Criminal law, Justice, Society

Audio Experts: Cries For “Help” On 911 Tapes Not Zimmerman’s

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

The  chair emeritus for the American Board of Recorded Evidence, Tom Owen, and Ed Primeau, a Michigan-based audio engineer and forensics expert, have independently concluded that the furtive pleas for help clearly heard on the 911 tapes are not George Zimmerman’s. Both acknowledged experts used voice enhancing software, but different techniques, to rate the probability of the voice being Zimmerman’s at no more than 48%.  A 90% match is considered scientifically reliable.

In a report published by the Orlando Sentinel, Owen said he derived his conclusions based on biometric analysis. “It basically just means using personal characteristics for identification. A fingerprint scanner is an example of a biometric device. Much as the ridges of a human hand produce a fingerprint, each human voice has unique, distinguishable traits, Owen says. ‘They’re all particular to the individual.'” The expert recently used the technique to identify the accused killer of Sheila Davalloo in a 911 call made almost a decade ago.

 Owen, who also served as the chief engineer for the New York Public Library’s Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, said that, “as a result of [the testing], you can say with reasonable scientific certainty that it’s not Zimmerman.”

Ed Primeau agreed but went further, saying that, under the known circumstances, ” I believe that’s Trayvon Martin in the background, without a doubt. That’s a young man screaming.”  Primeau used the technique of voice enhancement to reach his conclusion. Unlike biometric analysis, his method does require an in-context sample of the voice for testing.

An article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer published in 2010 describes the 66-year-old Owen and his cohort, Stuart Allen, this way:

 [The pair have] more than six decades of experience between them in the forensic audio profession. They’ve worked with the FBI and other federal agencies, police departments, private detectives, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and news organizations. Many courts have designated them as expert witnesses. They’re good friends who sometimes are on opposing sides, but respect each other’s abilities. “Both of us are known as sort of contrarians,” Owen said.

Primeau is a former sound engineer in the movie industry who worked with pop stars Anita Baker, Bob Seger, and Barry Manilow.  Primeau has over thirty years of experience in voice identification and is a registered investigator for the American College of Forensic Examiners. He describes his work in voice identification as:

There can sometimes be differences in speech patterns that can help identify clues in your identification puzzle.  I look for several similarities as well as differences, nasal resonance differences, voice tone with regard to inflection both similarities and differences.

The test results seem to present another blow to Zimmerman’s credibility who claimed that it was his voice on the tape —  and not the African-American teen  — heard crying out for help mere seconds before the fatal gun shot.

It is likely that similar audio testing is being conducted by the FBI’s Digital Evidence Laboratory’s Forensic Audio, Video, and Image Analysis Unit, based in Quantico, Virginia. Should they reach the same conclusions as Owen and Primeau, Zimmerman would almost certainly face charges in the death. An opposite result would go a long way in substantiating his claim of self-defense.

Source; msnbc; Orland Sentinel; Cleveland Plain Dealer

~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

320 thoughts on “Audio Experts: Cries For “Help” On 911 Tapes Not Zimmerman’s”

  1. @Otteray Scribe – So I hear you’re a bit of the Forensic Scientist? Well my favorite Sherlock Holmes is the famous Dr. Henry Lee. He is the chief forensic scientist in my state. I can’t wait for the FBI or SoF to call him in. Here’s his famous line (spoken in thick Mandarin accent): “Sumting’ not right wid’ George Zimmerman!”

    I’m a ORA (operational research analyst) and I have done my fair share of similar stuff. I wanted to work with Lee but I only met him once and I can’t motivate myself to be cloistered in a lab like on the TV show Bones. I like field ops.

    I think this unfortunate situation in Sanford has got all the amateur sleuths intrigued. Normally something like this would be a quick 15 seconds of News then onto American Idol. This clown intrigues us because of his obvious mendacity, his sense of entitlement, his police interference, and his rich supreme-court judge daddy trying to “fix” stuff behind the scenes. You won’t believe what he recently did to a Seminole County bureaucrat to get him to stop cooperating with the public on Internet information sharing.

