Grenfell conman ‘exposed guilt with dead eye stare’ in TV interview

This is the chilling moment a Grenfell conman who pretended his wife and son died in the catastrophic blaze ‘exposed his guilt with a dead eye stare’ in a television interview.

Anh Nhu Nguyen told volunteers a bogus tale that he’d lost his home and family when a fire ripped through the 24-storey west London tower block in June 2017. 

The serial conman, who had lived in Beckenham when the blaze killed 72 people, constructed the lie in order to claim £12,000 of funds set aside to support victims. 

Nguyen – who had never lived in the tower block and had neither a wife or children – even shook Prince Charles‘s hand when the royal visited a relief centre set up in the wake of the disaster. 

He was jailed for 21 months in 2018 after pleading guilty to fraud at Southwark Crown Court.

Anh Nhu Nguyen told a bogus tale that he’d lost his home and family when a fire ripped through the 24-storey west London tower block in June 2017

In an interview after the inferno, the fraudster shared an elaborate tale of his escape from the tower block, describing his ‘shock’ as he climbed over dead bodies.

He also recounted the moment he lost sight of his wife and 12-year-old son as he scrambled down a stairwell which was full of thick smoke. 

Experts on Faking It: Tears of a Crime have now revealed how Nguyen exposed himself as a fraudster after analysing his ‘dead eye stare’ in the ’emotionless’ interview. 

Body language expert Cliff Lansley told the Quest Red show: ‘His eyes never move from the interviewer. Now that’s unusual.

‘It’s polite to look at the person who’s speaking, but in normal conversations you’d be looking away, you’d be accessing your memory. He’s focusing on the interviewer, and that’s unusual in truthful statements.’

The serial conman, who had lived in Beckenham when the blaze killed 72 people, constructed the lie in order to claim £12,000 of funds set aside to support victims

The serial conman, who had lived in Beckenham when the blaze killed 72 people, constructed the lie in order to claim £12,000 of funds set aside to support victims

Experts on Faking It: Tears of a Crime have now revealed how Nguyen exposed himself as a fraudster after analysing his 'dead eye stare' in the 'emotionless' interview. Pictured: The show

Experts on Faking It: Tears of a Crime have now revealed how Nguyen exposed himself as a fraudster after analysing his ‘dead eye stare’ in the ’emotionless’ interview. Pictured: The show

The show also explains how Nguyen’s vocal pitch indicated deception, suggesting he was excited that his story was being believed rather than upset by the events.

Mr Lansley added: ‘Nguyen seems to be leaning on the idea that he’s got some empathy from the interviewer, you can see how eager he is.

‘What’s significant and different from the base line, is the pitch from the response has increased. So, this is probably excitement: “I’m on a winner now, I’m being believed.”‘

Professor of Linguistics Dawn Archer added there was a lack of ’emotional signals’ while he recounted his apparent experience in the fire. 

‘He’s telling us something incredibly traumatic, but we have no emotional signals of this trauma,’ she said.

Nguyen - who had never lived in the tower block and had neither a wife or children - even shook Prince Charles 's hand when the royal visited a relief centre set up in the wake of the disaster

Nguyen – who had never lived in the tower block and had neither a wife or children – even shook Prince Charles ‘s hand when the royal visited a relief centre set up in the wake of the disaster

Vietnam-born Nguyen was one of 17 fraudsters who were convicted for claiming they lived in the tower block in order to line their pockets with money from the victim fund

Vietnam-born Nguyen was one of 17 fraudsters who were convicted for claiming they lived in the tower block in order to line their pockets with money from the victim fund

‘It would be extremely difficult to have to go past bodies, it would be horrific to have to feel that your wife and son were no longer with you. 

‘All those things are traumatic, but we don’t get the sense of the voice changing at all.’ 

Vietnam-born Nguyen was one of 17 fraudsters who were convicted for claiming they lived in the tower block in order to line their pockets with money from the victim fund.

He was caught after police failed to spot the man entering or exiting the block of flats in CCTV footage in the month prior to the disaster.

Pictured: Nguyen, who was jailed for 21 months in 2018 after pleading guilty to fraud

Pictured: Nguyen, who was jailed for 21 months in 2018 after pleading guilty to fraud

It was later discovered Nguyen had detailed two different addresses on his claim form, and it turned out he had never lived at either.  

‘t was always going to be discovered that he had not lived at Grenfell Tower, it was always going to come to light that he was a fraudster,’ Forensic Psychologist Kerry Daynes said.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam, has been in the UK since the 1980s, is a British citizen and has 17 aliases.

He also has 28 previous convictions for 56 offences spanning more than 30 years, including theft, dishonesty offences, arson and grievous bodily harm.

The conman spent a £249 night in the Hilton Hotel on June 18, and stayed in a Holiday Inn from June 19, worth £1,940, paid for by Kensington and Chelsea Council, and was given cash sums including £5,000. 

Nguyen received a mobile phone and two laptops from the Rugby Portobello Trust and food, clothes and toiletries from other charities.

He received a total of £10,270 in cash, while the electronic goods, food clothes and toiletries came to at least £1,000.

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