Embattled hubby Scott Peterson yesterday tried to convince America he and missing wife Laci had a “glorious” marriage – but his body language undermined his message, an expert says.
“He’s a cold, cool cat. He’s definitely not telling the whole truth,” said Manhattan body-language guru Mary Dawne Arden, after watching Peterson on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” at The Post’s request.
“The way he sits, with his legs spread, his hands on his knees, facing Diane Sawyer, what he’s saying is, ‘I’m the king of the mountain.’ “
An air of deception was definitely not the image Peterson, a 31-year-old Modesto, Calif., man whose wife vanished on Christmas Eve, hoped to get across in the second of a two-part interview with Sawyer.
He wanted people to believe he was happily married to his wife, although he’s admitted cheating on her.
“God, the first word that comes to mind is, you know, glorious,” the manure salesman said when Sawyer asked him about his marriage.
“We took care of each other very well, she was amazing,” he said before adding, “[She] is amazing.”
Peterson, whom police have not ruled out as a suspect, was supported by his parents and siblings.
“He’s the gentlest person I ever knew,” his dad, Lee, said.
But according to Arden, Peterson was not convincing because he smirked, dropped his eyes and showed too little emotion.
“The way he was talking was very superficial,” she said. “I don’t see any real grief when he’s talking.”
Peterson tried to portray his marital relationship as strong by recalling one of his first dates with his wife.
“We were driving down the highway and, for no reason, I was just smiling the biggest smile,” he said. “She asked me, ‘What the heck are you smiling about?’ The only [reason] was because she was there.”
Peterson welled up with tears when Sawyer asked him about the nursery that awaited little Connor, the unborn baby boy Laci was carrying.
“That door is closed until there’s someone to go in there,” he said.
But that didn’t sway Arden.
“If somebody asks you about your baby that’s missing, there would be some emotional reaction on your face,” she said. “He’s stonewalling.”
Peterson said that last time he saw his wife was at about 9:30 a.m. Dec. 24, before he left for a solo fishing trip.
When Sawyer pointedly asked him why he would go fishing on Christmas Eve, leaving his pregnant wife behind, he said, “My day was open to, you know, either play golf or go fishing.”
“Throughout, there was no emotion on his face,” Arden said. “His words didn’t mesh with his body language.”