International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators

International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators Forensic Profiling , Threat Assessment Profiling, Non Verbal Communication, Forensic Linguistic Statement Analysis. Forensic Handwriting/Document Examination.

Deception Detection. Handwriting Analysis. Education, Forensic Profiling , Threat Assessment, Non Verbal Communication, Forensic Linguistic Statement Analysis. "Statement Analysis."

09/05/2026

Special interest Article
Anthony J. Iantosca, BCFE
www.IAFEI.com

Published by Anthony Iantosca, BCFE
For the International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators.
Lindsay Clancy Case

"Beyond a shadow of a doubt" means being completely certain that something is true, with no possibility of doubt.
Meaning and Usage
The phrase "beyond a shadow of a doubt" is used to express absolute certainty about a fact or situation, leaving no room for ambiguity or question. It is often employed in legal, formal, and everyday contexts to emphasize that evidence or knowledge is conclusive. For example, one might say, "The test results proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was not the child's father" or "I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything was going to be okay." Merriam-Webster

Using "beyond a shadow of a doubt" signals absolute certainty and is stronger than simply saying "without doubt." It is a powerful phrase to convey that something is proven, known, or believed with complete confidence.

This was not the case with one juror who believed there was doubt. What would/could have caused reasonable doubt in this jurors mind.

For example;

There was pre-planning, pre-offender behavior. Ms. Clancy sent her then husband out of the house the day of murders to get take out for dinner and stop at CVS for her medication. This would cause some doubt that she went insane all at once and started killing everyone inside the house including her husband. Her post offender behavior could look like "masking." The goals of masking are to add great difficulty and confusion to criminal investigations, avoid scrutiny by law enforcement, and ultimately avoid being convicted of the crime. "Masking" here was with her failed su***de attempt. She was a nurse and would know how to kill herself if she wanted too. The cuts on her arms and neck were very shallow. This behavior would also cause some doubt that she wanted to kill herself.

I believe her medical condition played a very serious roll in her actions. I believe the medical community did not help Ms. Clancy as much as they could and should have. Many people did not pay close attention to her statements and behavior changes. There were many warning signs missed in her behavior changes. The very sad part of this case is Ms. Clancy did kill three innocent children who seem to have been forgotten during this court case.

Ms. Clancy's attorney was wrong by putting a target on the back of this one juror. He had his own opinion and that should be respected. Just because it wasn't the opinion you wanted does not make his opinion wrong. There was some doubt on both sides of this case. The judge and the court made a big mistake by letting these insane protesters in their pink shirts close to the court house. They should have been moved out of the court house area. The jurors were intimidated and some terrified. One woman was taking pictures of the jurors as they were entering the court house. The jurors heard and saw what was going on outside the court house and it played a roll in some of the jurors decision making.

