Sunday, September 9, 2012

Billie Dunn's Account: Part One Nancy Grace Show


Billie Dunn all but disappeared from the public view after a series of embarrassing appearances where she was seen as deceptive.  Everything from inappropriate dress to having to coach her on how not to lie, she finally tucked tail and moved away with Shawn Adkins to another part of Texas.

She's back. 

She is back posting and no different than followers of other sociopaths who quickly embrace every word from her as gospel, deleting or explaining away tough questions or deceptive responses, she holds a much small court now, claiming that Shawn Adkins "hasn't been an issue for months" and appearing to trade barbs with him on Face Book, wanting attention for Hailey. 

She did not search for Hailey when she went missing, and when she made media appearances, she quickly fell out of good graces with the public as lies became evident even to the untrained eye.  She duped Marc Klaas into coaching her on how to appear as a caring mother, only to receive his later public call for shame upon her for lying.  

She has lied about Adkins repeatedly, yet now, she wants to be believed.  

If you are new to Statement Analysis you've probably landed here because of a recent news story where the principles applied here indicated deception on the part of the subject speaking. If you are not familiar with Hailey's case, please use the search feature.  We are going to turn back the clock and let the story speak for itself. 

In analysis, we let the subject's own words guide us.  We begin with the presupposition that the subject is truthful; therefore, becoming 'confronted' by anything that is unexpected.  

What follows was our first introduction to the case of missing 13 year old, Hailey Dunn.  Pretend you know nothing about the case and start from the beginning, with your own impressions of the case and its characters.  It is difficult, knowing failed polygraphs, drugs, child porn, and violence, but attempt so, just the same.  What picture emerges for you?  Is it difficult to separate the failed polygraph from the words here?

Begin with the presupposition, as best you can, that this is an innocent, heart broken mother of a missing 13 year old girl.  

Given this presupposition, what do you expect to hear?

What don't you expect to hear?


GRACE: A 13-year-old cheerleader leaves in broad daylight from her own home to walk down the street to a little friend`s sleepover. Reminds me a lot of the Carlie Brucia case out of Florida. She`s never seen again. 


MICHAEL BOARD, REPORTER, WOAI NEWSRADIO: She was last seen a week ago, Nancy. It`s been a week since anybody has seen this beautiful little 13-year-old girl. About 3:00 last Monday, it`s the last time anybody ever saw her alive. 


Note that in the story, a time must be identified and they chose "3:00" 
Please note that when someone is going to fabricate a time, or choose a number, it is often the number "3". 


GRACE:  Miss Dunn, how far did she have to go to get to the little sleepover? 


Simple Question:  How far did she have to go?  

DUNN: Four to five blocks. It wasn`t rare for Hailey to walk a short distance during daylight. She wasn`t allowed out after dark especially to walk, but she only had four to five blocks to go. 


Heather and I watched this live on January 3rd.  She asked me if I heard what the mother just said.  I had, but it was not what I wanted to hear.  "Not another!"  

Not once, but twice the mother of a missing child, in her first answer, referenced the child in the past tense. 

When the parent of a missing child references the child in the past tense, it is an indication that the parent knows or believes her child is dead.  Susan Smith, Casey Anthony, Haleigh Cummings' step mother, Baby Lisa's mother, Baby Ayla's father...and on the list goes. 

As of January 3, 2011, had police said anything to the mother to make her believe her child is dead?  This goes against the natural denial aspect of a mother's protective instincts.  Even after a child is found dead, an innocent mother will still reference the child in the present tense as it goes against her own instinct to accept that her child is dead. 

Billie Jean Dunn has given two linguistic indicators that Hailey is dead.  What she says next must be understood in this light. 

GRACE: Tell me what happened the day she went missing, Miss Dunn. 


"What happened?" is the best question to ask. It is the perfect question that allows the subject to:

1.  Begin the account wherever she chooses.  The first sentence is always important.  She could choose to start it anywhere, but where she chooses is critical and shows priority.  
2.  She will choose when to end the account. 
3.  Her words are her own.  Nervousness is expected, which is why courts find the nervous 911 call so reliable and label them "excited utterance"; that is, to the courts, their words are, to the court, the most reliable, since the person is upset.  
4.  Free Editing Process makes Statement Analysis reliable.  We do not interpret, we listen.  

DUNN: She went missing on Monday while I was at work. My boyfriend - - he came home from work about 3:00 -- or he got to my house about 3:00. And he`s seen Hailey. Hailey was there. She told him, I`m running across the street to my dad`s house for a few minutes but I`m going Mary Beth`s, and I`m staying the night there. Let my mom know. 

So that evening when he picked me up from work, we got home, we were getting ready for bed. I didn`t get worried when I hadn`t heard from Hailey. I thought she was at Mary Beth`s. I was kind of upset that she didn`t call and confirm it with me, but not worried at that point. 

