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Ransom Note Analysis. Case Background. A 10-year old was abducted from a wealthy, private school. The parents were mailed a ransom note demanding money in exchange for their child. There were six suspects – all of whom happened to take a Government class at a local community college.
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Case Background • A 10-year old was abducted from a wealthy, private school. • The parents were mailed a ransom note demanding money in exchange for their child. • There were six suspects – all of whom happened to take a Government class at a local community college. • Handwriting samples were obtained from copies of a recent exam students turned in.
Your Job • Act as the expert handwriting witness requested to testify that at least one of the suspect’s handwriting samples matches the handwriting samples found in the ransom note. • Present the findings in a written report to the jury.
Handwriting Expert Job Specifics • Examine the ransom note & perform 12-trait analysis in detail- Must use different colors to highlight each of the different traits in the document.- Must use measurements when necessary. • Analyze 4 writing samples using the 12-trait analysis chart following the guidelines above.- Visually eliminate 2 suspects & fill out a justification form • Prepare written testimony for the jury explaining your findings (more info to come tomorrow…)
Testimony to Jury • Remember that most jury members are not familiar with handwriting analysis – so you must break the information down so they can understand your analysis! • I. Introduction (Purpose & the main characteristics you used to analyze the handwriting). • II. Body Paragraphs (Describe the trait, explain how the ransom note matched or didn’t match the trait being described.) – 1 paragraph for matching exemplar& 1 paragraph explaining why the other exemplars are not matches. • III. Conclusion (Summarize findings, is the data reliable, would it be enough to convict someone, is this important?)