09/02/2026

Special interest Article
Anthony J. Iantosca, BCFE
www.iafei.com
Published by Anthony Iantosca, BCFE
For the International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators.
Profiling
Social Media
Attention, Gaslighting and Cyber Bulling
Social media can be a very positive experience or a very negative and dangerous one, depending on how it is used. Many people post their views, ideas, and feelings on their social media pages. This is a harmless endeavor for many of us. Those who have a good sense of their own self worth and self esteem do not need to be validated by others. Many who are insecure, have low self esteem need others to validate them. When people disagree with their post or they do not get a thousand likes they can become depressed or down right nasty.
This can lead to gaslighting and bulling towards the people who they feel have shown disrespect because of a difference of opinion or because of their own jealousy/envy. These personality types will make it their mission in life to destroy the person or persons who gave the discordant remark against the persons page or post.
With the onset of social media everyone can become famous, everyone can become a star, everyone can be heard, everyone can become the center of attention. For many people this is not an issue, for the insecure personality types it is. Being the center of attention is like a drug, the more they get, the more they want and need. This is how they validate their low sense of self worth.
When he/she is not getting their daily fix, they can become very depressed and hostile. This is where cyber bulling will raise it's ugly head. Cyber bulling is real and a very dangerous tactic used against people who have low self esteem to begin with. Both young men and women have committed su***de because of cyber bulling. The drama queen or king who feels they have been offended in some way uses their friends or what I call their "flying monkeys" to jump on the band wagon to destroy, humiliate and gaslight the offending party.
It is very easy to spot many of these drama queens and kings they are the ones who need to be the center of attention where ever they go. They also can't put their phones down for two seconds. They have their nose glued to their phones all day and night. You can't even have a two minute conversation without them checking their phones to see who said what or how many likes they received on their latest post or short video. You can actually see their moods change in the time they checked their phone. They can go from happy to sad or to down right angry because of a statement on their post.
These short videos I am now seeing on social media is a new stick. Many are of young women all doing the same thing, showing as much of their body as possible, looking for followers. I don't know for sure what they are attempting to accomplish but I have an idea. For you men out there thinking you are going to have some sort of relationship with these girls, you had better think again. You might be left a little poorer and brokenhearted.
Cyber bulling, school bulling and work place bulling is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed and stopped as soon as it rears it's ugly head. Many of the school shootings over the years happened because of kids being bullied at school. These kids snapped because of the daily bulling and humiliation they were subjected to everyday and they took out their anger and revenge on many innocent students and teachers.
It is of the utmost importance to pay very close attention to any change in your child's normal behavior once they start the new school year. A change in their behavior is a change in the child's reality. There will be signs that something is wrong. You as caring parents must be a "competent observer of your environment." Your children are part of your environment. A very important part of our environment.

Sadly, you will also see the freeze response with abused children. Children will often manifest this "freeze" response in the presence of an abusive parent or adult. Children are very active, running, waving their arms and being very vocal. These children's body language expressions will go dormant when in the presences of an abuser, their arms will go down to their sides, their head will often bow down to avoid eye contact. Thinking they will not be seen. This again is their way of "hiding in the open," a survival tool for these helpless children. This "freeze" response should never be ignored when seen in a child. Something is wrong and you need to find out why.

08/27/2026

Special interest Article
Anthony J. Iantosca, BCFE
www.IAFEI.com

Published by Anthony Iantosca, BCFE
For the International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators.

Forensic Linguistic Analysis
Your Words
Deception Detection in Text Messages, Oral, Written Statements.

Texting is the way people communicate in today's fast paced world. Detecting deception through text messages is a very difficult task.
First people have their own linguistic style, second, I would need many texts over a period of time to acquire a base line of that persons communication/texting style, third many of the newer phones cannot capitalize the lower case "I" and that causes problems for the examiner when it comes to determining commitment or lack of commitment to their words within their statement.

This is the main reason for acquiring a base line of past texts to see if the capitol letter "I" has been used. Also is their use of punctuation, comma's, eclipse marks, hyphens, exclamation points consistent in all of their texts. How punctuation is used within a statement / text can change the meaning of that statement / text.

For Example:
Exclamation points used within a statement means "heightened emotion, strong feelings or high volume" many times when I examine a text for content some people overuse exclamation marks. There is a marked difference when it used after a statement such as "I am angry!" and it is used once or twice within their statement. Many times I see a text such as "how are you!!!!" "how was you day!!!!!" "I miss you!!!!" "I just fed my cat!!!!" I see the overuse of exclamation marks after every sentence. This is the texters linguistic style and this changes the meaning of their statement. This would indicate to me a form of exaggeration than true heightened emotion.

