Real Cases Solved                                                                   Training Schedule

Illinois, Lake Co. Sheriff's Police.  - Analyst/Det. Tim Jonites reports that two young girls (8 & 9) were reported missing and following an extensive search by law enforcement, the father of one of the girls found the bodies of both girls in the woods. Both had been brutally stabbed to death. Because of the fact that he had found the bodies and that he had given inconsistent statements to investigators, he was asked to take a CVSA exam. The subject agreed and failed on committing the murders. The subject was shown the deceptive charts and, following several hours of interrogation confessed that he had become enraged and stabbed both girls because his daughter refused to return home when he ordered her to. The suspect was charged with two counts of first-degree murder of his daughter and her best friend.

Florida, Orlando P.D.  - As featured on Court TV, a serial killer was on the loose in Orange Co. and both the Orange Co. Sheriff's Office and the Orlando P.D. were working the case. By the time the body of a third woman was discovered, detectives had developed a few suspects, but the top suspect was a man named Larry Powell. Detectives questioned Mr. Powell and during the questioning asked Mr. Powell to take a CVSA exam. Mr. Powell agreed and Det./Analyst Keith Dudley administered the exam. In spite of evidence that clearly implicated Mr. Powell, Det. Dudley determined that Mr. Powell was not the killer nor was he involved in the murders. Detectives began reexamining the case and developed another suspect, Fredrick Cox. After an intense investigation, Mr. Cox was arrested for the murder and was later convicted of all three murders. Cox received life in prison. Det. Dudley states that the CVSA was crucial in eliminating an innocent person from suspicion and saved detectives valuable time, allowing them to identify the murder and build a case against him.

Arkansas, Bryant P.D.  - Analyst/Det. Todd Crowson reports that during a trial, the judge asked that a polygraph examination be given to the defendant prior to his decision. After the Chief polygraph examiner for the Arkansas State Police refused to conduct a polygraph test on the defendant, a thirteen-year-old, on the grounds that he was to young, Det. Crowson agreed to conduct a CVSA exam. This was a court-ordered exam as the judge in the case, the defense attorney and the prosecutor all agreed to the exam. A thirteen-year-old boy was accused of forcing a seven year old to perform oral sex on him. The thirteen-year-old was given the CVSA and the charts were quite clear, he had committed the crime. After being shown the charts, the thirteen-year-old confessed that he had forced the seven-year-old to perform oral sex on him. Det. Crowson reports that the CVSA is now used by the Juvenile Court for truth verification examinations.

Wisconsin, Oak Creek P.D.  - Analyst/Det. Lt. John Edwards reports that after finding a woman and her son bludgeoned to death in their apartment, detectives developed a suspect. However, after considerable interviewing, the detectives began to doubt that the individual committed the crime. During the questioning, the subject refused to take a CVSA exam. After being placed in a cell to sleep for a period of time, the subject then agreed to take the CVSA. The charts were called deceptive by Lt. Edwards. Due to the seriousness of the charges, Lt. Edwards had several other analysts 'cold call' the charts and all agreed that they were deceptive. The subject was then confronted with the results of the CVSA as well as other information connecting him to the crime and he gave a full confession. Lt. Edwards states that the deceptive CVSA charts were critical in convincing detectives to pursue the confession.

Florida, Sunny Isles Beach P.D.  - Analyst/Det. Stephen Brenton reports that while attending an NITV Certified Examiners Course at the Broward Co. Sheriff’s Office in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Det. Brenton went into his station at the Sunny Isles Beach P.D. to do his homework (running charts) when a patrol officer called him from his cell phone.  The patrol officer had an individual stopped and the subject did not have identification.  The officer ran the name and DOB that the subject had given him on NCIC and there were no hits.  However, the patrol officer suspected that the subject had given him a false name and DOB.  The patrol officer asked if Det. Brenton could run the subject over the phone on the CVSA to confirm the information.  Det. Brenton placed the microphone from the CVSA next to the speaker phone, had the officer hand the cell phone to the subject, and preceded to conduct an interview utilizing the name and DOB as the relevant questions in a structured format.  The results were that the subject displayed deception on both the name and DOB.  After being informed of this, the patrol officers conducted an interrogation in which the subject finally admitted that he had lied and gave the officers his real name and DOB.  The NCIC came back with a fugitive warrant for child molestation.  The subject was taken into custody.

