22 A. Yes. I asked Mr. Hoffman that if
23 there were any other people available that were
24 connected with the event if he were able to get
25 their handwriting samples; and he told me that
0174
1 those samples had already been gone through by
2 the document examiners at the CBI and that they
3 had been ruled out. So, for the moment what I
4 had available to me were those three people that
5 I named there.
6 Q. Do I understand correctly that Mr.
7 Hoffman told you that every other potential
8 author had been eliminated by the CBI?
9 A. By the document examiners involved
10 over there, that's correct; that's what I was
11 told.
12 Q. And eliminated based on comparing
13 their handwriting?
14 A. That they weren't suspects for
15 writing the ransom note.
16 Q. Have you written a report concerning
17 your comparison of the handwriting of Chris Wolf
18 to the handwriting of the ransom note?
19 A. Have I written a report?
20 Q. Yes.
21 A. No, I have not.
22 Q. Why was that?
23 A. I wasn't asked to write a report.
24 Q. Sorry?
25 A. I wasn't asked to write a report.
0175
1 Q. What was your conclusion about Mr.
2 Wolf?
3 A. I found a few similarities, but they
4 weren't anything like I found between Patsy
5 Ramsey's handwriting and the ransom note writer.
6 I found a multitude of similarities between her
7 handwriting and the ransom note writer, and
8 they're quite glaring.
9 Q. Did you put on paper a list of
10 similarities between Mr. Wolf's handwriting and
11 that in the ransom note?
12 A. Not on paper like in that form, no.
13 Q. Well, in any form did you put
14 similarities on paper between Mr. Wolf's
15 handwriting and that you found in the ransom
16 note?
17 A. I made notations.
18 Q. Where are those notations?
19 A. I don't have them here with me
20 today, but I may have circled certain letters or
21 underlined certain letters that corresponded with
22 certain items that I saw in the ransom note.
23 (A telephone rings.).
24 I'm sorry. I thought I turned that
25 off.
0176
1 MR. ALTMAN: Go off the record.
2 THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Going off the
3 record at 3:10.
4 (A recess was taken.)
5 THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Back on the video
6 record at 3:22.
7 Q. (By Mr. Rawls) Ms. Wong, I wanted
8 to make sure I understand correctly exactly what
9 Mr. Darnay Hoffman told you about why you were
10 furnished handwriting exemplars of three people
11 and why you were not given any more when you
12 asked Mr. Hoffman for handwriting exemplars of
13 others who might have been associated with the
14 events of the death of JonBenet.
15 First, in your words, can you tell
16 me exactly what Darnay Hoffman told you?
17 A. Oh, it was just my understanding
18 that they were going to be available and that
19 the CBI document examiners had already ruled out
20 a lot of the suspects. So in this case, he
21 wanted me to look at the three handwriting
22 samples that were sent to me of Mr. Wolf, Mr.
23 Ramsey and Mrs. Ramsey. And actually,
24 basically, I think that is what your experts
25 looked at also, according to their reports.
0177
1 Q. Did Mr. Hoffman tell you that the
2 CBI had eliminated all other suspects based upon
3 their handwriting?
4 A. That is what I am assuming because
5 of the document examiners looking at them.
6 Q. Did you assume that -- excuse me.
7 Let me start over. Did you rely on that
8 assumption when you formulated your own report
9 comparing Patsy Ramsey's handwriting to the
10 ransom note?
11 A. I am sorry? Ask me that again.
12 Q. Sure. Did you rely in formulating
13 your own conclusions about similarities between
14 Patsy Ramsey's writing and the ransom note, did
15 you rely on the understanding that the CBI had
16 eliminated many other suspects based on their
17 handwriting?
18 A. I kept that in my mind, but I
19 realized in this case that I had three different
20 exemplars to look at. And I looked at them.
21 If I felt that I needed more, then I would
22 have said something; but in this case the
23 similarities were just so overwhelming with
24 regard to Patsy Ramsey's handwriting linking her
25 to the ransom note that I can't see that there
0178
1 is any other possibility unless there is someone
2 out there, who, I don't know, in some foreign
3 country with writing like that. But there is
4 so many unique similarities to her handwriting.
5 I have over 130 points, items on my exhibits,
6 and 157 went to similarity.
7 And In order to find that in any
8 other person's handwriting would be quite, quite,
9 quite rare.
10 Q. But you have looked for those
11 similarities only in the handwriting of three
12 different individuals?
13 A. In this case, that is correct.
14 Q. And when you first decided that
15 Patsy's handwriting appeared to you to be very
16 similar to the handwriting in the ransom note,
17 at that time you had only looked at Patsy's
18 handwriting; am I correct?
19 A. That is correct. There were a lot
20 of unique similarities.
21 Q. So Chris Wolf's handwriting exemplars
22 were furnished to you for the first time when?
23 A. It has been a while ago. You might
24 have to ask Darnay for help on this.
25 Q. Can you tell me the year?
0179
1 A. Last year sometime?
2 Q. Are you telling me or asking me?
3 A. Oh, I am thinking. I think it is
4 last year sometime. That is the best of my
5 memory.
6 Q. Well, the case was filed by Chris
7 Wolf in the year 2000.
8 A. Uh-huh (affirmative).
9 Q. And it was only 2001 when you looked
10 at handwriting exemplars furnished by Chris Wolf?
11 A. I believe so. That is the best
12 time frame I can think of. I don't know why
13 last year sticks in my head.
14 Q. When this complaint was filed in the
15 year 2000, it attached, or at least the
16 mandatory disclosures filed with the complaint
17 attached an opinion of yours that it was
18 probable that Patsy was the author of the ransom
19 note. So is it your testimony that it was
20 months after Chris Wolf's suit was filed and
21 months after you committed professionally to
22 having an opinion that Patsy Ramsey wrote the
23 note that you then made an unbiased analysis of
24 Chris Wolf's hand and found only a few
25 similarities, fewer than those of Patsy Ramsey's
0180
1 hand?

