Are Baby Lisa's Parents Deceptive?
by Peter Hyatthttp://www.kmbc.com/video/29397870/detail.html
The parents of Lisa Irwin, 10 months, made a public appearance and gave a short statement. The following is the text, with Statement Analysis in bold type. Please note that in this public appearance, police first stated that they will not take any questions, and that parents stood next to each other. Jeremy Irwin and Debra Bradley are the parents with Jeremy speaking first and last. First is the statement in its entirety, followed by the analysis.
Question for Analysis: Is Deception in the statements?
Jeremy Irwin: "
On Monday night or Tuesday morning, our daughter, Lisa, was taken from our home. We just urge anyone who has any kind of information as to where she is, or who she's with or anything to, to please call the tips hotline or the police. Anything, even the smallest bit of information to help lead to her return. Anybody that might have her can drop her off at any place safe fire station or hospital or church no questions asked just want to have our baby backDebra Bradley:
we just want our baby back, please bring her home. Our two other boys are waiting for her, please , just drop her off anywhere, we don't care, just somewhere safe where she can come home, please. Jeremy Irwin:
we wanted to thank everyone who is out here, Kansas City police, FBI , search and rescue all the volunteers helping the investigation, center for missing children with the we just ask you to keep her in your thoughts and prayers and help to bring her home.
Statement Analysis is in bold type, with underlining or color highlighting added for emphasis. Analysis question is to determine if there is deception within these two short statements.
An important distinction should be made: does the plea exist specifically for Lisa?
Jeremy Irwin:
"On Monday night or Tuesday morning, our daughter, Lisa, was taken from our home.
It should be noted that when a parent refers to "our" daughter (child) it is closely related to step parenting, meaning that the family may have step parents, foster children, or adopted children. The exception is when both biological parents are speaking together, in which case the shared pronoun (plural) should remain consistent as the parent speaks for the other.
It could be that there is another parent involved in caretaking, but either way, the plural was consistent, and the parents stood together. I would not be surprised if we learned that not all 3 children are biologically Jeremy and Debra's. It is not indicative of anything other than that it is the language commonly found when a step child, or step parent is involved.
Please note that "our daughter, Lisa" is considered an appropriate introduction, using possessive pronoun "our" with the child's name.
Please note that "Monday night or Tuesday morning" qualifies time frame. Parents reported that they do not know if it was before or after 12:01AM Tuesday morning when she was taken. The qualifier is justified.
Please note that the past tense verb is used, in "was taken".
We just urge anyone who has any kind of information as to where she is, or who she's with or anything to, to please call the tips hotline or the police.
Note that the addition of the word "just" (reduction) likely reflects a sense of growing frustration
Note that "anyone" is gender neutral and is consistent with "who" she's with;
Anything, even the smallest bit of information to help lead to her return. Anybody that might have her can drop her off at any place safe fire station or hospital or church no questions asked just want to have our baby back
"smallest": This is an indication that at the time of this press conference, the father has been given no tips or indication that there is a trail of which to search; it matches the word "just" above. This same theme is found in the words "at any place", and repeated "just"
Note the consistency in the word "anybody"
Debra Bradley: we just want our baby back, please bring her home. Our two other boys are waiting for her, please , just drop her off anywhere, we don't care, just somewhere safe where she can come home, please.
Please note the consistency in pronouns. Pronouns are instinctive and the pronouns did not change from either parent, including when the mother interrupted the statement and spoke in the free editing process.
Jeremy Irwin: we wanted to thank everyone who is out here, Kansas City police, FBI , search and rescue all the volunteers helping the investigation,
center for missing children with the we just ask you to keep her in your thoughts and prayers and help to bring her home
It is important to note that it appears that police did not want the parents to answer questions. Since it appears that they have little to go on (language shows a growing desperation as they seek even the smallest bit of info)
They ask for specific help for "her" and not for themselves; "to bring her home" is noted as the results of thoughts and prayers.
There is no deception in either of these statements. The parents are consistent in language and do not use any unnecessary qualifiers, appear to speak extemporaneously at times, and have no sensitivity indicators that they are withholding information. They said what we expected to hear.
Police may have an indication that if the parents speak to answer questions, the person (s) holding baby Lisa may be offended and harm her. If this is the case, or if there is any issue of step parenting, paternity, or an ex involved, police would be following up and would not want that person to feel offense by the parents.
When "no deception" is indicated, it speaks to this statement only. Should other statements be provided, we will analyze them as well.
In some cases where parents end up implicated, it is possible for them to make a short statement that does not show deception, but if they speak over time, deception shows up. If deception is indicated, repeatedly over time, it is safe to presume that the parents possess guilty knowledge, but as the sample of statement goes up, so does reliability.
If parents speak to the press regularly, without sensitivity indicators, it is in this pattern that we can see that they are truthful.
The initial analysis of Kaine Horman and Desiree Young, parents of missing 7 year old Kyron Horman showed a divorced couple in acute pain, yet they spoke without sensitivity indicators: both were truthful. In the step mother's short statements, deception was seen.
The topic of a missing child could not be any more "sensitive" yet innocent parents answer questions about the missing child without "sensitivity indicators"; specific ways of picking up deception. Clint Dunn, father of missing 13 year old, Hailey Dunn, answered questions about his daughter's disappearance, as painful as it is, without sensitivity indicators of deception.
Desiree Young took the lead in keeping Kyron's name out there, and had plenty of things that she would have rather been private, yet her answers showed no sensitivity indicators of deception.
Our prayers are with baby Lisa, as well as the family.
Note that the parents sought for her return, so she could be safe. They asked for help for her, and prayers for her; not for themselves. As time goes on, they may ask for themselves, but the focus at this point is upon Lisa. This is reflective of what we expect in a 911 call. By seeking "anything" and event the smallest amount of information, they are speaking the opposite of the language of Lena Lunsford, mother of missing 3 year old, Aliayah, who said that she had searched "everywhere", leaving no place where Aliayah might be found.
Note the difference, as well, from the sample of Haleigh Cummings, who's step mother sought to stop the flow of information when she said, "and that's all I know", which is equal to saying, "so stop asking me questions" about Haleigh's disappearance.
A missing baby, without any indication of where she may be, or who took her, is our worst nightmare.