New York, Peeksville P.D.  - Analyst/Det. Eric Johansen reports that a female was driving a car when she was shot in the back of the head and killed. The only witness was her boyfriend who was riding in the passengers seat. When police arrived, the car had crashed into a tree and her boyfriend was attending to her. He was taken to HQ and stated that they had been chased by another car and that shots were fired but that he did not know who was in the other car. He agreed to take a CVSA exam and failed concerning knowing who was in the other car and who fired the shots. After some time, the boyfriend finally admitted that he knew all of the individuals in the other car and gave the names of the driver and the shooter. After another CVSA exam, he also provided the name of another witness. Without the CVSA, we would have been forced to waste additional valuable time investigating the shooting and it is likely that those responsible for the murder would have left town and avoided apprehension.

Alabama, Vestavia Hills P.D.  - Analyst/D/Lt. Rick Miller reports that the local sheriff's department. requested that he conduct a CVSA exam on a subject that they believed may have murdered his sister-in-law fourteen years ago in 1981. Over the years, the subject had taken 4 polygraphs from 3 different examiners, all of which had been inconclusive. The subject agreed to the CVSA exam and failed each of the 3 tests. After being shown the charts and informed of the results, the subject confessed to the murder. Following his confession, the subject took the detectives to the site where he buried his sister-in-law's body, providing the only direct evidence of his crime.

New York, Madison County Sheriff's Department  - Professor James Chapman, noted criminologist and CVSA examiner was summoned to the Sheriff's Department to assist with the interview of an individual that had been the main suspect in a 1981 murder. He had taken a polygraph which was inconclusive and, without other leads, the case grew cold. The same suspect was again requested to take a polygraph in the same case ten years later in 1991. This time the suspect passed the polygraph and was dropped as a suspect. In 1996, the investigator in the case requested that the same suspect take a CVSA exam from Professor Chapman. After reviewing his CVSA charts, which clearly showed that he was the killer, the suspect made admissions and provided written statements regarding his participation in the murder.

West Virginia, Raleigh County Sheriff's Office.  - Analyst D/Cpl. Jim Bare reports that the 14 month old homicide of a security guard at a local mine went unsolved with no suspects. Eventually three suspects were named and D/Cpl. Bare conducted CVSA exams on each and cleared them of involvement. Three additional suspects were developed and all were run on the polygraph in another jurisdiction. All three polygraphs were inconclusive. All three suspects were requested to submit to the CVSA and two of the three showed up for their exams. After the first individual was tested, the CVSA indicated that he was present when the homicide took place despite his insistance that he was not. After being shown the deceptive charts, the suspect confessed that he was there and his involvement in the homicide. The second suspect came in and admitted that he was a witness to the crime but did not participate. Following his CVSA exam it was clear that he was the shooter. He was then interrogated and finally confessed to shooting and killing the security guard. Without the CVSA, this case may never have been solved.

Florida, Cocoa P.D.  - Analyst/Det. Gordon Chase was assigned to review the 'cold' homicide cases at his department While reviewing the first case which involved the brutal murder of a young woman six years prior, Det. Chase noticed that both suspects had voluntarily taken and passed polygraph examinations and because of that, were no longer considered suspects. He also discovered that both had given sworn, tape recorded statements in which they had denied any involvement in the murder. Det. Chase analyzed the taped statements utilizing the CVSA and while he was able to clear one suspect, the other suspect displayed deception when she denied committing the murder. Det. Chase located the second suspect and requested that she come in for questioning. When she appeared for questioning, the suspect agreed to take a CVSA exam. The CVSA exam clearly indicated that she was the one that had killed the young woman six years earlier. After forty minutes of interrogation, the suspect admitted to the murder and also how she had disposed of the murder weapon.

