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Screams on 911 call not George Zimmerman, forensic voice experts say
(CBS) SANFORD, Fla. - The voice heard calling for help on a 911 call just before Trayvon Martin was fatally shot was not that of George Zimmerman, two forensic voice identification experts told MSNBC on Sunday.
Photos: Trayvon Martin
"The tests concluded that it's not the voice of Mr. Zimmerman," Tom Owen, of Owen Forensic Services LLC and chair emeritus for the American Board of Recorded Evidence said.
When asked if he thought such tests would be admissible in court, Owen said "yes" and noted he had recently used similar testing at a murder trial that involved a 911 call.
The conclusions of Owen and another audio expert were first reported by The Orlando Sentinel on Saturday.
The 911 call he examined came in on the night of Feb. 26 from a woman who reported someone crying out for help in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. In the recording of her 911 call, panicked cries and a gunshot are heard.
After the Sentinel contacted Owen, he used software called Easy Voice Biometrics to compare Zimmerman's voice to the 911 call screams.
"I took all of the screams and put those together, and cut out everything else," Owen says.
The software compared that audio to Zimmerman's voice. It returned a 48 percent match. Owen said to reach a positive match with audio of this quality, he'd expect higher than 90 percent.
"As a result of that, you can say with reasonable scientific certainty that it's not Zimmerman," Owen says, stressing that he cannot confirm the voice as Trayvon's, because he didn't have a sample of the teen's voice to compare.
The Sentinel said that Ed Primeau, a Michigan-based audio engineer and forensics expert, came to the same conclusion.
"I believe that's Trayvon Martin in the background, without a doubt," Primeau says, stressing that the tone of the voice is a giveaway. "That's a young man screaming."
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Trayvon Martin Case: Voice Calling For Help Isn't Zimmerman's, Experts Say
Over the weekend, The Orlando Sentinel reported that two experts it consulted believe the voice heard calling for help in the background during a 911 call to police is not that of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who says he acted in self defense when he shot and killed Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla.
And one of those experts, Tom Owen of Owen Forensic Services — who is chair emeritus at the American Board of Record Evidence — has told MSNBC that he believes the tests indicating it isn't Zimmerman's voice would stand up in court.
The death of 17-year-old Martin, an African-American teen, from a shot fired by the 28-year-old Zimmerman has ignited a national discussion about race relations because Martin's family and their supporters believe he was racially profiled and that local authorities didn't do enough to investigate Zimmerman's story. Sunday in Miami, where Martin was from, several thousand people rallied to show their support for the boy's family and to demand Zimmerman's arrest.
If it is proved that it wasn't Zimmerman's voice calling for help, that could raise questions about his claim of self defense.
According to the Sentinel, Owen used software "to compare Zimmerman's voice [heard on another 911 call, which Zimmerman made earlier the evening of Feb. 26] to the 911 call screams" recorded during a neighbor's phone call to police. The software, the Sentinel says, "returned a 48 percent match. Owen said to reach a positive match with audio of this quality, he'd expect higher than 90 percent. 'As a result of that, you can say with reasonable scientific certainty that it's not Zimmerman,' Owen says."
It wasn't possible for Owen to determine if the voice was that of Martin, the newspaper adds, because he didn't have a recording of the teen's voice to compare to the shouts for help.
The Sentinel writes that Ed Primeau, another audio forensics expert, used enhancement technology and "human analysis" to conclude that it was "a young man screaming."
Zimmerman's brother Robert, however, has told a Miami TV station that he believes it is his brother calling for help.
"I know that that's George," Robert Zimmerman told NBC Miami. "I know that one of the saddest things for him in this whole thing is that despite those screams, no one came to his aid. Those screams could have avoided what eventually George had to do to defend his life. ... I know that that's his voice, it sounds just like my voice I mean he's my brother, that's what I sound like if I yell."
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Of course we will never know the truth because we are only hearing one side. The other side is dead. One fact you can not deny is if Zimmerman was not following(chasing) this kid who was carrying a package of Skittles, in his own neighborhood and half a block away from his home, he would not be dead!!!
