only a week.

---

Yes, it's uncomfortable to sit with being wrong - even if it turned out that the uncle does know something, it would still not be evident in those words. I wish they would show the full interview, it would be so interesting to see the rest of what he said.

Nic said...

Here are the posts I found on twitter:

https://twitter.com/Wontawn_soup/status/763970845786066944

Nic said...

Peter said;
The writer, Anonymous, shows how "the expected versus the unexpected" is influenced by projection of self, which is why we not only seek the protection of principle and study (which means lots of repetition), but we work with other analysts to make sure we are never the begin all and end all of a statement.

The writer's own history is inputed to the statement which then "sees" what is not there.


I'm guilty of this. As a parent, I can't see how Deanna's family can be as quiet as they are. But then again, just because they are not "out there in the public" doesn't mean that they are not working with LE to get her home.

As you say, (paraphrasing) what's mine is mine, not "theirs".

Hey Jude said...

A few posts here:

https://webgram.co/tag/deannabenedetto

---
I project, too - plus there's having the available info, not only the statement. Some readers might have bias against a certain type of male relative - it could be all too easy to project onto Deanne's uncle.

Bobcat said...

HJ,

I attempted to build a family tree (the apple doesn't fall far and history often repeats) for Deanna.

"Ronni" is Deanna's paternal grandmother.

Deanna's bio mother appears to stay mostly hidden from social media.

I get the sense that bio mother was attempting to break the cycle of early pregnancies/multiple marriages/single motherhood by sheltering Deanna, but it doesn't look like the wild gene has been tamed.

My thoughts may well be projection.

I pray that Deanna is safe!

Anonymous said...

Why do you say bio mom stays "hidden" from social media, Bobcat? Someone who just isn't into social media isn't necessarily "hiding," are they?

Anonymous said...

What is Deanna's status? Has she been found? Was she spotted with a man with pink hair? I would imagine he would be fairly easy to track down with that distinctive physical indicator.

Bobcat said...

Anon @ 12:47,

Not necessarily "hiding".

Protecting her privacy, and that of her daughters.

There is nothing at all wrong with avoiding social media. It can be a cesspool!

Anonymous said...

Peter, thanks for your comment. I agree I probably was projecting, but at the same time, I dont like when parents bad-mouth their kids...my thought is that it reflects badly on THEM, not the kids. Understandably, if Deanna is involved in attempting to meet older men online, they would need to reveal this info in order to help find her, so I needed to take that into account. But I do have to agree with you: I was not looking at the case objectively, because I dont trust people who paint a 15 year old as a liar who is compulsively meeting older men. It may certainly be true she is doing that, but again, I just dont respect parents who badmouth their kids in that way. To me, a 15 year old is just a kid....so I ask myself either A). Why is she behaving so self-destruvtively or B) is she being smeared by the parents and made to appear a certain way is not.
Fair to say, both those questions are legitimate, and therefore an analyst needs to somehow set those questions aside to look objectively I do agree.

Anonymous said...

Also, I worry for Deanna. Since her family has labelled het a liar who in their view is pursuing older men, she is at risk of not being believed if one of these men (or any man) rapes her, etc. She has been labelled a liar and as the aggressor/pursuer in these relationships with older men.
I agree-/I cant look at the case objectively, so I will learn from others comments.

Anonymous said...

One other thing that makes it hard for me, personally, to look at the case, is that whether unintentionally or not, we have been given a lopsided view of what is going on with Deanna.

We have been told she lies (about her age) to meet "older" men. I think it is fair to say that this statement seems to remove some of the responsibility from these older men "meeting" Deanna because Deanna is lying about her age. YET, we are in the dark about how old these older men are. Are they 18yrs old? 28 yrs old? 38 yrs old? 58? We don't know. However, how old can a 15 year old look regardless of how old they say they are. Again, we are not given that info either of how old she says she is either. Does she say she is 16? 21? 26? There is no way for us to know because is not told to us.

I guess in some ways I don't like the vagueness of the statement about Deanna lying about her age to meet "older" men. It gives the info that she is a liar, yet it is does not explain any of the detail of how old she says she is or how old the men are that she attempts to meet or meets. Because if these men are much older, how could they possibly think a 15 year old looks old enough for them to meet? Therefore, the responsibility is on them.

There is simply not enough info given. Even the uncle's statement is, as Peter pointed out, very brief. Yet it is something to work with, and it is interesting reading Peter's analysis of the statement and that it does not show guilty knowledge or action.

I hope Deanna is safe, unharmed and found quickly.

John Mc Gowan said...

Anons, "projection, i believe, is instinct. There is some element of empathy without knowing what xyz, is. A protection element (oh my god iv'e seen this happen before, personally, and i hope that this is not happening to her, too) which is ok. When it comes to analysis (and i have been guilty of it in the past, present, and no doubt will do again without formal training) it makes all the difference.

I hope you're doing well anon!

Anonymous said...

