By David John Oates
In previous articles I have examined the Reverse Speech phenomenon and explored some of its applications. I have noted the potential Reverse Speech has to reveal the truth in reverse if a lie is spoken in forward speech. I have explored its ability to reveal additional hidden information, motives and unconscious agendas. Nowhere is this ability of Reverse Speech to reveal additional information as important as it is in the field of forensic investigation.
I first explored its potential in this area when I consulted with the New South Wales police in Australia in 1988 in a high profile murder investigation. The case involved a man by the name of Ces Walters who was suspected of murdering his wife’s lover. While examining a small section of soundtrack I found the very clear reversal of “Revenge, killing the lad.” This reversal suggested involvement in the crime and a possible motive. I was then given a longer section of tape and was able to narrow it down even more with reversals revealing that the man’s son had committed the murder on the orders of the father. The reversals even pinpointed what type of weapon was used, an automatic 22 rifle. The case subsequently went to court and the son was found guilty of the crime.
When I moved to Dallas Texas, I also did some consulting with the Dallas Police. In one case I was able to get several confessions in reverse and even found the exact location where the murder took place. Also in Dallas, I consulted for the FBI in the David Koresh Waco siege. Reversals revealed that Koresh would have come out of the compound if his grandmother was allowed to go and talk to him or if the authorities backed down. Of course neither events happened and the subsequent results were tragic as the compound burned to the ground killing all inside.
The case of OJ Simpson was another famous case that I did reversal analysis on. His reversals were very graphic and revealing, with phrases such as “I killed them high,” “Slaughtered them,” and “I killed the wife.” In one reversal, taken from an interview he held with BET television a week after he was found not guilty in the criminal case, he almost seems to gloat as he says in reverse “I skinned them all.” Skinned in this case is assumed to be slang meaning “I conned or fooled them.” OJ Simpson was subsequently found liable for his wife’s death in a civil suit.
In a recent case in California, a man by the name of Scott Peterson was suspected of killing his 8 months pregnant wife who had gone missing. Reversals, once again, gave a strong confession to the crime. In a TV interview he was asked the direct question, “Did you murder your wife?” He replied, “No, no I did not.” On that section of speech a reversal occurred that said “Neck, I hit hard.” This seemed to tell us how he actually committed the crime. Ironically his wife’s decapitated body was later found washed up on the beach shore and an exact cause of death could not be established. Could the reversal be telling us how he actually committed the crime? Peterson was convicted for the crime and now sits on death row in California.
Another very perplexing case that I have worked on concerns the murder of the 6 year old beauty queen, JonBenet Ramsey, in Boulder Colorado. Reversals in this case are puzzling and it is difficult to draw a firm conclusion. There are no reversals of confession for the crime by the parents, but there are reversals that seem to hint at their involvement. On Patsy Ramsey, the girls mother, we hear a reversal that says, “I planned the note,” presumably referring to the ransom note found at the crime scene. On the father, John Ramsey, we find a reversal that says “Sealed the lock,” which I speculate refers to the locked room in the house basement where JonBenet’s body was found. There are also reversals that hint at molestation, a charge that the Ramseys have strongly denied. Maybe these reversals refer to the killer of JonBenet instead. The killer had molested her. Then I have a puzzling reversal on Patsy Ramsey when she is calling for information on the person who killed her child. The reversal says, “I’m that person,” which seems to implicate the mother in her daughters death. Yet again on the father a reversal occurs that says, “We didn’t do it.” All this is rather frustrating and contradictory, and to add further intrigue to this case a man named John Karr has just confessed to the murder of JonBenet, although at the time of writing this article his confession is now considered suspect. Further tape analysis on all parties involved, including John Karr, is needed in this case before a conclusion can be drawn. The case still remains unsolved after 10 years.
Reverse Speech Practitioner, Jack Johnston in Ashland Oregon has had great success in consulting with an attorney in some criminal cases. In one case a woman had accused several youths of raping her. Reversal analysis showed that the woman was lying and she had actually had sex with someone else that night. Subsequent DNA analysis verified the story in the reversals and the youths were found to be not guilty. (See footnote below)
Overall, Reverse Speech has incredible potential in the investigative arena and can provide the police with an invaluable investigative tool. It is far more efficient than the lie detector which can only give an indication of truth or lies. Reverse Speech goes much further than this and will tell if the person committed the crime, what their motives were, and even where they have hidden evidence the police need for a conviction. Currently, Reverse Speech is rarely used by the police and that is a shame because its potentials are enormous. I await the day when its use becomes more widely accepted.
Footnote
STATEMENT FROM THE RETAINING ATTORNEY RE: DNA CORROBORATION OF REVERSE SPEECH ANALYSIS IN A CASE OF ALLEGED RAPE
To whom it may concern:
I recently had the pleasure of working with Jack Johnston when he was retained to analyse certain tape-recorded statements involving a multiple-defendant rape case I was working on. Mr. Johnston employed his Reverse Speech Analysis on numerous tapes, and as a result, he was able to give me several insights into the hidden meanings behind some of the statements. I ended up using several of Mr. Johnston’s suggestions in my summation at trial, which ended successfully.
One particular area of Mr. Johnston’s analysis turned out to be remarkable. In his analysis of the alleged victim’s statement, Mr. Johnston told me that the alleged victim had been having sexual relations with someone besides her boyfriend or the alleged rapists. Later, during the course of discovery, the State Police Lab determined that her clothing contained DNA evidence from two unidentified males, and the alleged rapists were excluded as donors. That DNA finding confirmed Mr. Johnston’s earlier conclusion.
I would definitely recommend Mr. Johnston’s services to anyone who is looking for insight into a recorded statement.
D. E. Esq., Attorney at Law