The Last Person to Be Seen With Christina Morris Was Enrique Arochi

Friends, family and co-workers of Christina Morris could not locate her after she left a party on August 30, 2014. In September 2017, Dateline featured her story. My deception analysis is included below.

Police interviewed a former high school classmate and then-person of interest, Enrique Arochi who was also at the party that night. They questioned him about his car being shown on video footage as being in the same parking garage where Christina’s car was parked, yet he initially told police they parked in separate lots.

Enrique Arochi

When asked if the photo of the black car was his car, he responded,

 “Yeah.” Then said “I guess I parked there. I went to my car, and she went her way. I mean, that’s all I can tell you. I don’t really pay attention to where people go, usually …”

**This response contains a number of deceptive responses. He’s not going to commit that he parked there, so he said, “I guess I parked there.” “That’s all I can tell you,” does not mean that’s all I know, rather it means that’s all I can tell you without incriminating myself.   “I don’t really pay attention…” means he does pay attention, at least to some degree. He also said where “people” go, instead of where Christina went. Adding “usually” at the end, weakens his statement. A more credible response would have been, “I parked there. I went to my car, and she went to hers. I did not pay attention to where she went after I went to my car.”

Detective: Was Christina in your car at all that night? Did you give her a ride, like…
Enrique: Uh-uh
Detective: Has she ever been in your car?
Enrique: Uh-uh
Detective: Not at all?
Enrique: Never

**People don’t want to lie. They would rather omit details than to overtly fabricate. Because Enrique does not want to lie, he tries to deny that she was in his car, but it is not a true denial. “Uh-uh” and “Never” do not mean “No.”

Later, when interviewed by Telemundo, he is asked if he had anything to do with her disappearance:

Enrique: No, I did not.
Next, he is asked if he hurt her in anyway:
Enrique: No I didn’t. I wouldn’t hurt h- (started to say her, then changed it) anything, not even an animal, a fly, nothing.

**It is noteworthy when there is a change in baseline. There is a reason he said “I did not,” then in the very next response said, “I didn’t.” (Remember the infamous Bill Clinton statement, “I did not have sexual relations, with that woman”?)

“Wouldn’t” is a deceptive word. “I wouldn’t hurt” doesn’t mean he didn’t hurt. For what it’s worth, I certainly would hurt a fly if that sucker were in the room and I could swat it!

When asked what he thinks happened to her:

Enrique: I have no idea. I wish I knew.

** “I have no idea” or “I don’t have a clue” are deceptive responses. Everyone has at least some thought or indication what may have happened. To say they have “no idea” is a way of withholding information.

Arochi Guilty of Aggravated Kidnapping

Three months later, Enrique was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping. The Dateline episode said that the police also believed he killed Christina but they did not have a body or a crime scene, which would make getting a conviction much more difficult.

During the trial, a CSI expert testified that they did find Christina’s DNA inside the trunk of his car. In December 2016, Enrique Arochi was found guilty of the aggravated kidnapping charges. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Family and friends continue to search for her every weekend.

Please Like, Share and Post a Comment

As Managing Director of Concealed Statements I work with men and women who want to increase their deception awareness to avoid wasting time or money and avoid making poor decisions based on inaccurate information.

Be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.