Nonverbal communication body Movement

The body of Elisa Lam, a 21 year-old Canadian tourist from Vancouver, was recently discovered in a water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. It was in there for up to 19 days. The video above shows Ms. Lam in an elevator at the hotel. What follows is a body language analysis of this video. A summary appears at the end.

When Ms. Lam initially enters the elevator she is not in fear. Her wide arm swing (left) and relaxed and fluid gate (her walk, see video) indicate she is relaxed and thus not feeling urgency.

After pushing multiple buttons (which she performs in two sessions), Elisa Lam moves to the back left corner of the elevator. Her arms (at her sides) and feet positions are neutral, relaxed and does NOT indicate fear.

Shortly thereafter she looks quickly out the elevator door.

She then retreats to the left wall of the elevator and then moves to the left front corner. Her her hands adopt the "Fig Leaf" configuration and her feet are close together. This is consistent with anxiety, a lower confidence, beta emotional tone. This body language does not, by itself, indicate fear.

Here Ms. Lam jumps out of the elevator. It is quick two-step maneuver and has a playful quality to it.

For a second or two, Ms. Lams feet splay wide. While her hands are still in the fig leaf nonverbal (or close to it), this wide stance signifies greater confidence and is not consistent with fear. Thus the simultaneity of these two nonverbals signasl some level of emotional dissonance.

This is the most important image of the series. For about 16 seconds Ms. Lam displays a "Elbows Out Laterally with Armpit Exposed & Behind the Head Hair Preening Display". This was, at least for some time, performed bilaterally (see below). The movement, as she reaches up to begin this extended preen - was fluid, slow and deliberate - which is very important. This display cluster context is a strong and highly reliable indicator of sexual interest. The person of her interest is either present outside the elevator - or she is actively thinking about this person.