A TV documentary explores how the murder of a Portslade teenager changed the official approach to stalking by police and prosecutors.
The documentary, which is due to be broadcast on the Investigation Discovery channel tomorrow night (Friday 16 November), includes footage from police interviews with murderer Michael Lane.
Lane, who was jailed for life for killing 19-year-old Shana Grice after stalking her for months, displayed the behaviour of an obsessively jealous man, the documentary makers said.
He put a tracker on Shana’s car, slashed her tires, assaulted her in public and even broke into her house as she slept.
Despite all this, Shana’s complaints to the police were dismissed and she was even given a £90 fine for wasting police time.
Not long after, Lane broke into Shana’s Mile Oak home and murdered her.
Now, in a new documentary, Faking It: Tears Of A Crime, experts in psychology, body language and speech analyse the police interview footage of Lane.
They reveal how he gave away his guilt through a cluster of micro-gestures, pouty lips and faked sadness.
While trying to manipulate the police and cover up his terrible crime, Lane’s body language and stumbling speech indicate his guilt, they said.
In the documentary, the experts uncover several indicators that Lane was lying to the police, including how
- a ‘blink sandwich’ gave away the truth
- Lane’s hesitant speech shows he was concealing what really happened
- micro-gestures and a tiny head shake leak the truth
- a cluster of 12 lip presses indicate Lane’s anxiety about his deceit
- a whiny voice and pouty lips show Lane faking sadness ‘like a sulking child’
Shearwater Media, the documentary maker, said: “The murder of Shana Grice, and Michael Lane’s conviction, led to a major revision of the UK’s laws on stalking.”
But, as forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes said: “It’s come at such a price for Shana’s family. She can never be replaced. It’s so sad that women have to die before these lessons are learned.”
Faking It: Tears of a Crime airs at 10pm tomorrow night (Friday 16 November) on the Investigation Discovery channel.
Investigation Discovery is available on Sky 154, Virgin 170 and BT TV 324.
