Warning: This article contains details some readers may find disturbing
Abuser Paul Hemming mouthed a series of chilling words to the family of his murdered wife - words which have been featured in a true crime documentary about the killing.
In 2016, Hemming discovered that his partner, Natalie Hemming, was having an affair and wanted to leave him after being subjected to his coercive and manipulative behaviour for over a decade.
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In a jealous rage, Hemming beat his wife to death at their Milton Keynes home as their children slept upstairs.
He later buried her body in woodland where she remained undiscovered for 21 days before being found beside the road badly decomposed, with a fracture to the head, a broken arm and heavy bruising.
Natalie’s mum reported her daughter’s disappearance to Thames Valley police and flagged her own suspicions about Paul.
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The killer was interviewed by police in the weeks after Natalie’s disappearance, during which he repeatedly denied any involvement and cried fake tears.
Hemming was later found guilty of murder in October 2016 and sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 20 years.
He showed no remorse at his sentencing at Luton Crown Court and instead, chillingly looked over to Natalie’s mother and sister and mouthed to them: “I enjoyed every minute.”
In one scene in the documentary, Hemming is interviewed at home by the police regarding Natalie’s disappearance. When asked to describe his relationship with Natalie’s, he could only reply, stutteringly, that it was ‘alright’.
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Body language expert Dr Cliff Lansley states: “It’s a fairly reasonable question for someone who’s innocent. He should have no trouble with it. But he’s having a lot of trouble here.
"We get tension in the legs, you’ll see the legs are relaxed and outward, but he’s tightening them up and pulling them into the settee.
"He’s almost anchoring himself into the settee here. You’ll also see a gestural retreat, where he’s moving backwards. If you look at his shoulders, he’s leaning back away from the officer, and this is something that we do when we feel under attack.”
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Hemming becomes agitated when asked to hand over his phone and asks how long he’ll be without it. He also claimed that he’d prefer to bring it down to the station himself, in case people, or Natalie try to call him, even though he murdered her.
“He’s really keen to hang on to that telephone. He’s not keen to release it. What’s really interesting is when he says ‘if Natalie calls me’, we get a micro headshake.
"We have a contradiction – he’s saying Natalie may call him, but his body is saying ‘no she won’t’. This movement of his head is probably below his consciousness,” Dr Lansley said.
Faking It series 7 available to stream on discovery+
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If you’ve been affected by this story, you can call Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline at 0808 2000 247, or talk to them online here.
Topics: Crime, True Crime, TV And Film
Gregory Robinson