LITTLE ROCK, AR - " I mean, the first thing you do is panic."
"You" = distancing language.
Arron Lewis' tears fell to his jumpsuit as he talked from behind
bars -- the suspect now charged with Capital Murder in the death of realtor Beverly Carter.
On the night of Sept. 25, investigators said Lewis scheduled an appointment with Carter to look at a
house in Scott.
"It didn't have nothing to do with her showing a home," Lewis said. "Just a place to meet."
That he says "it didn't" indicates a knowledge that something happened. "Just a place to meet" has no pronouns.
We asked Lewis how he met Beverly or how he first heard about her.
"Going on that scale is pretty much what I'm waiting to speak to my lawyer on," he said.
How he met Carter should now be considered a sensitive topic to the subject.
What Lewis did say is that Carter willingly got in to his car that night.
"I never denied her going with me. As far as kidnapping, I've never kidnapped anybody. "
The subject is unable to say "I didn't kidnap Beverly" instead changing the name to "anybody" and using "never" instead of "did not."
"You're saying that Beverly got in your car on her own free will that day?" KARK's Shannon Miller asked. He nodded.
Lewis didn't give details on what happened between that moment and Carter's death.
"You made a big mistake and you better be hoping no one finds out, " he said.
The use of "you" is distancing language from making a "big mistake" but note the inconsistency of distancing language to follow:
Investigators found Beverly's body in a shallow grave nearly thirty miles from Scott. on the property of a place Lewis used to work.
"I can say this much, we were already there," Lewis said.
"We were already there" is to tie himself and Beverly together, at the place of mistake.
"At what point did you get there?" Shannon asked? "Was it that Thursday night?" Again, Lewis nods yes.
Lewis alleges Carter's death was an accident and that authorities wouldn't buy his explanation based on his criminal history.
Lewis was asked what happened in that moment of panic.
"You've tried about five different ways," he said. "I really just want to give in."
Attempts to explain: "you", distancing language;
Wanting to give in: Pronoun "I"
It's not the first time Lewis let his guard down in front of our cameras. On Sept. 30, Lewis said he
wanted to plead guilty and get it all over with.
Now in prison, Lewis maintains his innocence .
"I didn't kill her, I didn't murder her."
Does the subject believe the car did it? Note the change from "kill" to "murder", and next note the answer is read through by the interviewer, who did a good job:
"You've never physically harmed a woman?" asked Shannon.
Lewis' responded, "I've never laid my hands on a woman period."
This is a "yes or no" question, which is avoided, making it sensitive.
Next, note that he changes the Interviewer's language and introduces "my hands" into the equation.
It should be considered that the subject may have caused the death, but indirectly, through a means that did not include his hands directly upon Beverly.
We saw something similar to the man who gave a young woman enough drugs to over dose her. He was able to say that he did not kill her; the drugs did.
As he awaits trial, Lewis sits in solitude-- sorry for everything that's happened.
"It hurts on a daily basis, just because you know that what happened was an accident, doesn't mean everything is okay."
Wise As a Serpent; Gentle As a Dove: Dealing With Deception in paper back
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