Expert handwriting analyst and personality profiler Michelle Dresbold takes reading between the lines to a new level.

By Andrea L. Zrimsek
Photography by Richard Kelly

Michelle Dresbold may be the only person in Pittsburgh who receives birthday cards from friends and family with neatly typed and perfectly punctuated wishes in place of swirling hand-written greetings, creative signatures and doodles. Even her own mother will no longer send her a note written in her own hand.

As one of the nation's leading handwriting experts, Dresbold is used to people shielding their handwriting from her. After all, one quick peek to see how a "t" is crossed or how big the loop on an "f" has been made provides all she needs to begin forming a complete personality profile.

Inside scoop on famous Pittsburghers Wonder what is, or was, going on inside the minds of well-known Pittsburghers? Based on their signatures, Dresbold offers some insight. Andrew Carnegie, philanthropist and founder of Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University Notice the lowercase "g" in Carnegie looks more like the number 8 than the letter "g." This means the Scottish-American philanthropist was articulate, well-spoken and good with words.

Dresbold is one of around 100 document specialists in the United States. She has trained extensively with the U.S. Secret Service and is one of only 19 people hand-picked to attend the most advanced document-examination classes offered by the government organization. The vivacious Dresbold has scrutinized documents in some of the most high-profile cases in U.S. history. She's read letters written by O.J. Simpson to his wife, Nicole, as well as the JonBenet Ramsey ransom letter and notes penned by Scott Peterson. She also has dissected writings of many celebrities, including Michael Jackson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many serial killers, including Ted Bundy and Albert DeSalvo, a.k.a. the Boston Strangler. Each letter, each word and each minute symbol of their writing silently reveal secrets about the people who wrote them.

"Your hand plays a very minor role in your handwriting," Dresbold says. "If you injured your hand and had to learn to write with a pen in your mouth or between your toes, eventually you would produce the same handwriting that you produced before your injury.

"However," she continues, "if your brain were injured, you would lose much of your writing ability. It's your brain - not your hand - that decides the size, shape and slant of your handwriting. Handwriting is really brain-writing, and the marks you place on the paper are your brain-prints."

While Dresbold is constantly intrigued by every part of her job, she never set out for such an unusual and precise line of work. The Squirrel Hill native was a natural artist with an intrinsic ability to read people. After graduating with honors from University of Michigan, where she studied art and psychology, she headed to New York City to work as an artist. After nine years in the Big Apple, Dresbold moved back here because of an illness in the family and continued pursuing a career in abstract-impressionism, Dresbold's term to describe her mix between Jackson Pollock's and Claude Monet's styles. (You can see her artwork at Sirani Gallery in Squirrel Hill; for information, call 412/422-2121.)

Ed Rendell, Pennsylvania governor Rendell writes with a heavy or thick pressure that means he is a very sensual person. When he has feelings, no matter what they are for, they are very intense. The governor likes good food, fine wine and bubble baths. And, he is probably a sucker for a massage. The closed loops in the letter "e" in Rendell mean he either doesn't want to listen to many things he is told or that he has a hearing problem.

Crime Solving

Before long, Dresbold had read everything available in this unusual specialty, and people began coming to her for analyses. One day in 1997 she got a call that changed the trajectory of her life: Cmdr. Ron Freeman, former head of Pittsburgh's Major Crimes Division, heard about her skill and asked for help.

One case involved a woman who had been found murdered in the basement of an apartment building. A note was found in the building that read "look in basement." Police identified a few suspects and obtained handwriting samples. Dresbold compared the samples with the note and determined one of the suspect's handwriting matched the writing on the note. After she verified who wrote the note, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Later, the forensic team found his fingerprints at the crime scene; he was convicted and sent to prison. "It's very scary," she says. "Somebody's life is in your hands, so you want to be sure you're right."

After this case, Dresbold continued working with local police with an astounding 100 percent accuracy rate. Her skills were so helpful that the department, along with the Allegheny County district attorney's office, sponsored her for the U.S. Secret Service Questioned Document Training Program, during which professionals learn techniques to decipher anonymous notes, identify forgery and use infrared light to analyze handwriting. Now, in addition to finding success as an artist, Dresbold works with private attorneys and corporations on hundreds of cases each year. Like a character in a crime novel, Dresbold says her phone can ring at any time of the day or night, summoning her to places anywhere in the world.

