Gable Tostee, Warriena Wright and the Missing Phone
I had a request to revisit part of the 60 Minutes Australia interview with Gable Tostee, to analyse Tostee’s behaviour surrounding Warriena Wright’s missing phone. This is a few minutes of the interview which I skipped over in my original article Gable Tostee Reveals his Guilt in Warriena Wright’s Death.
If you’re not familiar with the case, in 2016 Gable Tostee was found not guilty of the murder and manslaughter of Warriena Wright, who plunged 14 storeys from Tostee’s Gold Coast apartment just hours after they met. This is a case that people are passionate about, with many believing justice has not been served.
I should warn you, the 60 Minutes Australia video of the interview with Tostee includes audio snippets of a recording that Tostee made that fateful night. The recording in parts is horrific to listen to, as Wright screams in anguish, pleading to be allowed to go home shortly before plunging to her death.
Let’s take a look at Tostee’s behaviour surrounding the missing phone. I’m filling in the missing parts from the 60 Minutes Australia video editing with the transcript from the audio recording. If you want to listen to the full uncut audio recording, you can do so here.
Gable Tostee Recording Transcript combined with 60 Minutes Australia Interview
Music stops (38:49 audio recording)
Wright
Where’s my sister’s phone?
Tostee
What you after?
Wright
Where’s my sister’s sh*t?
Tostee
That’s your bag there isn’t it?
Wright
Yeah but where is all her sh*t? Where’s my f**king shit?
Tostee
Like what?
Wright
All my f**king data. Where is all my f**king data?
Tostee
What does it look like? Is it in there or?
Wright
It looks like a f**king iPhone. Sh*t.
Tostee
Do you want me to ring it?
Wright
Yeah, I’d love you to f**king ring it.
Tostee
What’s the number, I’ll find it?
Wright
Yeah, well f**king (inaudible/Tostee coughs)
Tostee
There’s some of your stuff right here.
Wright
(Inaudible/muffled) This is f**king serious
Tostee
Hey, look, I didn’t say you had to leave, I just said stop beating me up.
Wright
(Inaudible)
Tostee
No, it’s in there next to the bed.
Wright
Where, where?
Tostee
There.
Wright
Where? Are you going to f**king untie me?
Tostee
Right there, look. Look.
Wright
Because I will f**king, I will f**king destroy your jaw. It’s not f**king funny.
8:25 (60 Minutes Australia video clip)
After playing a snippet from the audio recording from the night, interviewer, Liam Bartlett, questions Tostee. We hear the latter part of Wright’s statement from the above transcript.
Wright
… f**king, I will f**king destroy your jaw. It’s not f**king funny.
Gable Tostee Body Language Analysis
The Facial Expression of Anger
In response to what he is hearing or the context of the situation (emotions and expressions occur in real-time), starting from an almost neutral facial expression, Tostee gulps, blinks then leans back. Leaning back, a distancing behaviour, indicates dislike or discomfort—a physical distancing reflecting psychological distancing.
As Tostee leans back, a facial movement called Brow Lowerer (Action Unit 4/AU 4) occurs when the eyebrows are pulled together in a downward motion. This is commonly described as a frown. We see this movement take place, but it’s also evident in the still screenshot, with the bulge that appears at the inner corners of his eyebrows.
In addition to Brow Lowerer, we see another facial movement, the Lid Tightener, scientifically called Action Unit 7 (AU 7). In the screenshot, this is evident in the narrowing of the eye, the tension and slight bulge just below the lower eyelid. This is caused by the contraction of the inner part of a muscle that runs around the eye, pulling the upper and lower lid inwards, towards the eye.
Gable Tostee, almost neutral expression
Gable Tostee, Action Unit 4 (Brow Lowerer) and Action Unit 7 (Lid Lightener). The Brow Lowerer facial movement is evident in a still image by the bulge at the inner corner of the eyebrows. We can also see Lid Tightener facial movement with the narrowing of the eye, the tension and slight bulge just below the lower eyelid.
These facial movements can be combined with others in the eye/eyebrow area in a few emotional expressions. However, as we see them here, they are either part of the emotional expression of anger or are a focusing mechanism. Well, they are a focusing mechanism, whether independently or during the expression of anger.