    Now that FBI is canvassing the RATL neighborhood as of yesterday they will start turning over rocks on this creep. More and more the picture is coming together that George “executed” this kid out of some pent up rage he had for these – as he would say – “f’ing azzholes”. What I don’t get is SPD’s love of this moron after he kicked one of the brothers-in-blue butt back a few years ago. How he walked away from that is mind-boggling.

    Also mind-boggling is how he got a concealed-carry-permit after not having a business reason to carry, being a documented hot-head, and attacked a SPD officer. And what the hell would a ex-WESH TV employee and wannabe cop ex-security guard need to carry a 9mm semi-automatic with a 12-clip magazine? I guess he was ready for a major fire fight in little ‘ol Sanford? I’ve spent a WEEK, 1 day in Sanford once – YAWN! (LOL)
    (Picture George as Elmer Fudd with his firearm hunting: “Shhhh… I’m not hunting for wabbits… I’m hunting for f’ing coons…”)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pBM6qhMnsw

  3. @Otteray Scribe – “I wish I could. I really wish I could.”

    Aye Laddy… I hear those Scots are a bit tight-fisted with the shillings! (LOL)

    1. Not anything like Connecticut Yankees. The definition of a Yankee is one who can buy from a Jew, sell to a Scot, and make a profit.

  5. @Otteray Scribe – Yes Shakespeare was also quite the plagiarizer too (per Christopher Bacon). A South African forensic chemist also discovered he had a liking of the New World vices as well (i.e. Powdered Coca and Hemp – aka cocaine and marijuana). He found traces of it in one of his antique pipes.

    In Scottish Gaelic Mac Bethad mac Findlaích is pronounced “MacBheatha mac Fhionnlaigh” His nickname was: “Ri Deircc” or “the Red King”.

    Tell your wife to get $99 bucks and send away to Havard U. to the National Geographics Genographics Project (http://tinyurl.com/yourdna). They will send her back a CD Video and mouth swap kit to submit back to them. They will sequence her DNA and find her ethnic matches to other people on the planet living and dead. It’s one of Dr. Spencer Wells pet projects and he has overturned long held misconceptions about very old cultures (i.e Native Americans, Middle Easterners, etc.)

  6. Sonofthunder, Yes, Shakespeare was an entertainer, not a historian. The only thing he got right was that MacBeth killed Duncan I, allegedly in a kirk. The rest was just literary license.

    My wife was deeply into genealogy. She backtracked her mother’s side of the family many centuries. Obviously, there are numerous gaps, but the blood line reappears in logical places. The later MacBeths (aka Beatties & Beatons) were physicians and lawyers, mostly serving the Chieftains of Clan MacDonald. The proper pronunciation of MacBeth is “MacBEAT-eh” He was the last Gaelic speaking king of Alba (Scotland)

  7. Regarding the screams for help: Selma Mora Lamilla of #2831 (rear) where Trayvon was killed heard with her live-in friend Mary Cutcher heard a “child whining”. Watch to hear them say this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvCDal8Qqaw

    Selma’s voice should be analyzed as the one saying “Help Help” very loud. Mary and Selma really don’t mention that; only whining.

    Then again the man across the backyard on Twin Trees Lane (allegedly “John”) the eyewitness in the dark (name is actually Timothy) was particularly distraught when he called 911. His voice also should be analyzed. There is a exemplar sample on the Internet posted 911 tapes. He’s the one that claimed he ran inside and watched from his upstairs window. He was interviewed by a TV reporter too, here:

    http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/seminole_news/022712-man-shot-and-killed-in-neighborhood-altercation

    He says George was yelling help to him but maybe it was John (aka Tim) that was doing it and is too embarrassed to admit it now.

    Analyze That!

  8. @patricparamedic – Yes I mentioned it a few posts above yours. However, we did not know the Homicide Detective’s name. He arrested George Zimmerman and cuffed him because his story did not jib.

    George lied about Trayvon getting his allegedly CONCEALED Kel-Tec 9MM pistol from his waistband holster. Also there were many illogical statements like Trayvon doubling back, hiding, and the Chevy Suburban being moved further south on Twin Trees Ln when he never moved it from the mailbox kiosk.

