* Warning: Today’s episode contains discussions of threatening communication and blackmail*

Summer, 2011, Leeds, England. Two elderly residents of a housing estate are feeling terrorised after receiving hand delivered typed letters accusing them of wrongdoing and threatening harm unless they comply with a request for large sums of cash. The letters suggest that they are being watched on a daily basis, and warn them not to involve the police. They both do contact the police, who shortly identify and arresta suspect – local woman Judy Dunne. A warrant is issued to search Dunne’s house, and a number of her writings areseized. She is also asked to produce some writings while in custody. Struggling to find enough evidence to link Dunne to the letters, police turn to newly qualified forensic linguist Dr Nicci MacLeod for help.

This episode discusses how authorship analysis helped in the case.

Have a question for Nicci or Tim? Email us at writingwrongs@aston.ac.uk and we may answer it during an upcoming episode!

Check out the official AIFL blog for more forensic linguistic goodies here: https://medium.com/@AIFLblog

If you have been affected by any of the themes in this week’s episode, please contact one of these free sources:

https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/

https://www.helpguide.org/find-help

Production Team: Jordan Robertson, Neus Alberich Buera, Karolina Placzynta, James Cresswell

Sound: James Cresswell

Editing: Angela Walker

Visual design: George Grant

Additional Voices: Amy Booth

Professor Tim Grant’s home page: Tim Grant -Aston Research Explorer

Dr Nicci MacLeod’s home page: Nicci MacLeod -Aston Research Explorer