Facial expressions serve several purposes, one of which is that they have physiological benefits. We need to focus during the emotion of anger, mentally and visually and these facial movements aid focus. AU 7 seems to be most responsible for focus but AU 4 seems also to play a part. You’ve probably observed people doing this movement/s as they try to focus on something visually. I do it a lot when I’m not wearing my glasses.
Eye Blocking Behaviour
As Tostee leans back, we see an eye blocking behaviour, twice—a momentary eye closure that lasts longer than a blink. Typically, eye blocks last slightly longer than what is observed here, however, since they appear longer than a blink, they are most probably being suppressed by Tostee. We display blocking behaviours when we feel dislike or discomfort. Closing (or covering) our eyes reflect a desire to remove the stimulus.
The Facial Expression of Contempt
We also see a facial movement in the mouth that is possibly an expression of contempt, an asymmetrical expression. I’d have to see this occur from the front to confirm it as contempt/asymmetrical.
Bartlett
She’s pretty angry there.
And so is Tostee!
Tostee
Yeah
As Tostee says, “Yeah”. We can be certain that the emotion he is experiencing is anger—unless he’s faking it, which wouldn’t be in his best interest. What we don’t know is why he is experiencing anger. We can only speculate.
Tostee's anger could have been evoked from the memory of his experience with Wright on listening to the audio clip or triggered when he hears her threat of breaking his jaw. Alternatively, it might be because he is on 60 Minutes being challenged about what had happened.
Gable Tostee expresses the emotion of anger
Tostee’s hard stare is more evident in this screenshot as the emotion and expression subside a fraction of a second later. Emotion and expressions last seconds, while moods last for longer.
Bartlett
Why is she so angry she can’t find her phone?
Tostee
Erm, I’m not sure why she got so angry like that, but we were looking for her phone apparently and she couldn’t find it and she seemed to be blaming me for that and I was offering to, you know, call her phone to help her find it. Cough. And erm.
It doesn’t take a statement analyst to realise that “we were looking for her phone apparently” is a red flag. I’d love to hear statement analyst Colin Ector explain what’s happening here with the use of the word ‘apparently’.
Listening to the audio recording of the fateful night, not just this part but the whole thing, there are times where I feel Tostee is aware of what he is saying, as though he’s playing to it. A deliberate concealment of reality, so that what is recorded could serve a future purpose. If this is the case, the use of the word, ‘apparently’, makes sense.
Is Tostee using the recording as a tool to stretch the truth? Is his slip of words a reflection that he thinks his responses to Wright in the recording, might make it apparent that we were looking for her phone?
At the same time, there is a slight twitchy movement in Tostee’s otherwise still body language. It’s hard to see what’s happening with the darkness of the video and most of his body not being in view. This movement could reflect feelings of awkwardness at this point. The twitching also forms a behavioural cluster with the use of the word apparently and his cough as he ends the statement. A cluster of behaviours at a certain point can raise a red flag in terms of deception detection.
Potential Microexpression of Disgust
As Tostee says, “she seemed to be blaming me for that”, there is a slight twitch at the sides of his nose. This could be a microexpression of disgust. Is Tostee disgusted by Wright or disgusted that because of her he is now in this situation? Or something else?
A microexpression is an emotion expressed in half a second or less. Tostee’s potential microexpression of disgust occurs quicker than half a second. Microexpressions are either suppressed or concealed emotions/expressions, or stem from the subconscious before the conscious has caught up with the emotional state.
Bartlett
Did you know where it was?
Tostee
No I didn’t know where it was.
Bartlett
Okay, but at the time, you know, as we just heard, she says, “do you want me to destroy your jaw?”
Tostee
Yeah
Bartlett
So, had she already hit you?
Tostee
Erm at that stage it was kind of, what I, what I understood to be play fighting. But as you’ll see throughout the night it got worse and worse.
Gable Tostee Expression of Contempt
Facial Expression of Contempt
As Tostee says, “at that stage it was kind of”, we observe an expression of contempt, with the lip stretched to one side to the extreme. Even though the other side of his face isn’t visible, we can observe even the middle portion of his lips move slightly to his left, as the lip stretches from the outer corner.
That’s all I have for you for this analysis. As you can see in just seconds in time a lot of nonverbal behaviours occur. Seconds and minutes of footage can lead to hours of analysis and compiling an article or report (if it’s a private case). I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article and more importantly, that you’ve learned something more about behaviour and communication. I’m leaving you with the transcript of Tostee’s recording of the night, surrounding the missing phone.
