Dr.
Harold Shipman
One of the
first leads which really started the enquiry that was to end in
the conviction of Dr. Shipman was the forging of the signature
on the will of Kathleen Grundy. It also transpired that the witness
entries had been forged. Examination of the typescript on the
will yielded evidence linking it with a portable typewriter in
Shipman's offices. Mike Allen presented this evidence at the trial
of Dr. Shipman at Preston Crown Court. Not only was Shipman found
guilty of murder, he was also found guilty of forging Mrs. Grundy's
will.
'Death
on the Nile' case
Cheryl Lewis
died of cyanide poisoning while on holiday in Luxor, Egypt with
her partner, John Allen. Her will left the majority of her estate
to Allen. An examination of the typescript of the last page, the
page bearing a genuine signature of Cheryl Lewis, was subtly,
but significantly, different from that on the preceding pages
and therefore it was possible that the last page had been taken
from a genuine will and appended to a forged one. Texts from some
of Allen's computer files were shown to be previous versions of
that in the will. In addition a receipt was shown to have been
signed by Allen when he disposed of some of the deceased's jewelry
and stampmarks on photographs of Allen were identified as forged
security stampmarks which could have been applied in an attempt
to produce a forged passport. Tony Hardcastle presented this evidence
in the trial of John Allen at Liverpool Crown Court at the conclusion
of which Allen was found guilty of murder.
The
Duke of Windsor letter
A letter which
purported to have been written by the Duke of Windsor to Adolf
Hitler shortly after the start of World War II would, if genuine,
have implicated him in the passing of British military secrets
to the Nazis. Comparison of the handwriting on the letter with
his published letters and documents still held in French archives
revealed fundamental and consistent differences despite an obvious
superficial similarity. There was strong evidence, reported by
David Baxendale, that the Duke had not written it and another
historical conspiracy was debunked.
