If you’re dealing with a suspect who you think may be giving you a false account of something that happened — presenting you with a pre-rehearsed story — consider using an easy, effective technique for getting that story thrown off course (and his plan to snow you derailed). Pay close attention to the supposedly truthful details he’s giving you, then the middle of his “presentation” stop him and toss in an odd, completely-unexpected series of questions.
“OK, hold on a second. Are you right or left handed? Have you always been right handed? How about your mother? Is she right or left handed? Have you ever written with your off hand?”
This will cause a sudden disconnect in his story line and it will throw off his focus on the story. Mark the point where you threw in the oddball questions, then tell him to back to a few minutes into the story from that point, replay the details he gave you earlier, then proceed. Now pay very close attention to how he picks up the story. Does he give you different details than he did the first time around? Does he find it virtually impossible to pick up where he left off and necessary to start all over again as though he needs to run through a whole memorized speech?
If that’s the case, you might be on to deceptive behavior.
