Fingerprints & Handwriting

Source: Graysmith's Unmasked

     In the Zodiac case the main fingerprint person was Sherwood Morrill, C I & I's handwriting expert. He studied under Charles H. Stone, California's first document expert.

     You can tell approximately how old the Zodiac is because he wrote in manuscript instead of cursive. Morrill was studying some vicious mail sent to Herb Caen. A large staring eye and many deliberate misspellings. "We have suche fun on the way here. We kill manie hitchhikers so slow to danse" -- and other such vicious comments common to previous Zodiac letters.

     Morrill said "You look for one or two characteristics in a peculiar style of writing that will get you started. If you find enough individual characteristics without any significant difference, you can identify that person. Any change though will make it invalid.

     In fingerprints, if you have enough points, a partial print often contains twelve characteristic points and no significant difference, then you have an identification. The Zodiac was inconsistant in the way he made the letter K. He used to make it in three strokes but then changed to two --sometimes. " The looped d's meant that he was arrogant and proud and was insecure about himself. Misspelling is an effort to disguise but I also thought there might be a possible code involved in doing this. When you combine the Zodiac's very rushed writing, indistinct letters, change in the spacing, change in the letter size, it could be a sign of manic-depression. If he starts a sentence allright but then drops down at the end, that shows a sign of depression. Dotting the I's very close to the body (stem) shows he really is a very lonely person and sensitive to criticism.

     I would assume that all fingerprints are different and that makes us all unique. Also if you can catch a good fingerprint that narrows it down to one person and no one else. In closing the Zodiac used airplane glue to cover up his fingerprints. Good idea but messy.