History Main / IncriminatingIndifference

* Han Tak Lee, infamously imprisoned for arson and murder after his daughter perished in a house fire, was targeted for suspicion mainly because of his emotionless demeanor when discussing his daughter's death (that and the fact that he had packed a suitcase shortly before escaping the house). He was exonerated 24 years later due to evidence that the house fire could not have been intentionally. Its generally accepted that the lack of emotion was due both to cultural differences (Lee is a first-generation Korean immigrant) and Lee's general unflappability, both of which illustrate serious problems with trying to apply this trope to real life.

* In the start of ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption'', the protagonist is charged with the murder of his wife. Though there is other evidence that points towards him, what seems to really cinch the case was that he showed no grief, described by the judge as "an icy and remorseless" individual. The fact that his wife was killed along with her lover and that this might confuse his grieving process is never addressed. [[spoiler:Sure enough, about two-thirds of the way through the movie, we find out that he really was innocent.]] The rest of the film makes it clear the protagonist just has a calm, quiet, emotionally-reserved personality.

* This trope was in full effect and immediately noted by the police officers who responded to Scott Peterson's house when he reported his wife Laci missing, who was also pregnant with his unborn child. They both noted his calm demeanor, and when they went to check the garage, Peterson was more concerned with making certain they didn't scratch the paint on one of his cars than seeing if Laci had been in there.

** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d (of course) in the novel ''Discworld/NightWatch'', when Vimes realizes a little too late that not reacting at all to Coates saying he isn't the real John Keel is a dead giveaway.
** Played straight in ''Discworld/{{Maskerade}}'', where the murderer is the DeadpanSnarker who makes insensitive but amusing quips about the deceased. It can actually be a bit surprising in a humorous novel where most characters are {{Deadpan Snarker}}s at one point or another, but Terry Pratchett has repeatedly commented in his novels how making jokes about killing people, even bad ones, is a telltale sign of twisted morals.

Look, you're just asking for trouble, pal. We said cry, so you'd better [[InelegantBlubbering turn on the gushers]]. Because if you don't then you're the killer! And when the case comes to trial six months later you had better ''still'' be crying, or the reporters are going to be jabbering about how you sat there "emotionless" during the "most brutal part of the testimony," which is guaranteed to make you look bad even if you aren't actually the one on trial.

Wait, you say you have a sense of personal dignity and prefer to mourn in private, and wouldn't dream of sullying your loved one's memory by breaking down just in time for the ten o'clock news team to catch it? Or that you're in shock and too bewildered and horrified to do anything but stare blankly?

* {{Deconstructed}} in ''Series/{{Unbelievable}}''. The teenager Marie Adler is subjected to a brutal rape in her apartment. Afterwards, her former foster-mother Judith comes to suspect her of making a FalseRapeAccusation, because she doesn't see her showing any strong emotions after what happened, and her telling this to the police officers investigating Marie's case makes them come to the same conclusion. To the viewer, however, it is made quite clear that Marie's lack of reaction is because she is still in a state of shock and trauma after the rape, and is actually trying her hardest to avoid thinking about what happened. Her other foster-mother Colleen points out this to Judith when they talk, noting that people react differently in individual cases.

* {{Deconstructed}} in ''Series/{{Unbelievable}}''. The teenager Marie Adler is subjected to a brutal rape in her apartment. Afterwards her former foster-mother Judith comes to suspect her of making a FalseRapeAccusation, because she don't see her showing any strong emotions after what happened, and her telling this to the police officers investigating Marie's case makes them come to the same conclusion. To the viewer, however, it is made quite clear that Marie's lack of reaction is because she is still in a state of shock and trauma after the rape, and is actually trying her hardest to avoid thinking about what happened. Her other foster-mother Colleen points out this to Judith when they talk, noting that people react differently in individual cases.

* ''{{Series/Unbelievable}}'': {{Deconstructed}}. Marie's former foster mother Judith suspects Marie of making a FalseRapeAccusation, because they don't see her showing any strong emotions after what happened, and them telling this to the police officers investigating Marie's case makes them come to the same conclusion. To the viewer, however, it is made quite clear that Marie's lack of reaction is because she is still in a state of shock and trauma after the rape, and is actually trying her hardest to avoid thinking about what happened. Her other foster mother Colleen points out this to Judith when they talk, noting that people react differently in individual cases.

* The murder of Kristine Fitzhugh is an inversion. Her husband, Kenneth, staged the scene to look like she'd fallen on the basement stairs due to unstable shoes he said he'd warned her about. His performance in the interview room trying to sell the story was an over-the-top scenery-chewing performance (including MilkingTheGiantCow) that [[https://youtu.be/F_-KdKJ-s48?t=820 has to be seen to be believed]]. Needless to say, no one believed it.
** In reality, if you're going to be murdered, chances are it's going to be by someone close to you, so the cops have to suspect them in any case, regardless of emotional reaction. Though they might feel bad about having to do it if they show just the right kind of reaction.
* Lowell Lee Andrews had a completely apathetic reaction to the death of his family, telling the cop "look inside" and saying he didn't care how his family was buried. The family minister was able to get him to confess and he was later hanged for the crime.

