Long family murders - Burlington, CO
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/03/09/exp.piers.family.parents.killed.cnn
A 12-year old accused of murdering his parents and seriously wounding two siblings. An interview of the child's older brother and uncle.
The whole interview is a fascinating study on expressions, microexpressions and other physical manifestations of emotion (breathing patterns etc), but I would especially like to hear your take on the brother's description of his murdered parents as well as the description of what the atmosphere at the house was 10 minutes before the murders and his feelings in the aftermath. (Timeline 1:35-3:43)
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Adamson's Grunter commented
No problem, I totally understand. Thanks for taking the time to reply :) I'm curious a lot of the time about a lot of things, so this was just something I was wondering about but of no great consequence. Plus, just trying to articulate, what exactly I was unsure of, was an eye-opening exercise in itself.
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I appreciate your interest, but due to the lack of interest by others, I will not be dissecting this video. I hope you understand. I will leave this up for others, however, for a little while so they can see your thoughts! Thanks for the suggestion!
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Adamson's Grunter commented
Sorry for the delay in replying. This was a suggestion for those "seeing honesty" posts.
I believe especially the brother was in total shock and having a hard time being interviewed, I'm not sure the uncle even really realizes what has happened yet (either that or he is a very "proper" sort of person and does his best to behave as he thinks one should in a tv interview). I think they tried very hard to keep their feelings in check, but I think especially the brother was having a hard time with that and going through a multitude of emotions throughout the interview. What I found interesting was that there were things that one might take as being "red flags" for dishonesty, but in this case would most probably be a result of strong, raw and fluctuating emotions.
The brother speaks as if there's someone standing on his chest and his breathing is quite shallow, which makes the voice monotone and flat (which might be interpreted as no emotion - although here I think it is the opposite: overwhelming emotion). There's a fascinating break in the pattern at 3:40 when the interviewer turns to the uncle and the brother draws a deep breat and seems to almost break down. A lot of times one can get through something hard, but the second it's over, there's a sense of relief and immediately emotions set in like a storm wave. And at 5:18 when he is asked a question again, the brother braces himself again drawing his chest full of air and holding it in as he replies.
At 1:48 the brother is describing his parents in quite unemotional but positive terms and shakes his head "no". This also might be interpreted as denying his own words or having no emotions toward his parents, but I personally think he's simply distancing himself from the reality and can't believe what has happened. This distancing is what I was most curious about regarding your views, because it is hard for me to grasp the generic type of description and the difference in a genuine need to distance yourself for fear of falling apart as opposed to not having warm emotions in the first place. I am also curious whether slight expressions at 2:18 and 2:22 (first is a quick squint and the second a rising of the upper lip) are microexpressions of anger (I often have trouble with seeing negative microexpressions).
Smiles/grins at inappropriate moments can be a sign of dishonesty but also of disbelief as I would guess ones at 3:09 and 5:47 would be. As well as the uncle, who "wears" a smile through much of the interview but is clearly not feeling any happiness.
At 2:40 there is a movement that makes me curious. The brother starts to "rock" (for a lack of a better word) or perhaps shake his leg (it's a head shot so it's impossible to be sure), but I get the sense he is having trouble restraining his emotions and his body starts to move in a comforting rocking motion to calm him down. Is this what others see?
And the last part I would like to ask about are the expressions on both of their faces at 4:49. They are obviously both strong emotions but I can't put my finger on exactly what. The brother moves backward and presses his lips together in a strong and wide motion and the uncle moves forward pressing his lips together and sticking out his tongue. Are they merely attempting to find words for the indescribable or is there something else as well?
I'm sorry it's not in chronological order, but those are the parts I was most curious about and the thoughts that I got from them. A very tragic case and I feel uneasy watching it - partly for the anguish you know will soon set in and partly because I'm not sure people should be publicly interviewed in cases like this at that stage of coping. The brother seemed absolutely drained and I think he needed what strength he still had left. -
I'm curious what you see here. I see two people in shock who are not showing a lot of emotions or expressions. I only watched a small portion. Share with me time markers...