Andy Warhol, artist The Prince of Pop Art was a complicated man, somewhat strange even, according to his writing. The "A" in Andy looks like a star, which means he was a very persistent person. It also means he perceived himself as a star. The loop of the "y" in Andy pulls to the left, signifying a strong connection to his mother. This type of loop in a man's writing may also be a sign of homosexuality, though that is not always the case. Warhol's signature changed over his lifetime, which is quite common. As a young and up-and-coming artist, Andy had a passport signature that was readable. As he got older and gained in popularity, his moniker became almost impossible to read. When a person's signature cannot be read, Dresbold says, that person has no intention of letting anyone know who he or she is. As Warhol continued to age, his signature once again became readable.

Basically, if there's a crime where handwriting is involved, Dresbold is often called in. When she's not working on murder or arson cases, kidnappings or bank robberies, she's busy painting or writing a syndicated column called "Handwriting Doctor" carried by newspapers around the world, including the Tribune-Review's publication, Valley News Dispatch. The column combines advice, handwriting analysis and true crime. Sometimes the column includes questions readers have about themselves and people in their lives. She says she gets comments such as, "Please look at my handwriting and tell me why I can't seem to make any money." And just about everyone, she says, has a slight fear that Dresbold will find his or her writing displays serial-killer tendencies. She likes to joke that, while her column has made her famous in areas such the South Pacific, many of her neighbors don't even know her name.

Does Your Handwriting Lie?

Dresbold's expertise covers three basic areas of expertise:

First is handwriting identification, which includes forgery detection and anonymous letters. This usually involves working with lawyers to determine if signatures on wills, documents or money orders are authentic. Also, depending on how extensive the handwriting sample is, she can often identify who wrote an anonymous letter. Her anonymous-letter cases range from a note that says "Quit or we'll kill you" left in an employee's locker to notes that say, "Bomb in building. Everyone will die."

Threat analysis is her second area of focus. It's Dresbold's job to determine if the writer of a note is truly dangerous or if the note's a hoax. Threat analysis also involves determining if the writer of a note is the one in danger. One of her most memorable cases for the Pittsburgh Police involved a note a woman found on Aylesboro Avenue in Squirrel Hill. Scrawled in purple crayon were the words, "Ples rascu me."

The note was signed with a scribbled signature that began with the letter "K." Fearing that a child might have been kidnapped, the woman turned in the note to police. The lead detective on the case got in touch with Dresbold, who determined the note was written by a girl between 5 and 7 and signed "Kealsey." Dresbold didn't see any signs of stress or danger in the writing.

At a press conference that afternoon, reporters bombarded her with questions, but Dresbold stood her ground. Later that night, another handwriting analyst was interviewed on television. He claimed the person who scribbled the message was clearly in grave danger. Dresbold's heart pounded, and she began to wonder if this was the first time she was wrong. Early the next morning, a man brought his 6-year-old daughter, Kealsey, into the police station. She had written the message to her teddy bear while playing a game, and the note blew out the window. Again, Dresbold was right.

Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, D.C., former bishop of Pittsburgh The most noticeable trait of Archbishop Donald Wuerl's signature is the cross he places before his name. Since people often put things in their writing with which they want to be associated, it's obvious why he puts a cross. The "D" in Donald is unique in that it has a number "one" in it. This signifies the number one is important to him, perhaps representing one God. His "D" also appears to have an "X" in it, which is symbolic of someone who thinks of death. While this could be the death of Christ, it's hard to say for sure, according to Dresbold. The tall, upward strokes in Wuerl's signature show his spirituality, while the flat and nearly unreadable letters in his name show he places no importance on mundane daily tasks such as washing the dishes.

The third area of Dresbold's expertise is personality-profiling. By looking at an individual's script, she is able to give a detailed profile of the writer, determining things such as whether the writer is honest or dishonest, sane or insane, ambitious or lazy. She also can describe the person's background, religious upbringing, professional leanings, sexual hang-ups and any obstacles.

