Cheating Ohio State Girl Actually a Pickpocket with at least 5 others involved!

Analysis and theory by Dominik Mazur, CEO of CamFind app, based on this video:

A Vine clip from the 2015 Allstate Sugar Bowl has gone viral, with over 87 million views and counting. What’s all the fuss about? A seemingly random young woman decked out in Ohio State gear, who has since been identified as Kaleigh Lambert, abruptly stopped the gentle massage she was giving her male companion when she realized the duo was on television.

She swiftly moved her hand from her partner’s head to her own face. Her eyes dropped to the ground and the color drained from her face, making this OSU fan look incredibly guilty. But guilty of what?

Internet trolls quickly speculated that Kaleigh retracted her arm in remorse because she was at the game with someone other than her boyfriend, dubbing the young man her “side piece.” A cheater is certainly cause for scandal among the college-age crowd, but sources -- including Kaleigh’s own relatives -- have confirmed via social media that the side piece really is her main squeeze, Colton. Several non-Sugar Bowl Facebook photos of the pair have been posted online, seemingly confirming the pair’s legitimate relationship status.

Some media outlets have reported that Kaleigh’s guilt was simply awkwardness because she didn’t know what to do with her hand when Colton became upset over a bad play, but take a moment to consider the following:

1. The guilty look on her face and strange behavior is not the result of being caught cheating on a significant other. It’s been revealed by the press as well as Kaleigh’s friends and family that the blonde male really is her boyfriend.
   If you watch the video closely, you will see that she behaved oddly and had a suspicious expression on her face prior to touching her boyfriend — before the group of people she was sitting with realized that they were caught on camera, being broadcast on national TV.
2. What I believe happened is much more complex. The simple explanation is that she wasn't really massaging her boyfriend’s neck (at least not for more than 1-2 seconds) but actually trying to pickpocket the African American male wearing the dark Buckeyes sweatshirt and white Ohio State baseball cap, standing off to the left of the video (her right). Watching the video carefully a second or third time might give others that impression too.

This theory would explain her “guilty” reaction when her pickpocketing attempt was unsuccessful. She probably couldn’t tell if she got her potential victim’s attention with her touch (she saw him check for his wallet). She probably overheard the young boy near her group announce that their section was on TV, but any one of these speculations would cause her to feel concerned and therefore appear guilty.

Notice that she has a concentrated, focused look on her face from the very start, before she even reached over to touch her “boyfriend.” This too disproves the potential theory that her slight PDA being caught on TV would make her so ashamed.

But here, in my honest opinion, is the real bombshell. I believe at least six people were involved in this scheme.

If most of what is written below makes sense to other viewers, it supports my theory that this entire game plan was an attempted pickpocketing for financial gain. Otherwise, why would a young woman get so many people involved in her blueprint?

It appears to be a sophisticated, well-planned criminal strategy that was possibly successful in the past. Based on the video, Kayleigh and the group is seated in a front section of the stadium. They most likely considered the rare probability of what to do if cameras happened to be on them during the attempted pickpocketing, so I believe that their entire scheme was crafted to look unsuspicious, even if they happened to be filmed during that time, which is why no one appears to have a guilty expression besides Kaleigh.

Now I will go into detail and explain everyone's role. From here on, Kayleigh is referred to as the “girl.” When I mention the “boy,” I’m referring to the young-looking boy on far left side of the screen. The “boyfriend” is the male that the “girl” touches and pulls away from (Colton).

The girl's blatantly guilty / worrisome reaction is what made it possible to scrutinize these few seconds of video; otherwise, everything would appear completely normal. Even so, it's not easy to spot at first glance. The rest of her group is probably much more experienced at their planned crime and therefore able to keep a poker face throughout the botched incident.

My hypothesis is that the incident was probably the girl’s first or second attempt at pickpocketing. She was most likely recruited by the boyfriend for two big reasons: a female is slightly less likely to be considered a thief, and under normal circumstances, a young woman wouldn’t be beat up by a man if caught, especially in a crowded public place like a college bowl game.

I did not watch or attend the game, but if these were indeed front row seats, choosing them for the pickpocketing made sense. Students generally receive large discounts for college football tickets to make them more affordable on a student budget. However, such good seats would be quite expensive for individuals who are not students, therefore making it more likely that their wallets or personal items contain more money, making them much more valuable than average person’s.

By rewatching the video, you can tell that the group has practiced their plan. The girl had an unbelievably obvious tell due to her guilty expression, but most of the others involved also acted strangely.