* Cited on ''many'' crime shows, both fictional and real, as the reason why cops get suspicious of supposedly grieving loved ones.
** Inverted too--they get just as suspicious of people acting too upset, suspecting that they're putting on an act.

* Camus' ''Literature/TheStranger'' sort of messes with this. Meursault's murder trial paints him as an inhuman monster because he didn't act sad at his mother's funeral. It's a bit of a subversion, as he didn't cry because he didn't really care, and he claimed he killed the man because the sun was in his eyes, but his treatment at the trial still fits this trope.
** The trope is played to extremes in order to make a satirical point about racism in French-ruled Algiers. The crime Meursault's actually on trial for is murdering an Arabic man, which is noted in the book as not a serious crime - it might get him a year or so in prison. Reflecting that, he has little empathy for the man he killed. As the trial goes on, however, his lack of empathy is noted and [[KangarooCourt the jury realise]] that he didn't cry at his mother's funeral, [[DisproportionateRetribution and he gets the death penalty for it]]. His lack of socially-appropriate emotions is the real crime, rather than an actual murder, because the society he's in don't care that an Arab man was killed.

* ''Film/ReversalOfFortune''. Claus von Bülow doesn't make his legal defense team comfortable with his aristocratic DissonantSerenity and GallowsHumor (the latter may have helped to get him initially convicted).

* Subverted in ''Film/{{Star Trek VI|TheUndiscoveredCountry}}''. Scotty notes that the murdered Klingon Chancellor's daughter didn't shed "one bloody tear" and so she must have been the culprit. Spock points out that that in itself is not conclusive since Klingons have no tear ducts. Whether Scotty was intending for this turn of phrase be taken literally is not clear, but it's academic in the end: [[spoiler:Not only is she innocent, but the same plotters who arranged for her father to be murdered and for Kirk and [=McCoy=] to take the fall target ''her'' at the climax.]]

* ''Film/ReversalOfFortune''. Claus von Bülow doesn't make his legal defense team comfortable with his aristocratic DissonantSerenity and GallowsHumor.

** Also played straight in a later episode; A man notices that his daughters have gone missing, about a year after his wife died. Over the course of the episode, we found out that he has a split personality, and is an alcoholic. When one of his two daughters is found dead, he is immediately considered the killer due to his alcoholism causing him some ''serious'' [[HairTriggerTemper anger issues]]. The other girl is later found crying from a nearby forest. [[spoiler: As it turns out, the surviving girl displays no emotion of ''any kind'' when she returns to her empty house. J.J feels that something is wrong and calls the other agents. J.J finds her in the basement and realizes that the daughter killed half of her family and tried to shift the blame on her troubled dad, and the two end up pointing guns at each other. Once the others arrive, the daughter claims that J.J tried to kill her, but nobody is fooled by her act anymore.]]

* ''Literature/DeadEndJobMysteries'': In the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue of the first book, this is what results in a "Guilty" verdict for the killer - they showed no emotion during the trial.

* This was noticed about [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Downs Diane Downs]] from the moment she arrives at a hospital with her three children, claiming that a stranger had shot them all while trying to carjack her--she cared far more about her own injury than that of her children and ''laughed'' while reenacting the crime for the police.

* ''Series/LawAndOrderUK''. Prosecutor Alesha Philips becomes suspicious of the young woman they've charged with murder, who is claiming to have acted in self-defense after the victim raped her, noting that she's completely blase about having to testify, citing that most rape victims are usually terrified at the prospect--as she herself was.
* Imported from the Mother Ship from an episode in which Van Buren and the detectives suspect a girl claiming self-defense of being too calm in describing the alleged assault in front of her parents. An actual victim would be far too uncomfortable to recount it, especially in front of her father.

** The same DA also doubted that she had any remorse for her actions as she claimed, noting during her trial, while a tape simulating how her children drowned was played, she played tic-tac-toe.

'''Dixon Steele:''' Well, I grant you, the jokes could've been better, but I don't see why the rest should worry you -- that is, unless you plan to arrest me on lack of empathy.

This trope has been around on television so long that these days [[DiscreditedTrope the subversion is at least as common as the trope]]: the "non emotional" person at the scene makes for an excellent {{red herring}} for the first half hour of a crime procedural, but is rarely the true killer because that would be too easy. You can expect the truly guilty person to have [[CrocodileTears had the waterworks on full blast]], just as expected, if only to throw off suspicion.

