Robert Chambers - The Preppy Murder
This month, AMC aired their five-part documentary "The Preppy Murder - Death In Central Park." In August 1986, Robert Chambers killed Jennifer Levin in New York City's Central Park. Chambers claimed he killed Levin accidentally during rough sex. Despite evidence that Chambers used Levin's jean jack to choke her to death, the jury was deadlocked as to whether Chambers intentionally killed Levin. To end the trial, Chambers pled guilty to manslaughter and received a 5 - 15 year sentence.
During his initial police interview, Chambers described Levin allegedly attacking him.
"She just scratched my face. I have these marks here. I didn't even notice them until this morning."
In Statement Analysis®, the shortest sentence is the best sentence. Extra words always give us extra information. There are several words in Chambers' statement you could remove and his statement would still be grammatically correct. Can you identify these extra words that he used? Scroll to the bottom of the page for the answer.
"She just scratched my face. I have these marks here. I didn't even notice them until this morning."
The first extra word he used is the word "just." There are several ways you can use the word "just." Most of the time, when you hear the word "just" a person is minimizing something.
When a person minimizes his actions, it is an indication he did more than what he is telling you; "Yesterday, I just went to work." In Chambers' statement, he is probably using
the word "just" to emphasize a sudden action; "She just scratched my face." Therefore, his use of the word "just" is acceptable.
The next extra word is the word "these." He could have said, "I have marks here" and that would be grammatically correct. However, it sounds a little strange. Most people would probably be more specific about the marks. They might say something like, "I have marks right here" or "I have marks on my face." Chambers was probably using the word "these" to indicate specificity; "I have these marks here."
The last extra word he used is the word "even." This word is clearly not needed. Saying, "I didn't notice them until this morning" is a very good statement. So, why did he use the word "even?" The word "even" indicates a contrast of ideas. In his mind, he is comparing not noticing the scratches on his face until this morning with something else. More than likely, he is comparing he knew he had scratches on his face with his denial he didn't notice them until that morning. If someone scratched your face multiple times, you will feel the pain and common sense will tell you it is going to leave some marks. Saying, "I didn't notice them until this morning" would have been a good denial but a hard one to believe. Saying, "I didn't even notice them until this morning" is a strong indication he was lying.