Business owners often call upon her to assist with employee issues and personality typing. The CEO of a large company sought out Dresbold to read the handwriting of one of his employees. She told the CEO to beware, because this employee was out to sabotage him. Dresbold says the employee was working with another employee to start his own business and to steal the company's clients. Just two weeks later, Dresbold was proved right when the person did just as she said. Now the CEO doesn't make a move without her.

As a handwriting detective, Dresbold also studies forensic evidence and psychology. She says certain types of crimes attract certain types of people, and that by studying the crime as well as any notes left behind, she can develop a full profile. This might sound more like fiction than fact, but Dresbold says many people leave notes or messages at crime scenes. For example, in 2002 she drew a personality profile of the Washington, D.C., snipers based on the crimes and the notes left behind. While most profilers said the police should look for a lone white male, Dresbold believed the suspects were two black males, one older and one younger, with ties to Islam. She also believed one man was driving the vehicle while the other did the shooting. As the facts were revealed later, it was proved that Dresbold was correct.

Jack the Ripper's Pittsburgh Connection

Notes left behind related to famous crimes or notes about committing crimes always fascinate Dresbold. She has studied Jack the Ripper's letters extensively and is certain she knows the identity of the real killer, which she reveals in her book Sex, Lies, and Handwriting, published by Simon & Schuster. Crime novelist Patricia Cornwell claims Jack the Ripper was respected artist Walter Sickert. Dresbold says Cornwell did her research accurately, yet missed one important fact: Most of the 600 letters attributed to Jack the Ripper were written by copycats. In truth, according to Dresbold, there was only one real Jack the Ripper letter. Dresbold says Cornwell has only proved Sickert is one of the copycats, not the real killer.

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers quarterback While Big Ben autographs so many items that he probably has abbreviated his script, his personality still shows through. The quick strokes in his signature reveal a penchant for moving and going fast, no time for slowpoking. The "t" in Roethlisberger is crossed high, meaning he sets his goals high and achieves them. The cross of the "t" ends with a sharp point, showing that Ben is sarcastic and likes to joke around. By drawing a line under his name, Ben shows that he thinks he is a star.

With such a large number of reported Jack the Ripper letters, it's no surprise numerous theories abound as to who the real killer was. But Dresbold pulls no punches when it comes to clearing up any misconception.

"There is only one real letter," she says. It was wrapped around half of a human kidney and signed, "Catch me when you can," not "Jack the Ripper." Many of the allegedly fictitious letters signed "Jack the Ripper" were written by newspaper editors, Dresbold claims, and these were simply used to generate interest and increase readership.

The letter she pinpoints as real, which has a return address "from hell," was addressed to George Lusk, chairman of Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. It was received in October 1888 and bore a London postmark.

A side-by-side comparison of that letter with one of the fakes makes it easy for anyone to determine which penmanship is more indicative of a killer and which was written as a publicity ploy, she says.

In doing research, Dresbold also found that the writer of the Jack-the-genuine-Ripper note has a tie to Pittsburgh. He lived on the North Side for a short time in the early 1880s, and, according to Dresbold, was an abortionist who mutilated the women who came to him for operations. She believes he moved to London, where he was known as Jack the Ripper. After several years and countless cases, Dresbold has yet to be proved wrong.

Dresbold's book also takes readers through a condensed Handwriting 101 course and introduces key danger traits in handwriting. When you see these traits, it's time to "stop reading and start running," Dresbold jokes.

Dresbold's book also delves into handwriting analysis of the famous and infamous, including Lizzie Borden, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson and Osama bin Laden. If you've ever wondered who wrote the JonBenet ransom note, you 'll find the answer in her book. And, you may bloody well find out the identity of the real Jack the Ripper, too.

Dresbold holds handwriting workshops in the Pittsburgh region and across the country. She has given seminars to detective bureaus, forensic students and lawyers. She occasionally gives introductory lessons on handwriting analysis to those interested in learning. Visit michelledresbold.com to find out more about handwriting analysis. That is, if you're not afraid of what you will learn. After all, people can lie - but handwriting rarely does.

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