Mum Paula Hamilton was seen to be struggling to compose herself during an appeal after her nine-year-old daughter Zoe went missing from her bedroom back in January 1997.

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Within hours of her going missing on the Army base in Warminster where they lived, hundreds of military members were looking for Zoe, alongside her stepdad and Paula’s husband Miles Evans.

As they continued their plea, Miles appeared in front of the media with Paula to explain how much they missed Zoe and wanted her to come home. What people didn’t realise is that Miles was lying and he knew exactly where she was… because he had murdered her.

During the press conference which occurred two days after Zoe went missing, Miles gave himself away with the slightest body language movements, giving away his lies behind the fake tears.

He had murdered Zoe and dumped her body in a badger sett yards from their home. Although he never admitted to this, the police eventually found her body six weeks later and Miles was arrested when his t-shirt was found with Zoe’s blood on. Here are some of the body language signs that gave Miles away and turned him into a suspect, as described in crime documentary ‘Faking It: Tears of a Crime’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS9fh92MFzw

In case you were unable to watch the video, one of the main things that raised suspicion among the media was when Miles was unable to make eye contact with any of the journalists and constantly looked down.

He also closed his eyes for long periods at a time – an indication of a distance technique. A slight move of the arm was a subconscious signal of what he had done. Miles also uses “we” throughout the press conference to refer to how much they miss Zoe, which suggests he’s trying to make himself a part of the group. It’s interesting to see how these slight movements and language traits can give so much away.

At the time that Miles was arrested he was 24-years-old and to this day he has never admitted to the killing. However, during the trial it emerged that Miles had beaten Zoe the night before she went missing and suffocated her with his vest. It also emerged that he may have been abusing this little girl. Scum of the earth – the court agreed and Miles was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes.

For more of the same, here are the three word answers that gave Ian Huntley away in the Soham murder case.