What is it called when someone denies a crime despite not having been accused?

I heard the phrase a while ago, it was two words I believe. The instance was a woman was approached by police and before they said anything to her she said "I wasn't soliciting" denying a crime she had not been accused of, the officer replied by telling her what she had done, using the phrase I am looking for.

Note, this was on tv, I'm not wandering places where people yell "I'm not soliciting"

Solution 1:

There is a line from Hamlet by Hamlet by William Shakespeare that people use in these cases:

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

As Wikipedia explains:

The line is typically quoted (or misquoted, as in "methinks the lady doth protest too much") to suggest that someone who is strongly denying something is hiding the truth,[2] or to imply doubt in a person's sincerity.[4] The phrase can be used this way even when the subject is male.[3]

You can look up the references at Wikipedia.

That expression would only apply if the lady in question was in fact guilty of the crime she was denying.

Solution 2:

The common human reaction of denying involvement even in the absence of a formal accusation is called the "exculpatory no." In the US, lying to a federal officer is a crime. One defense to this charge prior to 1998 is the exculpatory no. In that year the Supreme Court abolished the defense. See Brogan v. U.S., 522 U.S. 398 (1998). So, the officer could say, "that's an exculpatory no, I didn't even ask you what you were doing here."

Solution 3:

I believe the phrase you're looking for is, "unprovoked denial." I was trying to remember it too so I did a quick search and came across your question. When I found it in my notes, I came back to your post to let you know.