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
OS and from the looks of the pictures, pretty tough. (and pretty)
Most traffic stops take more time than this crew did at the crime scene. FSM have mercy on us.
@Otteray Scribe – Obviously not. SPD is not the exemplar of Police Dept’s is USA. Chief Lee stepped down because of a vote of no confidence from his men. Did you see that fat-azz tub of lard get out of Cruiser #591 in the sally-port? You see they don’t seem to have a physical fitness protocol there. Also racial sensitivity training is needed too. If they got from RATL to SPD sally-port by 7:52 they didn’t do much on-site investigation. It’s best to keep the suspect there at the site so you can do follow-up questions like “George… WTF DID YOU DO WITH THE SHELL CASING?” Then you can watch his eyes go to his right when he says: “I dunno…” (lying!)
BTW, here are two pictures of my baby. She is pretty tough-minded.
http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt256/otteraylens/IMG_1232.jpg
http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt256/otteraylens/68dd3d6e.jpg
SoT, when I retired, I cut my work week to between forty and fifty hours. I am working on two books and have a backlog of cases. I have a well equipped shop that I don’t have time to work in. I am a member of the local radio control model airplane club, have a dozen airplanes and no time to go out and fly. I watch a grand total of less than an hour of TV a day, and only then if there is something interesting on one of the documentary channels.
I manage to find time to keep from getting bored. It is just when I first walk into the house that it seems so empty, and I am still having trouble sleeping.
@Otteray Scribe – Well the S&W PInk Cuffs are only less than $30 bucks (usd) – http://tinyurl.com/s-Wpinkcuffs
Also get her a pair of thumb-cuffs. They are good backups during a prison scuffle and you have two cons making trouble. They’ll fit better in her pocket – secretly. Also have her figure out how to hide a cuff key on her person (necklace?) During a riot the cons may try and cuff the bulls (guards). She can get away if she had a secret key.
Since she is moving out this winter tell her to play matchmaker for you. She can check with her friends and buddies or go on Eharmony.com (etc.) for you or something. Let her screen out the bow-wows, stinkers, gold-diggers, and scam-artists for you. She knows what type of lady suits you best. Just remember to stay in the present/future and not the past when dating. MAJOR turn-off for most women.
Whatever you do DON’T become a fat couch potato malingering watching American Idol, news, and sports (and falling asleep with the remote in your hand). Get out and hob-knob with friends & family. Check out the bar scene too. You and I have a few good years left. You’d be surprised how interesting you may be to the younger crowd. You know a lot of stuff. Impress them.
This had to have been the sorriest “investigation” in the history of law enforcement. I expect better of a tiny county somewhere with only three deputies. Based on the “investigation” I can somewhat sympathize with the prosecutor who claimed there was not enough evidence to convict. No kidding. Did the SPD actually collect any evidence?
@Malisha – That’s my point – WTF is that dam shell casing? Obviously it fell into the grass. The Kel-Tec P-11 is a semiautomatic and it does expel the shell casing out and to the left (I think). Obviously George scooped it up and then dropped it in a storm drain, threw it up on a roof or further down the walkway, or he swallowed it. SPD would have found it in a pocket search in the sally-port.
The officer was checking George’s head because George told Detective Serino that Trayvon cold-cocked him and bashed his head into the concrete walk-way. Serino obviously saw that George was FoS and was very pissed at his attempt to lie to law enforcement. This all supposedly happened about 7:30 ish. They arrived at SPD sally-port at 7:52 PM that’s only 22 minutes! The head bashing false statement was still fresh on the officer’s mind. He just wanted to see if he could see anything. He saw NOTHING just like we see nothing in the CCTV footage.
His nose was not broken as a 140 lbs kid does not have enough body mass to perform such a maneuver. It was too dark for Trayvon to even aim for his nose. Tray’s hands would have been bruised and they visibly were not. Haven’t you seen in Hollywood fight scenes where the guy punches another guy in the nose then goes “OW!” and shakes his hand in pain? That’s real. A person’s face is hard!
And yes they would have used blue gloves if BLOOD borne pathogens could be present. Obviously George was NEVER bleeding as his clothing would have shown it. And 22 minutes is not long enough to start coagulating around the nose and head laceration. I mean such a traumatic injury would have to be VERY traumatic to justify shooting a visibly unarmed kid.
Don’t worry, FBI will comb the ENTIRE are to find the casing and any other evidence that SPD missed. The only problem will be the turf-wars between State Police Florida and FBI on custody of evidence. I’m sure FBI crime scene tape is up everywhere by now. I would love to know the name of the FBI A.I.C. right now.
My youngest is a Correctional Officer. She found a place of her own and will be moving before winter. Dunno what I will be doing then. She informed me yesterday that her supervisor has her own set of pink S&W handcuffs, and she asked me to order a pair for her. Go figure.
