Give me your purse and you will live to see another day
The Witnesses
Witness 1 Interogation
I was texting my friend about a novel they had just read, and all of a sudden the robber pulled a knife on the victim
The crime scene took place at 9:40 am. A man robs a woman without using a weapon. He says a threatening phrase to her, and steals her purse. There are 3 witnesses at the scene of the crime.
Texts Between Witness 1 and their friend
Hey! I have to tell you about this novel I have been reading.
There is 3 witnesses to the crime. A man, a woman, and a young girl. Each of them have a different story of what happened. But which one is reliable?
Witness 2 Interrogation
The robber is a heinous man. He violently pushed the woman and stole her purse!!
The man recalls having seen the robber with a knife, but no knife was found with the robber or at the scene of the crime.
Prior to Witness 2 Interrogation
Did you hear that the robber lost custody of his children...and this isn't even his first crime
Witness 1 has displayed memory misattribution. This is when a memory is assigned to the wrong source. The witness wrongly paired the conversation he was having with his friend to the crime he witnessed. Therefore, Witness 1 is not a reliable witness.
Read 9:30AM
Well, it is about this famous serial killer and he would use a specific knife on all of his victims.
Of course! Tell me all about it
Witness 2 seems angry and is claiming the robber inflicted physical violence on the victim. When in reality, that did not occur. What could've lead the victim to speak out in this way?
Witness 2 overheard two women talking in the bathroom about the robber's past. This victim is displaying memory bias. Due to hearing these allegations against the robbers, the woman has a bias against the robber and will therefore overplay what happened in her mind.