One thing that just occurred to me, and that I have surprisingly never wondered about while doing SA, is a fact I had read once where child molesters often refer to children in idealized terms such as "pure, innocent, angelic" etc. I had forgotten about this fact, but it just occurred to me after reading this statement again. Of course, just because someone uses a word does not mean you can draw any conclusion from that, but nonetheless, interesting, and I had forgotten all about having read that once!

Anonymous said...

the uncle's statement is what I am referring to at 3:23

Hey Jude said...

Thanks for the info re Ronni, Bobcat. Uncle lived with Deanna's grandma, then.

I am curious as to why the mother's name is not included in the news story.

BlueNailsBetty said...

This is exactly what went thru my mind. Something fishy is going on in that family.

Anonymous said...

The projection of scapegoating may have an element of truth.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the uncle's view of the way the
" world works" is a projection of the way he works.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Anonymous said...
The projection of scapegoating may have an element of truth.
August 14, 2016 at 10:29 PM
Anonymous said...
Maybe the uncle's view of the way the
" world works" is a projection of the way he works.


Hence the biggest challenge of training is trying to convince those who believe themselves to be "lie detectors" how they need to yield themselves to scientific principles instead of guess work.

These sometimes drop out of training, preferring guessing to hard work. They sometimes end up in very easy and light training which then means the clock ticks until they come across a complex statement.

Once they are seen in error, they are dismissed and worse, the science is often dismissed with them. There is the tragedy.

Peter

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Parents badmouthing kids...

In a statement, we look for parents badmouthing children in a subtle way. Parents using terms of endearment is even worse.

Here, this is an uncle, not a parent.
The missing child is a teenager, not one incapable of self protection.
The victim has a history of lying IN CONTEXT OF HER GOING MISSING.

If the uncle brought up her lying in life, outside of the context, this would be insulting.

Instead, he gives us insight into his feelings for her, as she is innocent and easy to exploit.

He could have said she was overweight and vulnerable, but he did not.

Move the parameters from parenthood to relative and from child to teen.

Anonymous, correct; we all project. This is why repetition in training is absolute. Statement after statement, missing person after missing person causes the brain to adjust to different norms than just oneself.

It is to intake much more data than originally imaginable. It builds an internal data base.

Then the analyst sees the brilliance behind the research that presented principles.

It takes quite a bit of time but when done with assistance, the new analyst can experience immediate success because his or her work is being continually monitored before submission. This is of great benefit as it protects the integrity of the work but also the new analyst.

Those who touched upon the weight did so with compassion . The weight makes her vulnerable and it is likely that given the scenario, there will be things in the family's background that will cause shame, embarrassment and some distancing language.

We must stay in slavery to the statement.

Let's say 'the uncle did it' is learned later.

The posts can return to his statement and say "see? here it is!"

Then, we apply the very same new principles used to similar cases and we find they fail us. We scratch our heads and wonder "what went wrong?"

This is why I wrote, "If the uncle did it, it is not in his statement."

I know that blog reading can make things appear overly simple and it sells...it sells book and it sells seminars, but it will fail.

I am doing my second straight "I didn't do it" case in which I know colleagues would have cleared the guilty because they spoke "the magic words" in a denial.

It reminds me of the need for vigilance.

Peter

Nic said...

UPDATE: She has been found, according got Lt. Robert McManus.

“It was KRON-4’s news coverage that led us to Deanna Benedetto, the missing 15-year-old,” McManus said.

http://kron4.com/2016/08/10/only-on-kron-uncle-of-missing-san-leandro-teenager-speaks-worried-she-may-be-dead/
_________

Happy ending! In the news! Yay.

Nic said...

"SAN LEANDRO -- A missing 15-year-old girl was found safe on a BART train, police said Monday.

A train passenger recognized Deanna Benedetto from media reports when she was riding a BART train near Concord on Thursday, according to San Leandro police. She was reunited with her family Monday afternoon.

Because of her age, police will not share details of Deanna's whereabouts. Her mother discovered the girl was missing from their home around 9 p.m. on Aug. 6.

"What began as an investigation without leads, ended happily, as Deanna is now home," Lt. Robert McManus said."

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/breaking-news/ci_30250231/missing-san-leandro-girl-found-bart-train

Hey Jude said...

Thanks for the unexpectedly good news, Nic - time was moving on. I hope the family finds whatever help and support they might need in obviously difficult times.

----

What I learned from this case:

I was too ready to find that the uncle had knowledge he didn't have
He said he was worried his niece was dead, because that was his worry
I should stick to reading, transcripts and links
because
I have a lot to learn about statement analysis

So:

Quote of the Day for Every Day
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than speak and remove all doubt."

Bobcat said...

Thank you Nic! I hope she stays safe!

Nic said...

Hey Jude,

Yes, I hope the family is able to get help, too. Peter's feedback came swift which was good because this story was "live'.

This was a quiz... an invitation for readers to analyze and learn from. :0)