Tuesday, I was at work again, I left my cell phone at home for my kids to use when I`m working. So Tuesday, I called my son. I said tell Hailey text the little girl, her friend, tell Hailey she needs to go ahead and get home. This was around lunch. My son called me back within a few minutes and she said, mom, she said Hailey never made it over there. She never spent the night. 

So at that point I called Hailey`s dad and found out she didn`t over there and she didn`t stay the night with him. I left from work and went to the police station in Colorado City and reported her missing. 


This is important enough to view by itself:

DUNN:  She went missing on Monday while I was at work. 


She chooses to begin her account by establishing an alibi.

Dunn was not asked "when did she go missing?" which means the question, "What happened to Hailey" is "sensitive" to the subject.  

To an innocent parent, the question is not "sensitive" within itself.  The entire topic is very emotional, but "sensitive" is a word used in analysis.  When the father of Hailey Dunn was asked the same question, his answer showed no sensitivity indicators, though he was upset out of his mind.   

To now be introduced to this case, the reader/analyst is immediately confronted with a mother who has indicated her child is dead, and is establishing an alibi for herself.  

On January 3, 2011, the mother of Hailey Dunn indicated:

1.  Hailey is dead
2.  Mother needs an alibi


My boyfriend - - he came home from work about 3:00

1.  ISI

Note first that she introduced Shawn Adkins without his name.  This is an improper social introduction and it is indicative of a troubled relationship.  That she takes ownership with the possessive pronoun, "my" shows that they are together, but in relation to the missing child, there is something less than good, as evidenced by the missing proper name.  

Note that she knows how to use present tense and past tense verbs and uses past tense here.  

2.  Note that she chooses the time "3:00".   We note this as the liar's number. 

 or he got to my house about 3:00


She allows for an "either/or" possibility reducing commitment to the story.  This allows for changes to be made later and shows the uncertainty of her account.  Why would the mother of a missing child, on high adrenaline alert, not have established, a week later, what happened and where her boyfriend was, or what time he got home?  This uncertainty is taken in context with the indication of death, and the need to establish an alibi.

Note it is "my house" which is expected.    


And he`s seen Hailey. Hailey was there. 


1.  A sentence that begins with "And" indicates the need for a connecting word = missing information.  It is a jump in an account. 

2.  Redundancy means sensitivity. 

"he's seen Hailey."  She establishes that Adins laid eyes on Hailey.  Extra words give us additional information.  This is critical. 

"Hailey was there."

If he "seen Hailey", wouldn't she have to be there to be seen?

The extra words indicate deception.  It is the need to emphasize that Hailey was there, (alive is the presupposition she hopes the listener will accept, even though she spoke of her as dead) which shows deception. 

Hailey was not likely alive to be seen at 3PM.  


She told him, I`m running across the street to my dad`s house for a few minutes but I`m going Mary Beth`s, and I`m staying the night there. Let my mom know.

Communicative language is important.  We note that "said" and "told" are different. 

"My boss said to take this to Main St." is one way of saying something but with more authority, "My boss told me to take this to Maine St." is another.  

Here, she uses the more authoritative "told" regarding a 13 year old child speaking to an adult. This is not the expected. 

As to the story of going to a friend's house, we later learned that Billie Dunn told Nancy Grace that she had "true crime" literature in her home, and it was the same material that Nancy Grace, herself, was associated with.  What is this reference?

It is reference to the case of Carlie Brucia who was abducted and killed.  The story line is the same. 

Billie Dunn referenced where the case came from and gave a similar story.  

So that evening when he picked me up from work, we got home

She then uses the very sensitive word "so" explaining her actions.  Why is this so sensitive?  It is so sensitive because she has the need to tell us why she did something.  

Note another needless statement:  "we got home."  

Look at the awkwardness of the entire statement.  What is the reason she has to explain that while driving home they got home? 

we were getting ready for bed. 

We listen to what someone tells us.  She only says "we" were getting ready for bed.  She does not say they went to bed, nor does she say they went to sleep.  

There is a reason to everything that is said.  Always note when people say that they were getting ready to do something as it does not mean they did something; only that they were getting ready to.  There is a need to give a sentence of beginning something but not doing it.  When people do something, they say so.  When they may not have done something, they will often say they began to do something.  Did they finish it?  If they did not say so, we cannot say so for them.

Next, when speaking from memory, a person can tell us what they did, and what they thought.  If they tell us what did not happen, what they did not see, what they did not think, we are on high alert for deception:   


I didn`t get worried when I hadn`t heard from Hailey. 


We now have a dead child, a mother establishing an alibi, and now she tells us of what emotions she did not have.  

Deception indicated. 