    So how did Trayvon double back and attack him back at the truck when Trayvon died at 2831 Retreat View backyard? The truck was exactly where George said he left it when the 1st responder arrived on scene (#1111). Also there where no offensive wounds on Trayvon’s hands. There where no defensive wounds on George. Trayvon’s chest wound showed no visible signs of point-blank firing as George lied about to Detective Serino. Also the shell casing allegedly could not be found indicating that George must have picked it up and hid it thereby concealing evidence. There also were no visible blood stains on the concrete walkway where George claimed his head was being pummeled into.

    George is technically NOT free. The Stand Your Ground Law has already been stated by it’s originator and ex-Gov Bush that it does NOT apply in George’s case. He is only released on his own recognizance and can not leave the state. He could be rearrested at any time. I predict that he will be rearrested on or shortly after 10-Apr next Tuesday. That’s of course if the FBI does not beat them to it. They ALREADY have a strong Hate Crime case based on his racist remarks to 911, his racist safety flyers, and his overall racist reaction to Trayvon’s presence on private property he was legally entitled to be on.

    Just because you have minority friends and relatives does not mean you can’t have a racist attitude toward others. Hitler committed lethal Hate Crimes against Jews when his paternal grandfather was Leopold Frankenberger of Graz Austria (an Ashkenazim Jew). His mother’s Dr. was also Jewish (Dr. Eduard Bloch of Linz – an Ashkenazim Jew).

  10. @Arthur Randolph Erb – Yes Urbanus circa 524 to circa 555 AD. King of Gwent and Glywysing. Who was the British officer who fought in Revolutionary War? I can only think of a Hessen officer who fought at Long Island Assault Landing 22 Aug 1776. But he wasn’t Welch like you.

    1. It was my mothers side of the family, Eagles and Clark who came over from England in the 1600s. Unfortunately, my fathers side was a traitor who came over from Germany and joined the British forces in Boston in 1775. He was on the other side of Bunker Hill with the Lobster backs. He evacuated Boston with the Brits and settled St Johns. in Canada.

  11. @DrMike – You are correct about the POTS bandwidth being from 300-3400 Hertz. However, that was a few decades ago. Now with digital, cell phone, and VOIP technology the bandwidth is actually less than 250 to about 4,000 to 8,000 Hertz. They use subharmonic synthesizers to recreate 125-250 Hertz. The top end above 3,400 can also be synthesized and recreated. However, just as OS told us, the computerized voice comparison systems act like the fingerprint and facial recognition analyzers. They only need to pick certain artifacts from unsub (unidentified subject) samples to compare against an exemplar library. In audio, “fricatives” and “affricatives”can be used. Females (soprano) and Males (tenor to baritone) generally have their own frequency range too – but there is overlap.

    @Otteray Scribe – I thought you were a lawyer when you said you “used” something in court. I guess that was Pro Se?

    @MacBeth Fans – to be related to the REAL character in Shakespeare’s play (The Tragedy of Macbeth) you would have to be from the family of Mac Bethand mac Findlaich, King of Alba 1040 to 1057 AD. The play was highly inaccurate but was really enjoyed by King James.

  12. JCTheBigTree said:

    “Zimmerman and the corrupt cops who have intentionally or unintentionally botched this case have a strong need for prison time.”

    JC –

    Did you miss the fact that the Sanford investigator wanted to charge Zimmerman, and was ordered not to?

    “According to a report from ABC News’s Matt Gutman, the lead homicide investigator in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin recommended that George Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter on the night of February 26ABC News sources claim that investigator Chris Serino was “instructed to not press charges against Zimmerman because the state attorney’s office headed by Norman Wolfinger determined there was not yet enough evidence to lead to a conviction.”

    There are at least five good reasons why an “immediate arrest” is often a mistake.
    .

  14. Dr. Mike, the secret is in the harmonics. No two voices are exactly alike (see the case law cited above). After a plane crash, the recorded voices are analyzed, such as conversations with ATC or the control tower. Not all airplanes have cockpit voice recorders. You should see the stress patterns in the voices of Naval aviators making night carrier landings. But even then, the technology lets the analysts know which crew member is talking on the radio.

  15. I should clarify, matching a recorded voice or proving that the voices to not match are both very tricky when it comes to the phone. I think there are many more compelling pieces of evidence in this case.

  16. I deal with sound and hearing in a regular basis, but have never dealt with forensic audio examination. I wil explain what I know about human hearing and why this sounds difficult to claim.