Here is how it all goes down

The girl initiated the entire operation by putting her arms on her head. (It’s also possible that she was tapped on her back as a signal to go ahead, or she overheard a code word from the two males in the back, who are in on it.) Her arms on her head was the initial “go” signal to the group members who can see her (at least the two males behind her and the runaway guy that is currently offscreen to the right). Again, I didn't watch the game, but it would make sense to grab your head like that after the opposing team scored or at some other tense moment in the game to make it appear natural. She might have been told to look at the scoreboard during this apparent dismay. Either way, she was anticipating a signal before she can move her right arm.

This sets things in motion and as soon as the male wearing the number "9" shirt (referred to as “Number 9” from now on) sees her signal, he leans to the side quite heavily and makes a lot of contact with the apparent victim, partially to turn him a bit sideways to make it easier for the girl to reach into his back pocket and also to probably make some strong contact in an effort to desensitize him from smaller touches.

First, he visually checks the location of the item in the back pocket of the victim.

He then kneels down, possibly to pretend he's tying his shoe or has dropped something. While bent down low, he gives both the girl and the boyfriend a poke at exactly the same time.

He is indicating to them that he's in the down position, which explains why the girl and her boyfriend both react at the same time (as seen here). However, the boyfriend reacts a split second too early and it appears that he is anticipating the girl touching him, acting like it’s really nice of her, BEFORE her hands actually touch his head. (This demonstrates that they have rehearsed this many times.)

The boyfriend’s one-second or so early reaction before he was actually touched can be seen below.

He has no way of seeing that her hand is coming over in order to prepare for the caress early. She starts by patting him on the top of the head, which I believe is his “go” signal, since he physically could not see her “hands on the head” signal and was probably planned as a backup in case he didn't feel the poke from “Number 9” while he was kneeling down. She most likely gave the boyfriend neck messages throughout the earlier moments of the game in an effort to get the people around her — and their target — accustomed to the fact that her hand was often there, and also as a backup signal in case he didn’t feel the poke by “Number 9” kneeling down.

The boyfriend then probably transfers the signal that they're “live” to the other male with his knee or with his foot. This is possibly the reason they are both sitting down while the girl is standing. It was also wise for both of them to be seated to ensure that their target did not have anyone in his way while watching the game. If the target was unable to see the field clearly, he would have possibly started to move around around during the pickpocketing attempt. Being seated would also help ensure that the device the young boy might be watching is not visible to any television cameras.

Notice that immediately after “Number 9” kneels down, the male next to him wearing the number “10” shirt (“Number 10”) turns to fill the void by making a lot of hand gestures in order to create a distraction from what the girl and the guy kneeling down are doing (movement attracts the eye). The people sitting behind them would then be more likely to focus on his hands instead of witnessing the attempted pickpocketing.

In the screenshot below, you can also see the boyfriend anticipate the touch before it happens.

“Number 10” even completely turns around, pumping his hands to get people’s attention his way and away from the girl’s hand:

The boyfriend is sitting down to make the girl’s outstretched arm look inconspicuous and also block what her hand is doing.

It appears to me that the intended victim’s wallet was in the front left pocket, so I don't believe his wallet was the girl’s intended target. She seems to go after his back pocket, and a wallet would be fairly difficult to slide out without the victim noticing. There is also a very slim chance that a man’s wallet would actually be large enough to be sticking out of a pocket.

So what would be easy to slide out of someone's pocket without them noticing? Something that usually protrudes out of the top of a pocket, making it easily visible, and is quite valuable? A smartphone, especially the new larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. That is what I think they were targeting.

So let’s speculate that the girl was attempting to steal the victim’s smartphone. Because she was not looking directly at the victim when she tried to grab his phone, it makes sense that she would fumble around and initially feel up his backside in an effort to feel the pocket and the phone. This would get the victim’s attention and therefore thwart the entire operation. However, if someone guided the girl’s hand/wrist directly to the desired item, or at least inconspicuously helped direct her hand to the correct horizontal level, she would most likely be able to access the phone and slide it from the victim’s pocket. I believe that the kneeling male is acting as the girl’s assistant to guide her hand to the correct spot.

When the boyfriend notices that the girl’s hand is no longer on his head or neck, he gives another foot signal to the young boy to his right. This is to notify the boy to stand and brush up against the target. In addition to creating a visual distraction of movement, this is the most critical time of the entire operation, when the girl is attempting to grab the phone and might fumble around a bit.