There is also a marked difference between "luv u" and "I love you." Again, I need a base line. "luv u" who loves me? The capitol letter "I" is very important here and shows commitment to his/her statement. No capitol "I" or a lower case "I" shows lack of commitment to his/her statement. The following list is a something to look for when you want to know if the person is being truthful or is being deceptive. This a partial list and small sample of what to watch out for.
Be skeptical when someone tries to distance themselves from the story. A common way to do this is to avoid the use of personal pronouns such as "I" and "we." Additionally, liars may distance other people from the story in an attempt to hide their identity, referring to them as "some people, someone or some friends."
Lying is uncomfortable for everyone involved. Most liars don't want to fully commit to a lie and will often use noncommittal language. Popular noncommittal phrases include "I guess," "possibly or probably," "must have," "pretty sure," "sort of " and "we'll see."
Sometimes people are just being nice, but at other times they're playing you. Depending on the situation, empathetic language may signal a lie. Good liars know that our emotions have a strong influence over what we chose to believe.

Many liars set up their lies with qualifying statements. These statements show that the liar is uncomfortable with what they're about to say. Some examples include, "I hate to tell you," "don't take this the wrong way," "to be honest," "I'm just saying," and "I hear what you're saying." Also, the words "you know" such as; "you know" I would never do such a thing, "you know" me better than that. The words "you know" the person wants you to take their honesty for granted. I don't know anything unless "you" tell me. Also. the word "But" the word "But" means "behold the underlying truth" never pay attention to the words that come before the word "But" always pay very close attention to the words that come after the word "But" that is the most truthful part of the statement.
Example: " Susan I am happy for your new promotion, I know you are ready for your new position, "but" there is a lot you need to learn." This statement tells me he/she does not believe your ready for your new position or is envious you received it and is gas lighting you in the process by having you second guess yourself, on your abilities, skill, training and education.
Just as they do in person, liars will take advantage of any opportunity they can to change the subject from their lie. Fortunately, in text, email and written statements, it's a little more obvious.

Be skeptical when a person does not answer your questions in a direct straight forward manner. They do a lot of talking and say very little about the question you asked. Most deceptive believe the more they talk in response to your question or questions the more they come across as being honest and believable. This is called Extraneous Information.
Extraneous information in a statement also can provide clues to deception. A truthful person with nothing to hide, when asked the question, "What happened," will recount the events chronologically and concisely. Any information given that does not answer this question is extraneous. People involved in crimes or are hiding something may feel the need to justify their actions. In such cases, the information in the statements will not follow a logical time frame or will skirt what really happened. They also may include more information than is necessary to tell the story. In such instances, you should scrutinize this extraneous information and question why this person felt the need to include it in their statement to you.

There are many more indicators of deception when analyzing text messages, oral or written statements. If you have any questions please ask, I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. I can be reached on my website or e-mail me at [email protected] and explain your situation.

08/22/2026

Special interest Article
Anthony J. Iantosca, BCFE
www.IAFEI.com

Published by Anthony Iantosca, BCFE
For the International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators.

Lindsay Clancy
Analysis

Lindsay Clancy built a seemingly idyllic life with her husband and three young children—all under the age of 6—in Duxbury, Massachusetts. However, prosecutors allege that image was shattered in January 2023 when Clancy brutally strangled her kids to death.

While prosecutors claim her actions were deliberate, Clancy has pleaded not guilty to all charges and her defense team contends she suffered from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings. Now, a jury will ultimately decide the mother’s fate.

This is a very difficult analysis from a profiling standpoint. First, I am a man, I cannot begin to understand the difficult changes that happens to a woman during pregnancy and after the child is born. Postpartum depression and the more serious postpartum psychosis is a very serious medical condition that can only be diagnosed by a trained licensed medical professional. It happens, it is real and from what I understand is a hell on earth for the poor women suffering from this disorder. There are a few issues I have with this case, yes, she did kill her children and she will be held accountable. What I will state in this case is that everyone around Ms. Clancy did not have what I call, is "being a competent observer of their environment." Based on what I have heard, she stated self harm and harm to her children before she committed these murders. "Every word has a meaning and people mean what they say." This statement was a very serious red flag that went over everyone's head and was not taken seriously.

By December 2022, Lindsay told Patrick that she wanted to be admitted to a hospital and told him, “I have thoughts of wanting to die, and I feel numb to them,” according to police records. She further expressed fears to her husband that she was having unwanted thoughts of harming their kids.

