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Abstract
This study examined verbal indicators contained within 911 telephone calls reporting a homicide to determine the caller's innocence or guilt regarding the homicide being reported. The audio recordings of twelve 911 homicide phone calls (six innocent callers and six guilty callers) were obtained from sheriff's departments and police departments from across the United States. This study utilized adjudicated homicide investigations in which the determination of innocence and guilt of the caller had been determined within the criminal court system.
This research study analyzed twenty verbal indicators regarding the telephone calls placed to 911 dispatch centers throughout the United States to report a homicide. The first verbal indicator which was examined was the "Plea for Help," which should be expected when a caller utilizes 911 to report a homicide. If the Plea for Help was present, the following sub-categories were also examined: a. Who the caller is requesting help for (victim or the caller). b. The position of the plea within the call (first portion of communication or later within the communication). c. The immediacy of the plea (immediacy or lack of immediacy). d. Urgent demand for response (present or not present).
Additionally, the following verbal indicators were also be examined: Modulation, Verbal Reaction before Dispatcher Introduction, Self-Correction, Extraneous Information, Inappropriate Politeness, Caller's Acceptance of the Victim's Death (with and without relationship), Possession of a Problem, Insulting/Blaming the Victim, Minimization, the "Huh Factor," Repetition, Conflicting Facts and the Caller's Resistance to Answer the Dispatcher's Question(s).
The research results revealed the presence of all of the innocent verbal indicators being examined. The results of the study identified that eleven of the twelve guilty verbal indicators were present in the guilty 911 calls. The only guilty verbal indicator observed to be absent from the guilty 911 calls was Insulting or Blaming the Victim.