2 A. Actually, my opinion with Patsy
3 Ramsey writing the note back then, after
4 receiving the exemplars, the extensive exemplars
5 that were taken by the CBI more than confirms
6 my opinion with that regard.
7 Q. But you didn't look at the
8 handwriting of Chris Wolf until last year?
9 A. That is the best of my memory.
10 Q. To compare it to the ransom note?
11 A. That is correct. I wanted to make
12 sure and look at -- Mr. Hoffman asked me to
13 compare it to the ransom note.
14 Q. And you knew if you determined that
15 Chris Wolf had done it, you probably would never
16 get on radio or television again?
17 A. That is not what was important to
18 me. What was important to me is that the
19 evidence that I found is quite overwhelming that
20 Patsy Ramsey wrote the note. And it is
21 important for people to know. Someone has to
22 speak up for JonBenet, and that is why I am
23 here doing this pro bono. And if my opinion
24 had changed, well, so be it, then I would
25 rather clear somebody of something. It is quite
0181
1 horrible to think that a mother was involved in
2 some way.
3 Q. You told us about your media
4 appearances earlier?
5 A. That is correct.
6 Q. In print, on radio, and on
7 television?
8 A. That is correct.
9 Q. On all of those occasions, in all of
10 those media, the subject of the article or the
11 broadcast was your conclusion that Patsy Ramsey
12 authored the ransom note; was it not?
13 A. Actually, I will make an addition
14 there. I remember that is another -- I was
15 interviewed recently -- not recently, earlier
16 this year with regards to the anthrax letters.
17 The station had copies of it; they wanted me to
18 look them over, and I did.
19 Q. So you were once in the media on
20 something other than the JonBenet Ramsey death?
21 A. That is correct. And most all of
22 us involved in this case have been mentioned in
23 one way or another in some form in some part
24 of the media.
25 Q. Back to my question about the other
0182
1 media appearances involving you.
2 A. Sure.
3 Q. Those that involve the JonBenet
4 Ramsey matter, did all of those media
5 appearances or quotes involve your assertion that
6 Patsy Ramsey was the author of the ransom note?
7 A. I am not sure if they all included
8 that. Some of these I didn't even see.
9 Sometimes they just interview me and I don't see
10 the interview.
11 Q. But every time you were interviewed,
12 you expressed your opinion that Patsy Ramsey
13 authored the ransom note; did you not?
14 A. Oh, I showed on my exhibits how I
15 came to my opinion; and that was my opinion.
16 Q. And when you came to your opinion
17 the first time that Patsy was probably the
18 author of the note, had you even studied the
19 handwriting of John Ramsey?
20 A. I saw certain portions of Mr.
21 Ramsey's handwriting, but I was not given
22 specific samples.
23 Q. And were you given an assignment to
24 compare John Ramsey's handwriting to that of the
25 ransom note?
0183
1 A. During what time period?
2 Q. The first time you reached the
3 conclusion that Patsy was probably the author?
4 A. They were not given to me. But I
5 was able to obtain some.
6 Q. What is SERAPH, S-E-R-A-P-H?
7 A. S-E-R-I-F. Oh, S-E-R-A-P-H. You
8 are talking about the organization?
9 Q. Yes.
10 A. Yes. That is owned by Mr. Dale
11 Yeager, and he has an organization. And he
12 wanted to know if he could put my name on his
13 website so if any of his clients needed document
14 examination work that he could refer them to me.
15 Q. Have you ever been affiliated with
16 or associated with SERAPH?
17 A. In what way?
18 Q. You tell me.
19 A. Oh, I haven't done any work -- he
20 hasn't had the occasion to call -- oh, yes, he
21 has. He had a client that needed document
22 examination work, and so Mr. Yeager had his
23 client contact me.

Yep, no one was going to get famous saying the handwriting analysis was "inconclusive". To grab the brass ring, one had to say Patsy wrote the note.