“We were told by doctors, ‘If she doesn’t have a plan, and if she’s disturbed by the thoughts, then they are probably just thoughts,’ ” Patrick told The New Yorker.

Those so called "just thoughts" caused the lives of three innocent children. If she had thoughts about harming her children she also had thoughts of how she going to harm the children. There was preplanning she sent her husband out of the house and killed the children.

According to Patrick, Lindsay was admitted to an inpatient program at McLean Hospital in early January 2023 but was released after five days and given another antidepressant prescription. Patrick said that she appeared to be doing better by mid-January. The word "appeared" tells me they were still unsure she was doing better, it does not mean she "was" doing better. She should have stayed in McLean Hospital until she was fully back on her emotional feet, psychological feet, which was not the case with Ms. Clancy.

I believe the medical community dropped the ball with their interactions with Ms. Clancy. She needed help and it was not given to her in a professional manner. She was given over fourteen different prescription drugs that she was taking at the time of these killings, did anyone take the time to analyze how all these different drugs would interact with each other and how these drugs would alter and effect her frame of mind.

What I do know is when someone states that they are a danger to themselves and others, family members need to step in take the children out of the house and put her in a mental health care facility to get her/him the help/care they need. I know, I have done it. I believe she will be found not guilty because of mental defect. I also believe she will attempt to kill herself again. Her life is over, her family destroyed. My heart bleeds for those innocent children.

I wish I had samples of her handwriting during her road into darkness. It would have told me much about her frame of mind at the time and how serious her thoughts were.

08/20/2026

Special interest Article
Anthony J. Iantosca, BCFE

www.IAFEI.com

Published by Anthony Iantosca, BCFE
For the International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators.

Profiling and Compatibility

Are we compatible? This is a question I am asked all the time. Every personality is different. Personalities are as diverse as the colors of a rainbow. In profiling we have eight degrees of emotion from Severe Introvert to Extreme Extrovert and the six degrees in between. We all feel emotion the same but deal with those emotions differently. There is no right or wrong on how each and everyone of us deal with our emotions. The Extrovert is more expressive, the Ambivert is very cautious and controlled, the Introvert fears emotion and intense emotional interaction with others, this is very apparent when it comes to matters of the heart.

There is a lot of misconceptions when talking about the Introvert personality type. They do not hide in a corner fearful of people. They can and do work well with others, they are very good in their work environment. It is only when strong emotions come into play will you see a change in their behavior. Introverts were not born that way, they were made that way by cold, domineering, primary care givers. They never experienced unconditional love by their primary care givers as children. It is not that they do not have emotions they feel the same emotions as we all do, they just don't trust strong emotions with others. As long as you are not trying to get close to them emotionally they are fine. Emotional pain is something the Introvert does not handle well. The way they will go through life is simple, if I don't let you get close to me, you can't hurt me. Even in marriage they have a somewhat cold detached way about them.

This is one of the main reasons there is so much misunderstanding between people and couples. Once the profiler has determined the emotional makeup of the personality the next trait is their intensity level (mental strength). There are six levels of intensity from P-1 through P-6. P=intensity level. There is a marked difference in the behavior patterns of a lighter pressured P-1,2,3 the average person in today's society is a P-3 in pressure and a heavy pressured personality type is in the P-4,5,6 level of intensity. The intensity level of the person does not mean one person is better or smarted than the other. Their intensity level is the mental strength or fuel that will drive their traits and the behavior associated with those traits for good, bad or indifferent. Intensity levels does not mean one person is better than the other person. People think because my wife is more intense than I am she is better, stronger and more powerful than I am. This is not the case. Yes, she is more intense, she has more drive, endurance and can carry more weight and responsibility on her shoulders. Their wants, needs and desires are very different. The main reason when I conduct a profile or teaching students I will state Intensity requires Intensity between people, because they will understand each other better.