@Otteray Scribe – Yeah I have a boy George’s exact age living with me. If something ever happened to mom I guess he and I would just muttle through somehow. It’s good to have “supportive” kids. I guess in George’s case it’s good to have a supportive big-shot dad – huh?
I’m afraid it’s time for Judge Zimmerman and Gladys to “cut the apron strings” and let their little “goon” blow in the breeze. There’s a cell (and African-American cellmate) at FCC Seminole awaiting George. And an FBI agent ready to put him there. If he only gets 5-years there WILL be trouble in the US urban cities that will make the 1960’s and 70’s look tame. Of course we can thank the Cold-War Russians* for most of that but this incident has “legs of it’s own”.
*I can explain that later…
Sonofthunder, about the jacket/packet being tossed into the trunk of the cop car, I have another puzzlement. The little “minisearch” done by cop w/o gloves on, on Zimmerman looking quite comfortable — what was THAT about? There should have been a shell casing from the bullet that killed Martin, right? Would it have been in a pocket on Zimmerman by the time the three very casual-looking officers are hobnobbing w/him in the garage? Where is it now?
SoT, its OK. It was clear to me that you did not catch what that photo was, so clarified. I knew you meant no harm. I am coping, sort of. House sure is empty when I go home, though. Glad my youngest daughter is still living at home with me for the time being.
@Otteray Scribe – I sincerely apologize OS. I did click on the link but drew no analogy to a funerary scenario. I am so sorry to hear about your tragic loss. I too have been married for a few decades as well. I can imagine your feeling of loss of a spouse and a dear friend. 55 years is a very long time. We grow so accustomed to our beloved wive’s presence that we feel lost and empty without them. I certainly hope that you are coping with this and moving on with the rest of your life. Somehow I feel you have a lot more contributions to the world left in you.
@Otteray Scribe – You’re absolutely right! Let’s look at some context: Black friend and ex-WESH-TV anchorman and friend of Judge Zimmerman, Joe Oliver, says George said f’ing goons as a term-of-endearment. He says his daughter said it is the new hip-hop phrase at school. No it’s not! That’s just retarded. The term GOON means a criminal thug usually associated with an Italian-American gangster. Trayvon was visibly not Italian-American.
The use of the racial invective “coon” is clearly a White Southern term for a Black thief as Raccoons have a Black streak across their eyes like a bandit’s mask. George was born and raised in Virginia – a southern state. He now lives in a southern state KNOWN for racism in the last two Presidential Elections before Obama. This term is STILL used by white kids almost as much as the n-word. Usually from the busted-up pick-up truck tobacco-chewing crowd that likes to fish with dynamite. And also missing front teeth.
George already says “these azzholes ALWAYS get away…” He was referring to Black kids based on his (49) 911 calls since 2011. Then almost within the same breath he delivers another angst-inspired racial invective about his Black person-of-interest. It was not TRAFFIC CONES as why would he park next to one? Who at RATL would put a traffic cone up anyway? CONE does not fit the context of his conversation with the police officer on the cell phone. And he was not speaking in any terms of endearment. He was angry.
The letter C in COON is a basic fricative in speech (I think) and has a much different waveform that the affricative G in GOON. George is clearly setting himself up for a HATE CRIME and then executes that feeling.
SoT, did you click on the link? That is her burial urn, photo taken at her graveside service last September. That scarf is her MacBeth tartan which was buried with her. She always wore it when we went to receptions and the highland games. We had been married 55 years. I truly wish she were here to participate in the DNA studies.
Sonofthunder,
OS’ wife recently passed on. You may want to consider your previous comments in that proper context.
@Otteray Scribe – “Sonofthunder, there is nothing funny about this:”
I hope you don’t mean that I was making fun of your wife and stuff? Or are you saying that she’s so intensely motivated on her Scottish roots that she doesn’t want to learn any more deeply than that? Please clarify…
@Arthur Randolph Erb – “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.”
Now that’s funny! (LOL) I think you’ll like this Elmer Fudd cartoon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79q-O6pxO58
anon nurse, that is a hard ‘c.’
If you gave Zimmerman a high colonic, he would end up weighing about fifteen pounds.
OS,
I’ve heard that Zimmerman is claiming that he said “goons”, but it certainly sounds like a hard “c”…
Now that is how it is done. Cool. The harmonics are easy to see. Some folks do not understand the “cones” sounding word. Cones makes zero sense in the context, despite some apologists hypothesizing that he was tripping over traffic cones. “Coons” is the only word that makes sense in this context.
Zimmerman speaks with a Southern accent. There are also regional accents even in the deep south. You know, where ‘dog’ comes out “dawg” and ‘eggs’ sounds like “aigs.”