* Subverted in ''Film/{{Star Trek VI|TheUndiscoveredCountry}}''. Scotty notes that the murdered Klingon Chancellor's daughter didn't shed "one bloody tear" and so she must have been the culprit. Spock points out that that in itself is not conclusive, since Klingons have no tear ducts. Whether Scotty was intending for this turn of phrase be taken literally is not clear, but it's academic in the end: [[spoiler:Not only is she innocent, but the same plotters who arranged for her father to be murdered and for Kirk and [=McCoy=] to take the fall target ''her'' at the climax.]]

'''Dixion Steele:''' Well, I grant you, the jokes could've been better, but I don't see why the rest should worry you -- that is, unless you plan to arrest me on lack of emotion.

* In ''Film/CrookedHouse'', Charles notes that no one in Aristide Leonides' family (except his second wife) seems at all distressed by his murder. Reactions range from crocodile tears, to a grudging admittance that they'll miss him, to outright admission that they hated him. As Charles notes, this makes everyone look like a viable suspect.

* Inverted in the ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes'' story when a man is arrested for the murder of his father. The fact that he accepts arrest so calmly and he expected it is used as evidence by the police of his guilt. Holmes however points out that it simply shows he was aware of the overwhelming evidence against him and that it was futile to protest; only a guilty man would try and cause a scene.

* An extreme example can be found in Philip K. Dick's ''Literature/DoAndroidsDreamOfElectricSheep'': no matter how well replicants can simulate feelings and hide their LackOfEmpathy, when submitted to the Voight-Kampff test, a minimal delay in emotional response is enough to incriminate them.

* Invoked in the ''Literature/MissMarple'' short story, "Tape Measure Murder": the victim's husband is a believer in the Stoic philosophy and takes pride in showing no emotion at the news of his wife's murder. Naturally, everyone else is less impressed and more suspicious about this. Miss Marple is the only one who believes him innocent, because he reminds her of an uncle who was also a Stoic.
* This is one of the reasons why Nick looks more and more guilty of Amy's disappearance in ''Literature/GoneGirl''. [[spoiler: He is quite innocent, but he is not only uncomfortable with showing his feelings, but also has trouble feeling entirely sorry that Amy is gone due to how unhappy their marriage had become. [[ManipulativeBastard Amy, who knows Nick better than anyone, was counting on those two things helping to incriminate him.]]]]

* In Series/{{Poirot}}'s adaptation of ''Literature/SadCypress'', one of the reason why the jury was quick to declare Elinor as guilty is because she showed no remorse to the death of Mary Gerrard. Mary was loved by practically everyone, including Elinor's fiance Roddy, and Elinor is the only one who could have the motive to murder the other girl. As it turns out, Elinor ''did'' want Mary to die, but did not commit the murder.

* In ''True Crime Files'', a docu-series, there was an episode that dramatized the real life murder of Sylvia "Maggie" Locascio. When police were investigating the crime scene after the discovery of her body in her Florida mansion, her son Eddie Jr. came home and was stopped by police, who became suspicious by his seeming lack of surprise upon being informed of his mother's death. [[SubvertedTrope It was]] a RedHerring: Eddie was innocent, and the real killer was a hitman hired by his father who wanted to kill her over their very messy divorce proceedings.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_Chamberlain-Creighton Lindy Chamberlain]] was wrongly accused and convicted of murdering her baby daughter, and the media made hay of the fact that she didn't act the way they thought was right. She was probably dazed or numb with grief, but to them, the fact that she wasn't bawling her eyes out made her guilty. She was eventually released... but all up, it was not one of the Australian legal system or media's proudest moments.

* While never accused of the crime (in fact she was one of the victims) something very close to this happened to Emma Jangestig in Sweden 2005. Jangestig and her two small children were assaulted by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Sch%C3%BCrrer Christine Schürrer]], an ex-girlfriend of the children's father. Schürrer bludgeoned Jangestig and her children with a hammer, killing the children and leaving the mother in a serious condition. In the aftermath of the crimes Jangestig was never seen crying in public and often smiled for the cameras when being interviewed, which sparked a large debate on whether she really cared about her children's deaths at all. Eventually Jangestig wrote a book titled "''Varför gråter inte Emma?''" ("''Why Doesn't Emma Cry?''") about the murders, her recovery in the hospital and the aftermath. As the title suggests, the book also deals with why she didn't cry in public and makes it clear that the loss of her children is the biggest tragedy of her life.

* Josh Powell couldn't even be bothered to act concerned about his missing wife [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Susan_Powell Susan]], offering the cops vague, ridiculous answers as to what could have happened to her and even saying he wanted to "''wait a few days''" (time is of the essence in a missing persons investigation) before coming to the police station and speaking with them some more.

* Josh Powell couldn't even be bothered to act concerned about his missing wife [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Susan_Powell Susan]], offering the cops vague, ridiculous answers as to what could have happened to her and even saying he wanted to "''wait a few days''" before coming to the police station and speaking with them some more.