Kenneth Wagnor Statement Analysis

This from Christianpost.com with analysis added after the quotes.  You can read the entire article there.  

Indiana Pastor Davey Blackburn of Resonate Church was talking with his college roommate, Pastor Kenneth Wagner, on the telephone as his wife, Amanda, lay dying after an attack during a home invasion two weeks ago.

Wagner, who is pastor of United Church in Delaware, is first mentioned in the affidavit of probable cause against Amanda's suspected killer, Larry Jo Taylor Jr., 18, and his accomplice, Jalen Watson, 21. A copy of the document was shared with The Christian Post by the Marion County Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday.

On the morning of Nov. 10, when his 28-year-old wife was fatally shot in the head, arm and back, Blackburn told detectives that he left his home at about 6 a.m. to go to the L.A. Fitness gym located at 4015 Shore Drive in Indianapolis.

At approximately 7:10 a.m. Blackburn said he left the gym and was talking with Wagner at the time.

"Blackburn stated that he remained on the phone on the way home and was still on the phone when he arrived home at approximately 7:30 a.m. He stayed on the phone in his driveway until he entered (house) around 8:20 a.m.," the statement continued.

When Blackburn entered his home he found Amanda "face down in blood on the living room floor."

Speaking at Amanda's funeral five days later on Nov. 15, Wagner revealed that he would speak with Davey religiously every Tuesday from 7–8 in the morning. He explained how close he was to Davey and Amanda and said he was horrified to learn that Amanda had been killed.

"Tuesday I was sitting at lunch and I received a call that rocked my world forever. David had walked in and found his wife in the condition that she was in. And what you need to know about this story is that me and Davey would speak every Tuesday morning from 7–8. Davey had gotten off the phone with me, finished our conversation and walked in and found Amanda," said Wagner.

This is an important statement. 

Blackburn got home at 7:30AM but remained in the car for the next 40 minutes while Amanda Blackburn lay bleeding on the floor.  

*Did Blackburn, during this one hour regular call, always stay outside, or did he complete the call in the house, where Amanda was?

*Was there something so sensitive about the conversation that he needed to keep this from his wife?

*Was it his norm to remain in the driveway during morning calls, or would the conversation continue in the house?

"Tuesday I was sitting at lunch and I received a call that rocked my world forever. 

There is no need for us to tell us what his body posture was, but it is important to him.  This is often a signal of a slight increase in tension or importance.  "do your homework!" versus "Sit down and do your homework!" with an increase in importance. 

Next:

Note the language of impact:  "rocked my world", with the strong, "my" and not "our" even though what follows next is with his wife. 

David had walked in and found his wife in the condition that she was in. 

Note "the condition she was in" is distancing language which, in context, may be appropriately so:  she was still alive.  He also may not want, or may have been advised not to, reveal the actual condition.  This too would justify the passive-like feel to the language, making it appropriately distant.  

Note that "my world" is very close and personal venus the sudden change.  Police may have asked him not to reveal this detail.  

And what you need to know about this story 

Here is a signal that he knows more than what he says.  Please keep in mind that signals of deception, via withholding information are sometimes found in nurse, doctors, police, etc, when they have been asked not to, or are bound under laws of confidentiality. 

Having said this, "what you need to know" has the additional emphasis of "need", rather than "and what I can tell you..."

This shows that there was a "need" for the knowledge that follows.  What would people "need" to know?  He does not make us wait long for the answer:

"about this story" is to call it a "story", which is not expected.  Is this, too, due to be told not to reveal details?  Or, is "story" the language given to him, as Davey, himself, used it?

Or...

is this alibi establishment language?

Does Wagnor show an awareness that he needs to help his friend establish an alibi?  Perhaps.  The body posture increase in tension is that this call, itself, is increasing it at the time of the statement being made since it is in his recall.  

is that me and Davey would speak every Tuesday morning from 7–8. 

This is what the public has a "need" of knowing.  This is to flag the "normal" aspect of their conversation.  He now goes out of sequence, going back to what they did "every Tuesday morning from 7-8."

"Normal" is used in several ways, but they are related. 

In Statement Analysis we always flag "normal", no matter how it is worded, for sensitivity. 

When a person calls himself or herself "normal" it is an indicator that the person has likely been labeled "not" normal, by self or by others; 

When a situation is called "normal" it is a signal that it was anything but "normal."

Even young children being read to recognize this:

"It was a day like every other when..."

causing them to perk up their attention as something not very ordinary is about to be said.  It is a common signal of deception, especially in criminal statements where the subject wishes to conceal what happened; 

"Normal" as in alibi establishing.  

This could be of a result of two things:

a.  public suspicion.  

b.  His own private suspicion. 

In public suspicion, if the subject recognized that people are going to be asking, "Hey, why did he stay on the phone while Amanda lay dying?" in suspicion, here he answers it with "this is normal for him to be on the phone..." as an answer to the allegation or suspicion. 

In private, however, if he is not aware of any accusation, he is "cutting it off before it happens", which reveals his own moment of doubt of his friend, such as, "Oh, no, I hope Davey is not involved!", even if just for a single moment. 

Question:  how might we know?

Answer:  short of asking him, we look to see if there is any indication within his own language that he might entertain a doubt about his friend, Davey?

This does not mean Davey is associated with the killers, but that his friend even entertained, for a moment, that Davey could be.  

