LAST EDITED ON May-27-03 AT 09:38 PM (EST)
Q. Mr. Thomas, directing your attention now to the handwriting reports from the Colorado Bureau of
Investigation, did you ever have occasion to see any of the handwriting reports that were done at all in
the case by CBI? A. Yeah. What they called a report typically was more of a lab finding. It wasn't in a narrative
form, as I recall, but those were in the possession of Trujillo, the forensic evidence detective, but I did
have at least one occasion to look at those.
Q. Can you describe what one typically looked like? Like how many pages was one of these
reports?
A. Fairly short, if I recall. The one that I have in mind probably ran less than four pages. On the
front page was like a CBI logo or letterhead, whatever they typically manufacture their printed report
on and just simply black typewritten or computer-generated ink on white paper.
Q. Do you know what sort of analysis was actually done in the report of the handwriting?
A. Yeah, they -- I remember the language concerning Patsy Ramsey, which was included in that
report. And then many other people's or people whose handwriting had been looked at were also
reported in this document.
Q. Now, you say this document. Weren't there more than -- did they do separate reports for each
individual's handwriting that they examined, to the best of your knowledge?
A. Not that I saw.
Q. So basically what was it that you saw, a single report?
A. Well, as I described this report probably less than four pages in length that was very compacted
with a lot of information and not typically what you think of as a -- or what I think of as a police report
with a narrative, but more exhibit number such and such corresponding to this, et cetera. Not -- it
wasn't free-flowing narrative of any sort.
Q. The report that you actually were able to physically examine, do you know how many subjects or
persons were actually being discussed in that report?
A. Yeah, many. Many, many, many, you know, 20, 30, 40 maybe.
Q. Do you know whether or not the report drew any conclusions with respect to the authorship of
the ransom note?
A. Yes.
Q. Could you tell me what you remember the conclusion to be?
A. As I sit here today without that document in front of me, I recall language in that document that
along the lines, and I'm certainly paraphrasing, that there was evidence to suggest that Patsy Ramsey
was the author of the ransom note.
Q. Is that the language that you remember "evidence to suggest"?
A. Yes.
Q. Now, with respect to your book, you make a statement in your book, I'm trying to find the page,
but I'll just ask you generally, yeah, it's on page 282, in the next to the last paragraph on page 282, the
paragraph that begins "Not only did certain letters change." Do you have that?
A. Yes.
Q. Could you read that paragraph out loud, please?
A. Certainly. "Not only did certain letters change, but her entire writing style seemed to have been
transformed after the homicide. There were new ways of indenting, spelling, and writing out long
numbers that contrasted with her earlier examples, and she was the only suspect who altered her usual
preferences when supplying writing samples to the police."
Q. Now, the she in this paragraph, who is the she?
A. This is referring to Patsy Ramsey.
Q. All right. Now, may I ask you how you acquired the knowledge that you have in this paragraph?
How do you know that in fact is what was going on in her handwriting?
MR. WOOD: Let me say something I don't think that he stated that he knows that as a fact I think
he's describing what Don Foster said, but I may be wrong.
MR. HOFFMAN: Okay. I'm just asking him how he acquired that information.
MR. WOOD: Okay.
A. Mr. Hoffman, surrounding or preceding this paragraph it's in relation to Mr. Foster's presentation
in Boulder, if I'm not mistaken and his presentation overheads, examples, et cetera.
Q. (BY MR. HOFFMAN) All right. Do you know if anyone other than Don Foster shared that
belief who was involved in the investigation?
A. What belief?
Q. The belief that there was an attempt by Patsy Ramsey to alter her handwriting when asked for
exemplars?
MR. DIAMOND: Do you mean among the expert community?
Q. (BY MR. HOFFMAN) Among anybody that was investigating the case that you know of?
A. I don't know if Don Foster shared any of his findings or investigation with any of the FBI people
that he sometimes works with, but as far as those people in the room that day for this presentation in
trying to recall what Foster presented and said and demonstrated, that was certainly where I came
away with this impression.
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