When “Number 9” stands up, he quickly glances over to see if the girl has the smartphone in her hand. He looks disappointed that she doesn’t -- and because their pickpocketing efforts have most likely failed or are failing. The way he stands up and brushes against the target’s shoulder is to once again create a distracted feeling elsewhere on the target’s body. Also, notice below that by this point “Number 9” has gotten the victim turned almost 45 degrees sideways, making his back pocket easier for the girl to reach.

“Number 10” still has his hands out in front of his body, to continue creating a distraction with movement since the act is not finished. This time, his distraction is in case someone in their immediate area might be watching the operation. (Based on her facial expression, it seems like the girl directly beside the target, in the far left of the above screenshot, is somewhat suspicious of the activities taking place around her).

I personally think “Number 10” is attempting to cause distractions for three reasons:

1. As already stated, to create a temporary distraction from others who are possibly watching while the girl is digging into the target’s pocket.
2. To have both of his hands up and ready for a behind-the-back smartphone handoff from the girl.
3. In addition, it shows the second handoff man (the male in the white cap, who is not visible till the end of the video) to be prepared. “Number 9” probably never touches the phone as he would be the most obvious suspect (because he's directly beside and touching/leaning on the target) if the man noticed his phone was missing, he would almost immediately turn to “Number 9.”

Once the young boy (lower left in screenshot below) sits down, I have a feeling that he is watching the live game on a smartphone or other device held in his right hand that is hidden from camera’s view, possibly streaming ESPN live to warn others if they would be getting filmed at this exact minute. (I believe different footage was displayed on the Jumbotron than viewers saw at home on television.)

I am not sure if this is true or not, but if he did see his group on TV at that moment:

Exactly just a second later (after supposedly seeing something on his handheld device) he looks straight at the camera to verify:

The boy then quickly turns around to let “Number 9,” “Number 10,” and the girl know that they were on camera. Judging by his facial expression, the way he tells them is in a way of a warning and not excitement.

If the boy wasn’t there for a “job”, he would immediately celebrate after noticing and telling his friends they’re on TV. Pay attention to the boy telling the group below and see for yourself:

If the lookout boy was not doing anything wrong, you would think that he would be happy to be on camera — but he has a concerned expression on his face from the time he notices they're on TV to when he first tells the group the news. It is only when he checks on his group again the final time that he starts acting to the camera because he notices his colleagues “Number 9” and”Number 10” playing to the camera. That is when he decides to stand up and also act out.

It’s unclear if what scares the girl at this point (screenshot below) is seeing the group’s intended target check his front left pocket for his wallet, the young boy telling her group that they’re on camera, or both.

It’s also a bit unclear which one she’s looking and more worried about, but I think it’s more likely the man that they wanted to rob rubbing his front pocket. The group possibly altered (nearly pulled out) his smartphone or whatever was in his back pocket, and she was concerned he would look there next.

That’s what causes this most frightened response on her face, right after being told that the group was on camera and/or seeing the man rub and verify his wallet (see below):

Before “Number 9” could hear and comprehend what the young boy was saying (since being caught on TV wasn’t part of the plan, he was focusing more on what he needed to do), “Number 9” was already raising his left hand to his left cheek (see above). This was most likely a signal to the guy in the white hat (not yet visible in this screen shot) that the attempt was unsuccessful. “Number 9” is a good actor, so he pulled together a good smile but somewhat slowly and awkwardly has to slide the hand down his face.

This is admittedly very farfetched, but another explanation could be that “Number 9” was wearing an earpiece and received word that the group was on TV. (The boy scratched his nose right before turning around to tell the group, so someone watching him live could “potentially” have contacted ”Number 9” via the earpiece.)

The second handoff guy (the male wearing the white hat, on the very far right side of the screen shot who is facing the group instead of the game) sees the signal from “Number 9” that their attempt was unsuccessful.

The male in the white hat also seems to quickly glance behind “Number 9” to make sure he indeed has nothing to handoff to him - probably not fully trusting “Number 9.”

But overall, he understands the signal, and right after it is given, he turns forward toward the game, looking visibly angry and disappointed that their little heist failed. (See below two pictures of him after he turns forward - on the right).

Note: it’s unclear if the man wearing the white hat (above) was indeed the final handoff man, but he was holding a near-empty cup of beer, which would have been a legitimate reason to leave the stands. Also, the “boyfriend” and the “boy” pretend that they don’t know one another; the same seems to be the case with the “girl” and “boyfriend” and the two guys behind them.