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Handwritings that are questioned or become in dispute are also on a wide range of documents. Handwriting includes the totality of the writings such as dates, numbers, symbols, and other markings.
Anonymous writings are a special category of handwriting. These writings often include language with the purpose of hurting another person, or class of persons, either through physical harm or hurting that person’s reputation in the workplace or community. This kind of letter is rarely signed or when signed, the writer includes a pseudonym such as the well-known case of the letters signed as Zodiac. Anonymous writings are often written on different surfaces such as walls, poles, or objects at work. We’ve even had anonymous writing on a plunger!!! Different types of writing instruments are used such as spray paint, markers, and lipstick. Anonymous letters often contain disguised writing to throw off investigations. When the anonymous writings include extensive writing, it is advisable that the document examiner process these writings using a software program. Write-On 3.0 is one example of a specialty software program used to analyze anonymous writings. Frequently, these cases are very sensitive and require an experienced document examiner to handle them.
Common types of anonymous writings
In a criminal case, a young man was accused of being an accomplice to a murder his mother committed based on a note that was signed, “Mom.” An examination of the writing in the original note and the original writings of the son over a period of time showed that there were significant and unexplained differences between the two writings that could not be explained by an attempt at disguise. One example of an unexplained difference that was fundamental to the structure of the writing was present in the small “o’s.” There were 24 small “o’s” in the letter signed as “Mom.” There were more than 24 “o’s” in the son’s writing. The son consistently formed his “o’s” with an individualized habit with the emphasis on the right that often contain an angled configuration in contrast to the tightly constricted 24 small “o’s” in the note that did not contain this characteristic.
To reduce the subjectivity of examining extended writings, the Pikaso Software, Inc. program, Write-On 3.0, is an excellent tool. Once the documents are transcribed into the program, each word, number and symbol can be compared. Writings can be intra-compared, as well as compared with the writings of others. The following exhibits illustrate how it is easy to believe that the writing on the left is the same writer as on the right because of the similarities in the writing.
However, a closer comparison of letters illustrates that there are differences seen in the letters “k.” The “k’s” on the left are from the Zodiac letters. The “k’s” on the right are from the main suspect’s writing, Arthur Lee Allen.
Words that have been transcribed can be intra-compared or compared with each other. All words “Zodiac” in the exhibit below were from the Zodiac letters.
The ‘Compare’ function allows each example to be compared individually with the top image. This process can also be reversed.
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