Experts from Afentis Forensics review James Foley murder

Audio experts at Afentis Forensics have reviewed the evidence regarding the James Wright Foley murder – with particular emphasis on the suspect’s voice. The individual possesses a clear British accent. The pronunciation and intonation suggest an individual that has been raised or spent substantial time in or around London. The speaker uses a variety of English terms which would further suggest a Southern England connection; perhaps through family or relationship ties. There are phonetic indications that the individual comes from a multi-ethnic area of inner London, England, but intonations that possibly denote Afro-Caribbean links.

The militant dubbed ‘Jihadi John’ presents a detailed and lengthy audio sequence as a ‘piece to camera’. This dialogue describes the cause and objectives of the miltants, but this lengthy discourse provides an extremely valuable piece of evidence for investigators. The harmonics, patterns, rhythm, intonations, fundamental frequencies, vowel formants and their transmission characteristics – all combine to make a relatively unique voice.

By breaking down the speech into its fundamental components, a ‘voice print’ can be created. This could then be compared to audio from other websites, social media accounts, or even against intercepted telephone conversations. Whilst there will undoubtedly be a significant number of false positives (incorrect matches); this approach could help link the militant to existing extremist content, other offences, or help investigators locate the individual by use of their telephone.

Stature of Militant

Mr Patel, a senior expert at Afentis Forensics disclosed to the media that there is another man, and it’s him that might be the actual party that commits the James Foley Wright murder.

In the video, an obvious edit occurs and it’s after this that the second militant appears. “There’s definitely a change of actor, a change in the physique of the individual standing next to the deceased. There are subtle, but there are also noticeable changes in their build, their physical appearance.” The actor in the first scenes is slimmer and slightly taller than the heavy set and somewhat shorted individual that appears at the end of the footage. This is most noticeable when considering the height of the suspect’s shoulder lines in relation to the kneeling journalist. A further, minor point, is the relative posture of the parties. The latter individual has a pronounced slouch and forward stoop.

The video contains other characteristics of the men that can be analysed by investigators. For instance, the technique of ‘facial mapping’ can be applied. Taking careful measurements of nodal points, such as the position of the nose relative to eyebrows, ear and jaw lines, can help produce a relatively unique template. So whilst the face of the militant is concealed, the dimensions and structure could be used to form a template that could be used to sift through databases of passport photos or images retrieved from Internet forums and social media accounts.

Knives

Whilst the man who speaks holds a knife in one of his hands, it appears to be a different knife as to the one that was left next to Foley’s body. “The dimensions and style of the knives are slightly different,” said Patel. Also, in the first scenes the knife features a distinctive hilt between the handle and blade area. At the end of the handle is a noticeable cord or strap. The hilt is not visible on the knife that is discarded on the ground, near to the body, nor is any such cord/strap apparent.

Given the angle of the recording of the James Wright Foley murder, and distance away from the camera, it is difficult to estimate the length of the blade. However, it does appear that the discarded knife near to the body is slightly longer than the knife originally wielded.

Firearm Holster

With investigations held into trying to determine whether the British-accented man was also the killer, where the pistol was holstered was also examined.the holster position would suggest being right handed – but the knife is wielded in the left handIn the video the gun is shown holstered underneath the man’s left armpit, which is a common place to holster a gun when the person is right handed due to its easy access without restricting movement. When the video progresses the militant that commits the James Foley Wright murder appears to be left-handed.

The militant is carrying a shoulder holster meant for a right-handed person, however, it might very well be the case that he still is left-handed – as the holding of the knife indicates. It may be that the person simply couldn’t purchase/source a holster for a left-handed person. It can sometimes be difficult to source a left-handed rig. So whilst it should be noted, there is a risk of drawing too much of an inference from this detail.

Location of Execution

Focusing attention on the background in the recording; behind both men is a road going over the hilly terrain. Notable details include a dip in the hills on the right side of the frame. Additionally another camera angle was used in the video which showed a field and some buildings in the distance. By entering these landscape features into a Geographic Information System (GIS) it was possible to create a 3D relief which could be cross referenced against existing satellite and topology maps.

the execution was filmed outside the town of Raqqa, north central SyriaCombining this evidence, and cross referencing against terrain and topology databases has resulted in the positive identification of the recording location – the video depicting the James Foley Wright murder was filmed south of the town of Raqqa in north central Syria.

Stage Managed

It is clear that considerable time and preparation was involved in the James Wright Foley murder – from the selection of a desolate area, obtaining recording equipment (there is no discernible wobble, suggesting use of a tripod), specific clothing for the journalist (reminiscent of Guantanamo Bay detainees), drafting and memorising of a script, and ensuring the presence of parties dressed in near military fatigues that are willing and able to commit an act of murder. Whilst each of these elements may present clues – it should be noted that the degree of premeditation that has gone into the staging of this event, may itself suggest that some consideration has been given to limiting the amount of clues – potentially even including ‘red herrings’ to thwart investigators.

Afentis Forensics have provided expert commentary to CNN, BBC and a number of international news organizations. They welcome comments and feedback in confidence. Senior analysts are available for expert interview.

For further information on Afentis Forensics, visit their website at www.afentis.com