Here's something on Lloyd Cunningham from the Rocky Mountain News Lou Smit page:

Lloyd Cunningham, Ramsey-hired expert: He cannot identify or eliminate Patsy Ramsey as the author of the ransom note. He spent 20 hours examining the samples and documents and found that there were no significant individual characteristics but many significant differences between Patsy's writing and the note.

And, here's where he'll be this spring:

http://www.abfde.org/swafde.htm

Rile will be there too! If that were within a hundred miles of me, I'd go! But it is far, far away.

Do you know anything about his man?

<B><i>Dr. Gerald R. McMenamin, Forensic Linguist, on the JonBenet Ramsey ransom note</b></I>

He's on the agenda of the Spring 2002 SWAFDE.

2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Dr. Gerald R. McMenamin, Forensic Linguist, on the JonBenet Ramsey ransom note

3:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. Lloyd Cunningham on Testimony and Cross-Examination

http://www.abfde.org/swafde.htm

Taking place in San Diego - I won't be there.

Cunningham worked on the case - don't know McMenamin - will try to find out.

Professor studies writing to create
crime-fighting tool
Students help with project to create database to be used in the
field of forensic linguistics.

By Dan Gleason
STAFF WRITER
08/22/02 06:55:09
Seven local students spent their summer assisting a linguistics professor in his
quest to identify authors through their writing styles, an evolving discipline used in
civil cases and by law enforcement officials to track down criminals.

Four students from Bullard High School and three from California State
University, Fresno, assisted Fresno State linguistics professor Gerald
McMenamin in preparing an initial database from 1,200 letters to the editor that
were published in their original handwritten or typed form, provided by the
Pasadena Star News in Southern California.

The pilot program, known as the American Writing Project, was funded by a
$5,000 Laval Award for Innovative Technology and Research and by the
university's School of Arts and Humanities. McMenamin said once the database
is ready, it could spark larger grants to allow for additional research.

Each individual has particular writing idiosyncrasies that make it possible to
identify him or her for legal purposes, the professor said. The American Writing
Project is building a large collection of writing samples and a database for
linguists to draw upon when analyzing American writing, and for forensic
linguists to use to determine the relative importance of certain style markers.

New legal requirements for forensic science evidence requires the expert
witness to provide a basis for an opinion that is quantifiable, McMenamin said.
The database can serve that role, he said, by providing a basis to identify a
specific author by writing style, similar to DNA tests that rely on chemistry,
although the social sciences or human behavior are less predictable, he said.

Probability of identifying a specific author improves when a document contains a
combination of unusual factors that were extremely rare in the database,
McMenamin said. He cited one example, where only one letter writer from the
sample of 1,200 used 001 to signify the year 2001. That, combined with other
unusual usage of grammar, punctuation or sentence structure make it easier to
pinpoint a specific author, he said.

McMenamin is a recognized scholar in stylistics and an internationally known
forensic linguist. He regularly serves as a consultant in criminal and civil cases,
including the high-profile Unabomber and JonBenet Ramsey cases.

The high school students, Chanae Joi Edwards, Holly Johnsen, Stephanie Rodela
and Megan Roehl, participate in the university's Bullard High Humanities project
during the school year. Fresno State students who participated were Kristina
Perez, Katrina Porter and Aarti Nayudu, project coordinator.

Nayudu, an international student from India, said the effort this summer revealed
10 letters that were all signed with different names but were obviously all written
by the same person. "The style and format are all the same," she said. "We feel
kind of like detectives."

Rodela analyzed letters than contained the letter B. She found in many
handwritten letters the writers used cursive style, but instead of a cursive B, they
substituted a printed B instead.

In addition to the research, the students toured the San Francisco Police
Department Crime Lab and were scheduled to join McMenamin in presenting a
paper, "A Corpus and Database of Style Markers in American Writing," at a
meeting of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners in San
Diego.

McMenamin said he was nervous about having the students assist him in
presenting the paper, but by letting them know he didn't want to be embarrassed
in front of a couple hundred of his peers, it has kept them focused. "Yes, the
work can be tedious, but they have their eye on the prize," he said.

http://www.fresnoneighbors.com/features/story/4084203p-5107223c.html

Don't know what happened with the school project BUT

I want to get back to the Wong project.

She swore in her deposition that she had been told all other handwriting had been eliminated from suspicion. We now know from Beckner and Hunter deposition that that wasn't true.

I wonder what Wong thinks of all this now. Would she really be able to stand in court and say that she wasn't affected by that misinformation or the desire to give Darnay Hoffman the report he so wanted?

Reading the depositions, I really have lost faith in a lot of the "experts" who trade truth for a bit of glory, publicity, what have you.

I have seen the handwriting, gone over it all myself in great detail. The handwriting doesn't look to me to be Patsy's.... and I have the reports of hte FBI, CBI and US Secret service supporting me in saying they couldn't attribute the writing to Patsy - - DA Hunter said under oath she is not near a match but far closer to being eliminated as the author.

How can the BORG ignore that?