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Update of Gabby Petito Case. New Body Language and Behavioral Insights in the Case. By Body Language Expert Patti Wood

Here is the link to The article I contributed to.  in The Sun. 

Here is the footage of the police stop. 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/16323894/gabby-petito-police-video-brian-laundrie-shut-up/

Update of Gabby Petito Case. New Body Langauge and Behavioral Insights in the Case. Here is what I see.

Gabby's eyes looked puffy from crying. One Instagram user commented: "Her eyes look puffy here like she was crying the night before."

The first thing that strikes me is that they put her in the back of the police car, where she may have feared that they would take her in, making her less comfortable, less likely to self-disclose and describe the whole situation, and more likely to be defensive.

The next thing I notice is how red and puffy her eyes are. The police didn't see that she had obviously been crying, showing that she may is the more likely the victim rather than the perpetrator.

The next thing I notice is that she is what she says. She is taking responsibility for getting HIM upset. That is a red flag abuse victim script. For example, I was apologizing, but I guess I said it in a mean tone," she said as she was crying and brushing her hands down on her legs in what is called "Stress Clearing." She is the one that

I said before for another article on THESUN that she rubs her neck, which is a comfort cue, but I think it's a mimicking action of where she felt vulnerable on her neck. If people touch around the carotid artery -- the vulnerable part of the neck -- that typically indicates a great fear and vulnerability of safety. She's Comfort Cuing on a part of the body that if it was hurt, it might mean death. She says this as she apologizes, in a way that reveals to me that she might've been fearing for her life."

 I also noticed this time that she said with great distress the very specific and concrete things that he did. "grabbed my face," left a "burning" gash on my cheek, and red marks on my arm.

 I see how Laundrie showed evidence of Malignant Narcissist behavior. He was not just calm but smiling, charming, and put on a bit of show for the officers. Clearly, he has charmed a lot of people in his life to get out of things. I've analyzed police interviews and interrogations for over 30 years, and I can share that the charming suspects whose behavior doesn't match the serious circumstances of the crime should not just be red flags but flaming fireworks to officers.

Laundrie told the police that Petito "gets really worked up, and when she does, she swings, and she had her cell phone in her hand. So I was trying to push her away." 

And notice that he blamed her for him having to "Push her away." They should have asked follow-up questions about the Pushing away behavior and had him demonstrate it and her demonstrate it.  

There is such a vast difference in their body language. That mismatch is in itself a red flag

 


Patti Wood, MA - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com.