I thought she was at Mary Beth`s. I was kind of upset that she didn`t call and confirm it with me, but not worried at that point. 

Since Hailey didn't say to Adkins that she was staying at Marybeth's, but "told" him, if the language was consistent, there should have been a report of a fight, or disagreement.  This inconsistency is noted.  She again reports what didn't happen:  Hailey "didn't call."

This is a truthful sentence and an example of how a sentence can be truthful while being overall deceptive. 
Tuesday, I was at work again


Here is another case of a seemingly unnecesary word becoming of vital importance.  Why the need to say she was at work, "again"?

1.  It could be that she rarely works, and was per diem, and found herself surprised to be called in.  This is something a substitute teacher might say. 

2.  She is continuing to work her alibi.  

Since we have, in context, her establishment of alibi, the analyst/reader should see this as the subject seeking to affirm her alibi.  Later, we learned that this was her regular job and not a per diem or temp. position. 

I left my cell phone at home for my kids to use when I`m working. 

She now tells us why she did something, making "what happened?" into "why something happened" meaning high sensitivity.  She is setting up a scenario and explaining why she did something. 

She is portraying herself as a caring mother.  
Question:  Who portrays themselves in positive terms?  
Answer:  those who have been negligent and have a need to persuade.   


So Tuesday, I called my son. I said tell Hailey text the little girl, her friend, tell Hailey she needs to go ahead and get home. 

1.  "So" explains why she did something, highly sensitive, rather than answering the basic "what happened?" question. 

2.  Note the communication of what she said to her son:

a.  Tell Hailey
b.  Text the little girl
c.  her friend
d.  tell Hailey

The sentence begins strongly, with "I" indicating that she should be able to say what she said, but she isn't.  Why the confusion?  Tell Hailey via what means?  The phone?  She already said she left her phone home for her kids.  Text?  The "little girl" which is then explained as "her friend", and then back to "tell Hailey."


This was around lunch. My son called me back within a few minutes and she said, mom, she said Hailey never made it over there. She never spent the night. 

She "said, mom, she said..." uses her title, "mom".  Note that economy of words from truthful statements are short: "he said..." yet she adds in "mom" as if story telling.

"never made it over there" is one thing but for the third time she gives us useless redundancy:  "she never spent the night".  It is useless since if she never made it there, she never spent the night. 
So at that point I called Hailey`s dad and found out she didn`t over there and she didn`t stay the night with him. I left from work and went to the police station in Colorado City and reported her missing.  



She returns to the explanation of why she did something.  In the SCAN tecnigue is colored as "blue", or the highest level of sensitivity.  A single indication of "blue" is sensitive, but where there is 2 or more, the analyst holds the paper up to the light and sees that in this area, between the "blues" is the most critical portion of the statement and where deception
is to be found. 

In just where Hailey Dunn's mother spoke for only a few moments this is what we learned about a missing 13 year old:

1.  She is dead
2.  The mother has a need for an alibi
3.  The mother is making up a story about what happened:  she is deceptive. 
4.  There is trouble with the boyfriend.  

All this in just one answer to one question.  

Without knowing anything about the police affidavit, investigation, or anything else, you already know that this is not a missing child case, but a homicide. 

You also know it is a domestic homicide. 


This is why defense attorneys do not let their clients speak. 










We will complete more in our next segment.  










5 comments:

Nic said...

I left my cell phone at home for my kids to use when I`m working.

She now tells us why she did something, making "what happened?" into "why something happened" meaning high sensitivity. She is setting up a scenario and explaining why she did something.

She is portraying herself as a caring mother.
Question: Who portrays themselves in positive terms?
Answer: those who have been negligent and have a need to persuade.


Yes. Case in point, if you listen to the 911 call BJD made re SA possibly returning to her house after she had kicked him out, she told the 911 operator that there was no phone there and that she had her cell phone with her at work. I suspect that's what usually went on (she always kept her phone with her,) and leaving the phone at home that day for her son to use was out of the norm, hence the "why".

Anonymous said...

BJD left her phone for the express purpose of setting up the rest of her alibi. She needed someone else to discover Hailey was "missing".

Anonymous said...

If what Nic and Anon say are true, and I believe they are, then BJD's need to establish an alibi indicates her level of guilt in this case. She is not guilty of hiding her boyfriends crime. She is guilty of THE CRIME.

valyriew said...

I'm wondering how she was calling home without a phone...she left hers at home, correct? I guess she could be using a landline or borrowing a co-workers cell, but I think its a slipup...you tell so many lies they start to stumble over each other

Anonymous said...

I agree with everything except the number 3 in this case as it may be the usual time to get off work or arrive home.

Duped Klass? Doubtful on that, too.

But, I agree she looks as guilty as he does and I usually try to give more than the benefit of doubt.