The more intense the personality is, the more extreme they are in their behavior. Personalities in the P-5,6 level of intensity kill a mosquito with an elephant gun. A P-3 will not understand the working mind of a P-6. These intense personalities work hard, play hard and are very intense sexually. Once I have evaluated their emotional make and intensity level. Now I must identify and evaluate the traits, there are over one hundred sixteen to one hundred twenty four researched traits that have been established to be eighty five to eighty seven percent accurate with a thirteen to fifteen percent margin of error. If handwriting is not available, I need a complete list of their behavior patterns.

When I look for compatibility between couples I look at what is their attitude in life. Their likes, interests, wants, needs and desires. This is shown in their intellectual imagination, materialistic wants, needs, and physical/sexual imagination. Are they well balanced in a three, or do they have a primary in one and not the other. There are traits that I must detect, identify, analyze and evaluate. A primary in their intellectual imagination these personalities are consumed in study and research in their area of interest. A primary in the materialistic personality type he/she is interested in food, shelter and clothing. They are very youthful types, very social and can be somewhat immature. A primary in their physical/sexual imagination, these personalities are consumed in their physical/sexual wants and needs. They love sports keeping their arms and legs moving and their sexual wants and needs are intense. There are more traits that I would detect in the personalities physical/sexual wants and needs than there are with the other two.

A primary in their physical/sexual imagination the traits I would detect, identify, analyze and evaluate are; is the person a loner, selective, does he/she have variety, are they overactive, are they clannish, sexually frustrated, or is the male frugal with an eye for the girls or boys what ever he is into. Each one of these traits listed behaves, acts, and expresses their sexual wants, needs and desires differently. Add their emotional makeup and their intensity level to the listed traits you can understand why there is much confusion and misunderstanding between couples.

There is no right or wrong in a persons sexual wants, needs and desires, unless there is pain involved or a person is being forced to engage in a sexual practice that he/she does not want to be involved in. There are personalities who love S*M that is fine but you must find other like minded personalities who enjoy the same practice. There are also personalities who also enjoy threesomes and foursomes nothing wrong with that either, as long as your partner is also willing to go along with that practice. This is the main reason their intensity level and the traits found in each of the partners profile must match up.

Their emotional make up is also very important. The Extroverted personality type loves emotion, deals with and expresses emotion very easily they are emotional types. The emotionally controlled, Ambivert /Suppressed Ambivert or Small writer type has a distrust of intense emotions. It takes a long time for them to trust their emotions for you and for the Ambivert type to trust your emotions for them. The last thing the emotionally controlled type wants to deal with is being blind sided and hurt. It takes a very long time for them to get over that emotional hurt and they do not forget that pain over night. It takes the emotionally controlled personality type a long time to get involved in another serious relationship again. Unless he/she has other underlying issues which I am not talking about in this article. Ambiverts live by a code "what is in the best interest of everyone."

The more Extroverted personality can and does move on very quickly. The emotional type also feels hurt and pain but can move on and be on a dating site looking for someone new by tomorrow morning. Ambiverts will drive that failed relationship inward blaming themselves for the failure. The Extrovert drives their pain outwardly and blames you for the failed relationship. The Ambivert personality lives by a code "what is in the best interest of everyone," the more emotional Extroverted type lives by a code " what is in the best interest of you, as long as you do things my way." With different emotional personality types communication between the two different types is very important to avoid misunderstanding and conflict.

08/18/2026

Special interest Article
Anthony J. Iantosca, BCFE
www.IAFEI.com

Published by Anthony Iantosca, BCFE
For the International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators.
Profiling

Traits are expressed through behavior.
Past behavior is indicative of future behavior.
Behavior reflects personality.