    The human range of hearing is 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz. Most of speech is restricted to the range of 250 Hz to 8,000 Hz. Most of the features that make voices understandable and recognizable are things like the fundamental frequency, harmonics, formants, and nasality.

    However, the phone restricts the frequncy range to 300 Hz to 3400 Hz. Leaving out the fundamental freq and makes us rely on the harmonics alone to recognize voices (when you pick it a call and recognize a loved one saying “hello”).

    They may have some way of accouting for it, but being able to distinguish two men’s voices on a telephone is very difficult. Even with software, being able to identify some of the typical features of the voices is extemely difficult due to the phone’s frequency response and restriction.

    While I have my opinions about what may have happened in this case (especially after seeing the video of Mr. Zimmerman), I have a hard time coming to grips with the accuracy of this claim.

  17. OS,

    “… she is a MacBeth, descended from the guy who cut off the head of the king in a church …” in my opinion, she was the perfect woman! 🙂

  18. Sonofthunder,
    Nope, I am not an attorney. I said something one time about getting a law degree, but my wife put her foot down and told me that if I went back to school for another degree, I would NEED a lawyer. Since she is a MacBeth, descended from the guy who cut off the head of the king in a church, discretion seemed the better part of valor. I am a scientist, with a forensic specialty.

    1. It seems like we have something in common with our ancestors since mine helped chop off the head of one British monarch and kicked the ass of another in the American revolution. They had to leave Britain after Charles II was restored and came over here. They helped hide the regicides when the judges fled here too.

  20. @Malisha – I saw that cop stow that black jacket in cruiser #591 trunk too. However, that’s not S.O.P. for chain of custody evidence. What was it then? The black jacket’s color matched the officer’s uniform – it had a white lining. It was his rayon wind-breaker which can be seen in this FULL SPD CCTV video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cxJFEx6emE – this is not the SHORT version from ABC News). He threw it in his buddy’s cruiser because they had already closed the drop-gate preventing him from going back to his own cruiser (watch the video carefully). George was wearing what he had on at (19:00) 7:00 PM hence his alibi is weak as h-e-l-l! No blood, no grass, stains, and not even wet. And BTW notice the timestamp on the SPD CCTV camera. It says 19:52 hours!!! That means he was brought to SPD (815 West 13th St) at 7:52 PM NOT 4-hours later as that liar Joe Oliver falsely said on MSNBC!!!

    The eyewitnesses who say they *saw-this or saw-that* are completley F.O.S. – big time. Austin Brown said it was too dark for ANYONE to see ANYTHING at around 7:30 PM. Sandra Mott was the only one to come out with a flashlight to ask George WTF was going on. She saw him standing over Trayvon’s lifeless corpse fiddling with his body. Sandra and her girlfriend have lots of moxy IMO. George told them to just go away and call police. The cops are dismissing their version but the killing happened in their backyard lawn at #2831. There is a concrete walkway but there is NO blood stains on it. BTW his SUV was back at the mailbox kiosk at the club house on corner of Twin Trees Ln and Retreat View Rd. It was NOWHERE near the kill-scene as George lied about!!!

    IMO it looks like George went into a fit of rage (as he has done at least 3 times in the past) when Trayvon *may or may not* have pushed George causing him to fall backwards – Trayvon’s girlfriend “DeDe” confirms this. Trayon probably backed away at least 50′ north in the grass but still at rear of 2831 Retreat View 4-5 houses from his destination (his dad’s girlfriend’s Brandi Green rented townhouse at #2611 – she’s a FL-DOC employee.).

    The mortician can be interviewed by anyone that wants to call him or visit. Ask how many entry wounds can he find (Rev. Jesse Jackson is allegedly claiming there is a 2nd back of head wound but I doubt that seriously as morticain did say there was only one in the chest). Ask whether there was any burnt flesh around the chest wound (George claims he shot him at point blank range, hence there should be powder-burns). Ask was there any powder-burns on his shirt. Ask him when he did the draining for formaldehyde-prep did he measure and weigh Trayvon (which is mortician S.O.P.)? What were the measurements? Here is his contact info: Mr. Richard Kurtz of Roy Mizell and Kurtz Funeral Home in Fort Lauderdale, FL – phone: (954) 467-3426.

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