(CBS) SANFORD, Fla. - The voice heard calling for help on a 911 call just before Trayvon Martin was fatally shot was not that of George Zimmerman, two forensic voice identification experts told MSNBC on Sunday.
Photos: Trayvon Martin
"The tests concluded that it's not the voice of Mr. Zimmerman," Tom Owen, of Owen Forensic Services LLC and chair emeritus for the American Board of Recorded Evidence said.
When asked if he thought such tests would be admissible in court, Owen said "yes" and noted he had recently used similar testing at a murder trial that involved a 911 call.
The conclusions of Owen and another audio expert were first reported by The Orlando Sentinel on Saturday.
The 911 call he examined came in on the night of Feb. 26 from a woman who reported someone crying out for help in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. In the recording of her 911 call, panicked cries and a gunshot are heard.
After the Sentinel contacted Owen, he used software called Easy Voice Biometrics to compare Zimmerman's voice to the 911 call screams.
"I took all of the screams and put those together, and cut out everything else," Owen says.
The software compared that audio to Zimmerman's voice. It returned a 48 percent match. Owen said to reach a positive match with audio of this quality, he'd expect higher than 90 percent.
"As a result of that, you can say with reasonable scientific certainty that it's not Zimmerman," Owen says, stressing that he cannot confirm the voice as Trayvon's, because he didn't have a sample of the teen's voice to compare.
The Sentinel said that Ed Primeau, a Michigan-based audio engineer and forensics expert, came to the same conclusion.
"I believe that's Trayvon Martin in the background, without a doubt," Primeau says, stressing that the tone of the voice is a giveaway. "That's a young man screaming."
******************************************
Trayvon Martin Case: Voice Calling For Help Isn't Zimmerman's, Experts Say
Over the weekend, The Orlando Sentinel reported that two experts it consulted believe the voice heard calling for help in the background during a 911 call to police is not that of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who says he acted in self defense when he shot and killed Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla.
And one of those experts, Tom Owen of Owen Forensic Services — who is chair emeritus at the American Board of Record Evidence — has told MSNBC that he believes the tests indicating it isn't Zimmerman's voice would stand up in court.
The death of 17-year-old Martin, an African-American teen, from a shot fired by the 28-year-old Zimmerman has ignited a national discussion about race relations because Martin's family and their supporters believe he was racially profiled and that local authorities didn't do enough to investigate Zimmerman's story. Sunday in Miami, where Martin was from, several thousand people rallied to show their support for the boy's family and to demand Zimmerman's arrest.
If it is proved that it wasn't Zimmerman's voice calling for help, that could raise questions about his claim of self defense.
According to the Sentinel, Owen used software "to compare Zimmerman's voice [heard on another 911 call, which Zimmerman made earlier the evening of Feb. 26] to the 911 call screams" recorded during a neighbor's phone call to police. The software, the Sentinel says, "returned a 48 percent match. Owen said to reach a positive match with audio of this quality, he'd expect higher than 90 percent. 'As a result of that, you can say with reasonable scientific certainty that it's not Zimmerman,' Owen says."
It wasn't possible for Owen to determine if the voice was that of Martin, the newspaper adds, because he didn't have a recording of the teen's voice to compare to the shouts for help.
The Sentinel writes that Ed Primeau, another audio forensics expert, used enhancement technology and "human analysis" to conclude that it was "a young man screaming."
Zimmerman's brother Robert, however, has told a Miami TV station that he believes it is his brother calling for help.
"I know that that's George," Robert Zimmerman told NBC Miami. "I know that one of the saddest things for him in this whole thing is that despite those screams, no one came to his aid. Those screams could have avoided what eventually George had to do to defend his life. ... I know that that's his voice, it sounds just like my voice I mean he's my brother, that's what I sound like if I yell."
*******************************
Of course we will never know the truth because we are only hearing one side. The other side is dead. One fact you can not deny is if Zimmerman was not following(chasing) this kid who was carrying a package of Skittles, in his own neighborhood and half a block away from his home, he would not be dead!!!
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