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A Forensic Linguistics Case Study of the Mystery of the Golden Coast Serial Killer: The Zodiac Presented By: Razan S. Badawi

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no two people have the same handwriting. Thus, handwriting is viewed as being as identifiable as a fingerprint. Nicole Letch (2004) What is Forensic Linguistics?

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Types of Linguistic Evidence Other Emails, Blogs, Graffiti,etc Written Notes Suicide Ransom Letters Serial Killers Verbal Voice Fingerprints Intellectual Property Plagiarism

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Who is the Zodiac?

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Main Suspects Richard Gaikowski (1936 2004) Arthur Leigh Allen (1933 -1992)

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Research Methodology "linguistics helps build a profile, not identify an individual" (Leonard, 2005) - Linguistic analysis of hand-written evidence: Spelling Punctuation Lexical Choice

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This is the Zodiac Speaking... Spelling I Cipher + Cypher = cyipher !?

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noun 1a secret or disguised way of writing; a code. verb 1 [with object] put (a message) into secret writing; encode. Cipher (cipher) Pronunciation: / sfr/ (also cypher) oxforddictionaries.com

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This is the Zodiac Speaking... Spelling II

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This is the Zodiac Speaking... Punctuation The Zodiacs Bates letter that he sent to the Riverside Police Department

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This is the Zodiac Speaking... Lexical Choice I Kill (verb): to deprive of life in any manner; cause the death of; slay. http://dictionary.reference.com/ Mailed: July 31, 1969 Sent to: San Francisco Examiner http://www.zodiackiller.com/ExaminerLetter1.html

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This is the Zodiac Speaking... Lexical Choice II Murder (noun): Law. the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law. In the U.S., special statutory definitions include murder committed with malice aforethought, characterized by deliberation or premeditation or occurring during the commission of another serious crime, as robbery or arson (first-degree murder) and murder by intent but without deliberation or premeditation (second-degree murder) http://dictionary.reference.com/ Mailed: July 31, 1969 Sent to: San Francisco Chronicle http://www.zodiackiller.com/ChronicleLetter1.html

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Results: Creating a Profile Educated Knowledgeable Well-read Religious Had a non-stop desire to kill Had a god complex A linguistic prodigy

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References http://www.zodiackiller.com/Letters.html http://www.zodiackiller.com/Letters.html http://zodiacrevisited.com/bad-compan/ http://zodiacrevisited.com/bad-compan/ http://www.visualthesaurus.com/app/view http://www.visualthesaurus.com/app/view http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/cipher?region=us&q=cipher http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/cipher?region=us&q=cipher http://dictionary.reference.com/ http://dictionary.reference.com/ http://wordstodeeds.com/2012/02/16/what-exactly-is-forensic-linguistics/ http://wordstodeeds.com/2012/02/16/what-exactly-is-forensic-linguistics/ http://www.officialcoldcaseinvestigations.com/showthread.php?t=2788 http://www.officialcoldcaseinvestigations.com/showthread.php?t=2788 http://www.zodiackiller.com/SuspectGaikowski.html http://www.zodiackiller.com/SuspectGaikowski.html http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/ http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/ http://sapphirelove.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=22&action=print&thread=43 http://sapphirelove.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=22&action=print&thread=43

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Thank You