"What is the best I can hope for, what is the worst I can expect," from this personality when emotions come into play and logic and rational gets reduced. As a Threat Assessment Profiler I do not profile a personality and look for negative traits or behavior patterns. I do not go looking for things. What I do, is analyze behavior patterns consistent over an extended period of time and what those behavior patterns are telling me. When handwriting was available it tells me what the person is thinking, feeling and how they will respond when in an emotional frame of mind. The handwriting analysis is based on the personalities frame of mind at the time the document was penned. This is very important because handwriting will change and fluctuate based on the personalities frame of mind. There are both internal and external factors that will influence a sample of handwriting. This is the reason I would need many samples written over an extended period of time.

When handwriting was not available it is behavior patterns the personality will express when in a rational frame of mind and when he/she is in an emotional frame of mind. There is no logic to emotion. It is when the personality enters into an emotional frame of mind is when problems will manifest themselves and how intensely those traits will be expressed based on the traits I have detected, identified, analyzed and evaluated. Some traits you were born with, many of your traits you developed from the early stages of your life and as you matured and experienced life. Many of the behavior patterns were developed in early childhood by your primary care givers and carried into your adult life.

Traits found in a persons profile can be expressed both positively and negatively depending on the persons frame of mind. For example; Will power is (strength of purpose) a personality with strong will power tells me he/she will accomplish any goal they set their mind too. Add determination this tells me the personality is determined to accomplish their goal, add persistence to the profile this tells me this personality will continue on and on until they have accomplished their goal. These personality types will bang their head up against a wall until one of two things happen, their head breaks or the wall breaks.

What is important to understand is these traits can be used for good and accomplish positive goals, or can also be used for negative or anti-social outcomes. The key to understand is these very strong traits will push the personality to accomplish their goals. The personalities intensity level is also very important. Intensity is (mental strength) the more intense the personality is the more extreme this traits will be expressed for good, bad or indifferent. Their emotional makeup will tell me how expressive he/she will be or how explosive he/she will be.

08/16/2026

Special interest Article
Anthony J. Iantosca, BCFE
www.IAFEI.com

Published by Anthony Iantosca, BCFE
For the International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators.

Nonverbal Communication
Torso

The Torso our chest area will express many things. It is our human billboard. It transmits our health how we feel, and think about ourselves. The Torso is also used for decoration the cloths we wear also will show our social status. Clinicians will look at a person when talking to them about an issue they are having to see how he/she is dressed. Is their shirt or blouse clean or dirty, is it torn is it pressed or disheveled. This will express to the Clinician if this person has checked out and does not care anymore about themselves and what they are expressing outwardly to the public.

When a person likes you there will be what is called ventral fronting, their Torso, chest area will be pointing at you. When something is said or done that causes the person discomfort they will turn their Torso away from you called ventral denial. Ventral denial can be expressed in many ways, the person my cross their arms over their chest, hold their pocket book up high across blocking their chest, even when sitting down they will put items in front of them, their pocket book, books, bottles blocking ventral fronting. They are in a sense putting up a wall between you and him/her.
Arm crossing must be taken in the context of the situation you are in. Many people when standing or sitting will cross their arms because it is comfortable for them. The difference in the arm crossing body language tell is when they cross their arms and the hands are grasping the opposite arm. This would indicate the person is in a state of discomfort.

Most people believe that when someone is wearing a three button suit jacket buttoned all the way to the top or wearing a Mao tunic style jacket shows dishonesty because it shows ventral denial. This states I am closed off to you, you will not get close to me, I am different than you. Many of the worlds most notorious people, Mao, Castro, Stalin, Hi**er, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Un and a few of our politicians just to name a few have worn this tunic style jacket. Many millions of people lost their lives under their leadership. They were very evil and deceptive people.

Mitt Romney the former governor of Massachusetts understood this concept. He would have his suits tailor made where the buttons of his suit jacket were set and buttoned very low, showing more of his torso chest area called ventral fronting stating I am an honest person, I am open to you, I have nothing to hide.

References:

Joe Navarro FBI Special Agent (Ret.) Non Verbal Communication Training Course

Address

347 Canton Street
Randolph, MA
02368

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The School

Send a message to International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators:

Shortcuts

Share

Category