Davey had gotten off the phone with me, finished our conversation and walked in and found Amanda,

Note the order:

1.  Davey got off the phone

2.  finished our conversation

3.  walked in

4.  found Amanda

One may consider that the finish of a conversation precedes getting off the phone. 

If this is out of chronological order, it may suggest a moment of doubt; that is, a sensitivity indicator where the subject is carefully guarding his words, and not speaking from experiential memory.  

It suggests the need for alibi, and perhaps speaking from memory of what was said earlier, rather than from simple experiential memory,  which reveals doubt. 

Please recall the words of his mentor, who knew Davey before he was married to Amanda. 

He stated that he "knew" that there was something "not right about that young man" using the distancing word "that", confirming that he was suspicious.  

Did Wagnor feel the same?

The word "with" shows distance between people.  "We ended our call" is to show the conclusion but from a perspective of unity.  He used "with" to separate himself from Davey in his wording.  

In college, Blackburn said he was docked two full letter grades for just one inappropriate remark in  a sermon.  

He does not reveal what remark would drop him this significantly, but it was enough for the professor to not simply admonish, but actually punish by 2 full letter grades.  

Childhood. 

We look for psychological disturbance in the childhood of murder suspects, along with an outworking or evidence of it in adolescence.  Hence, the background, for example of Casey Anthony showed that she buried pets where she buried her daughter, and accused her father of sexual molestation, and "suddenly' began lying in high school where she eventually even lied about being pregnant, having a job, and later, about having a nanny.  The links between fabrication and murder are well known.  

Blackburn stated that he told a lie in high school but withholds what the lie was, naturally arousing the questioning from readers.  He further fuels interest in saying the single lie was such that teachers, faculty, his peers and parents turned away from him and in this year, they moved out of town and away from his father's church.  It is very difficult to know what lie would be so bad as to impact both peers and adults, but, he said, it destroyed his reputation.  He showed no empathy towards those he devoted. Lies that ostracize adults are usually met with sympathy from peers, as high school boys, in particular, are known for bad behavior in high school.  

"I got a phone call (from someone), he explained what had happened to Amanda and then he said it happened last night. I said 'that's impossible because I talked to Davey this morning,'" said Wagner.

"I began to hope, pray that it was impossible, that it wasn't reality. The texts begin to flood. The calls begin to flood, and I realized it was true. So I go home and walk in the house and tell Sherry 'I've got horrible news,'" he said.

"Sherry is my wife. We've been married for seven years. We got married three weeks before Amanda and Davey. And I watched my wife just fall to the floor and experience some of the deepest sorrow that I have ever experienced in my life," he added.

He said he and Davey went to Southern Wesleyan University in South Carolina together where they played baseball for four years.

"We were roommates together and so during that time a lot of interesting things happened. I know a lot about their relationship that most people don't. I've been around since the days when Amanda gave Davey up for Lent," he said to laughter.

In Statement Analysis, as jokes are made, we still listen to the words chosen.  This is why the "Crazy Davey" comment is a revelation that the mentor "knew" something was "wrong" with Davey. 

Here, the joke is made that Amanda "gave up" Davey for Lent.  The gist of the joke is to portray Amanda in need of getting away or giving up Davey. 

The mentor said that he offered Davey the job because of Amanda, as if Amanda would "fix" what was wrong with Davey.

People joke about what is real.  When there is no correlation, there is no sense to the joke. 

An analyst said he was teaching in the murder capital of the US and stated this, only to have a female officer quip, "I should drop my husband off here" out loud.  Since she spoke out loud and made the class laugh, he addressed her. 

"You have thought about killing your husband?", he asked.  
"No, it was just a joke" she answered. 

After the seminar she approached him and asked why he asked her that.  He said that language comes from somewhere, not from a void.  She admitted, "I am getting a divorce and I have thought that it would be so much easier if he were to just die."

Here, Kenneth Wagnor jokes, too, and it is the same theme as the mentor:  

"I don't know if you guys have heard that story but that's a good one," he quipped.

"We were riding in the car one day and we were talking about Amanda and we were like, you know Mark, his cousin, was like, 'Davey, you always wanted a girl who loved Jesus more than she loved you.' And that was what he had in Amanda. But me and Gavin looked at each other and we were like, 'that is the most irrational decision she could have ever made.' We were mad for him, Gavin, right?" he quipped again.

The rest of Wagnor's quotes reveal a genuine, heart felt, sober view of the murder, with personal connection; language specifically missing in Davey Blackburn's own.  

It is likely that both the mentor and friend have entertained the thought of,

"Could he be involved?"

"Today what I want to tell you is that there are no words that I can say that are gonna be magical. There are no words I can present to you that are going to take the pain away … to cause an instant healing. But my prayer is this: that we would all take one step closer," he said.

Conclusion:

Kenneth Wagnor showed how deeply impacted he and his wife were at the death of Amanda, but indicates sensitivity, which may be directly the result of having momentary doubt about the possibility that Davey had done something wrong. 

Even his joking is to portray Amanda as not rational to be with Davey. 

Davey's mentor also choked, but from the abundance of words, even jokes, come information and knowledge.  He not only plainly told us that something was wrong, but within his inability to describe is often found diagnosis.  

It is likely that his mentor also had his doubts when he first heard of Amanda's death. 

Both, as supporters of Blackburn, have likely seen the same bizarre wording that the rest of the world has seen, and are thrust into having defend him.  

The high school lie is examined in more detail.

Amanda Blackburn died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head two days after her husband brandished a gun during a church service. Amanda's killer is in custody.