BOISE, IDAHO: A body language expert is assisting in the understanding of Lori Vallow's drastically altered appearance in recent mugshots. Body language expert Patti Wood speculates that 49-year-old Lori could have pulled off pigtailed braids for her most recent mugshot in a desperate attempt to maintain control after being found guilty of murder.
Lori was ultimately convicted on Friday, May 12, after a Boise, Idaho, court unanimously voted to put her behind bars. She was found guilty of murdering her children, her son JJ Vallow, 7, and daughter Tylee Vallow, 16, as well as planning to kill her fifth husband, Chad Daybell's wife. On Monday, May 15, a fresh mugshot of Lori was made public, in which she can be seen gazing directly into the camera and appearing to smirk. Her hair is braided and looks substantially darker in the photo than it would because she usually wears loose brilliant blonde curls, making it stand out significantly from other mugshots.
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What did the body language expert say of Lori Vallow's mugshot?
Patti Wood, a body language and nonverbal communication expert, stated in an interview with The US Sun that the drastic change in hairstyle may have been an effort to maintain control as she could spend the rest of her life in prison. "The braiding might be a way for her to have control over herself, control over her image, which is the only control that's really left," she said.
Wood pointed out that her hair might be the only feature of her appearance that she can change while behind bars. "I think it could possibly represent a preparation for this new transition of where she's going," she said.
Wood also characterized braids with girlhood and suggested that Lori might be attempting to suggest an innocent appeal to perhaps deflect attention from the murder conviction. "So when we think about braids on a child, we think youth and innocence. And when we see somebody of this age wearing braids and pigtails... it would be 'I wanna look young and innocent,'" she said.
'I'm gonna stare you down'
Wood noted that Lori's facial expression suggests that she is "very pleased with herself." She added that Lori has a "smirk" with her mouth slightly turned up, and when combined with her "intense stare at the photographer," it had an unsettling effect.
Wood said, "That takes, let's say a strong personality to stare into the camera as you're being taken to prison. So that is a really interesting facial expression. I'm gonna stare you down. I am strong, I'm powerful, and I'm pleased with myself," according to The Sun.