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Click here for the letters left behind at 3 different sites by the 9/11 hijackers.
Click here for an analysis of Bin Laden and Al-Shehhi.

Below are the envelopes with the letters sent to media outlets and containing anthrax.

ANALYSIS OF THE ANTHRAX LETTERS FORENSIC ANALYSIS

The envelope addressed to the Senator has a return address from a 4th grade elementary school. The writer was trying to imitate the immature script of a child. Inside the notes, the writer purposely misspells "penacilin."  The note to the Senator uses punctuation. This is not consistent with the other notes that have no punctuation at all. The writer is trying to disguise their literacy of English and their education level.
The letters to Brokaw and the NY Post are the same exact letter. One may be an original and the other a photocopy or they are both photocopies. Copies of this same note may appear in other letters yet to be received. The formation of the numeral '1' may indicate a European or Middle Eastern education. The writing on the envelopes is sloping downward. This can sometimes happen when the writer is using his non-dominant hand and cannot maintain control over the baseline. Additionally, the handwriting formations lack consistency, typical of anonymous note writers attempting to disguise their own handwriting.
Analyzing the language used, the phrase "Allah is great" should be examined more carefully. Is this a phrase that Muslims using English as second language typically use? All of the notes are mailed in prepaid postage envelopes.  Perhaps the writer purposely acquired the prepaid envelopes so that affixing postage stamps would not be necessary and therefore meddling with the envelopes as little as possible leaving no traces of saliva or possible fingerprints.

BEHAVIORAL PROFILE OF THE WRITER

The angular handwriting appears masculine and is probably written by a man.

The dates on the notes are 09-11-01. The precision of using double-digit numbers suggests someone who is mathematical, technical and/or computer literate.

The handwriting formations suggest that the individual is organized, logical, systematic and analytical in his thinking style, controlling, persistent. He is good at planning and follow through. The handwriting has indications of intense hostility and anger.  However, these characteristics are an educated guess due to the disguised nature of the handwriting.

There is retracing on the initial letters of "This", "Take" and "Allah" in the Brokaw/NY Post letters. This suggests anxiety on the part of the writer. He may have conflicting feelings about his actions and what he is writing on those particular lines. The other phrases "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" seem like canned language possibly used to throw off the real identity of the writer.

The letters to Tom Brokaw and NY Post were postmarked the same day: September 18.  The note to the Senator was postmarked October 9.  If the notes are read in that sequence, the first note gives the advice to "take penacilin" while the following note states: "you die now are you afraid?"  The language is conflicting.  Why is the writer speaking of death and yet giving advice to take "penacilin"?  Additionally, one of the notes states "Are you afraid?"  The anxiety in the writing along with the conflicts of the language suggest that the writer was afraid and conflicted about his actions.

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Last modified: October 26, 2001