Question

A police officer is interrogating a suspect in a white collar crime case where several hundred thousand dollars are suspected to have been stolen. When asked if knows anything about the missing money, the suspect puts his hands over his mouth and says, "I don't know what you're talking about." What conclusion can the investigator draw from the suspect's behavior and answer?

Answer 1

Answer: The investigator can conclude that the suspect may just be lying

Explanation:

There are quite a few signs or gestures that can help to reveal someone's intent or actions. It is these signs or gestures that investigators find very useful in finding out if the suspect is actually being truthful or being economical with the truth.

One of such signs that tells the investigator that the accused is not being truthful is:

***when he or she (the accused) starts wiping his or her lips with fingers.

*** When the suspect repeatedly strikes his or her chin.

*** When the suspect during the interrogation often used an object to cover his or her mouth or uses his or her hand to cover the mouth.

All these are signs that could mean that the suspect is probably lying to the investigators. Experts and psychologists believe that the covering of the mouth is an unconscious effort to stop other people from listening to the falsehood or lie that is about to be uttered.

They do this in an attempt to hold back their words because they know they are untrue.

Answer 2

Answer:

The conclusion that can be drawn is that the suspect is probably lying.

Explanation:

There are several signs that a person may be lying, many of them conveyed through body language. Among the most "famous" ones are covering one's mouth, touching one's nose, scratching one's neck, avoiding eye contact - or the opposite, maintaining prolonged eye contact without much blinking. The habit of covering one's mouth when lying usually appears during childhood. It's as if the person's trying to hold the words back. While doing so, they can use just a few fingers, or even the whole hand.