Ohio, Fostoria P.D.  - Analyst/Det. Phil Kleman reports that as an analyst with another department, he was asked by the Fostoria P.D. to test an individual who was suspected of murder. The suspect had just taken a polygraph examination from an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations polygraph examiner who reported the results of the polygraph examination to be inconclusive bordering on truthful. The subject denied any involvement in or knowledge of the murder and agreed to take the CVSA, just as he had agreed to take the polygraph. The CVSA showed very clearly that the subject had committed the murder and when confronted with his deceptive charts, gave a full confession. The Fostoria P.D. has now purchased their own CVSA and trained several detectives as examiners.

New York, Livingston Co. Sheriff's Department - Analyst/D/Sgt. Marty Herkimer reports that he was asked by detectives at a nearby agency if he would be able to conduct an examination on an individual suspected of child molestation that utilized a "voice box" to speak with. The NITV advised D/Sgt Herkimer to conduct the exam and fax the charts in for review as to their viability. The suspect's charts clearly contained the basic components of the micro-tremor and deception was very evident. D/Sgt. Herkimer confronted the suspect with the deceptive charts and, after considerable interrogation, the suspect gave a full confession.

California, Roseville P.D.  - Analyst/Det. Charlie Veilleux reports that his first use of the CVSA following his graduation from the Certified Examiners Course conducted by the NITV was to reopen a five-year-old homicide that had been classified as a Cold Case. A young woman had been brutally murdered and a viable suspect was quickly developed. He denied any involvement and passed a polygraph exam and was dropped as a suspect. Since the subject had suffered an aneurysm and two brain surgeries in the five years since his last polygraph, another polygraph was not considered. The subject was offered a CVSA exam and agreed to take the test. The exam indicated that he was the killer and using the interrogation techniques taught by the NITV, detectives obtained a full confession with details that only the killer would know.

Florida, West Palm Beach P.D.  - During a Certified Examiners Course being hosted by the West Palm Beach P.D., a detective requested that he be shown how to conduct a covert interview as he was preparing to interview a woman concerning a car-jacking incident. The woman and her husband had reported that they had taken a Mercedes Benz out for a test drive and were approached by two men wearing ski masks at an intersection. They stated that the men forced them from the car, robbed them, and then drove off in the Mercedes. The detective conducted a covert (structured) interview, tape recorded it and returned to have it analyzed. The high level of background noise made it very difficult to analyze, however, the class agreed that from the woman's responses, she and her husband were not robbed and that the car had not been car-jacked by two men in ski masks. Unfortunately, because the covert CVSA charts were the only indication of a false crime (both subjects later refused to take a CVSA exam), no action could be taken. Several months later, the husband was stopped on a routine traffic violation and it was discovered that he was driving the Mercedes that he and his wife had reported stolen. The husband was arrested for auto theft and the wife was arrested for conspiracy. This case, including the charts and tape recording are now used in the NITV's Certified Examiners Course.

Ohio, Springfield Township.  - P.D. Analyst/Det. Pat Kemper reports that he recently was asked to conduct a CVSA examination on two parents and a baby-sitter concerning a six-month-old child that had been seriously abused. Both parents passed the CVSA, however, the babysitter's attorney arranged for her to take a polygraph examination. The polygraph examiner was a well-known polygraph examiner and a retired police officer. The babysitter passed the polygraph. However, the prosecutor in the case informed the defense attorney that they would require the babysitter to take the CVSA to receive any consideration. Following three deceptive charts, the babysitter admitted that she had caused the serious injuries to the baby. She plead guilty as charged and was sentenced to serve time in prison. Det. Kemper states that he has found many cases where the polygraph and CVSA have disagreed, all ending with the CVSA having the correct charts and the correct analysis.

Georgia, Glynn Co. P.D.  - Analyst/D/Cpl. J.W. Wiggins reports that patrol officers responded to a report of a domestic disturbance with shots fired. Upon their arrival, officers were confronted with an apparently grieving husband who told them that during an argument that his wife had pulled out a pistol and shot herself in the head. The facts of the investigation indicated that the wife had probably shot herself, however, the investigating detectives requested that D/Cpl. Wiggins conduct a CVSA exam. The subject agreed and promptly failed the CVSA. The subject requested a second CVSA which he again failed. D/Cpl. Wiggins then began additional Defense Barrier Removal™ as taught by the NITV and the subject finally admitted that he had shot his wife and that the CVSA had been correct all along. D/Cpl. Wiggins states that “I believe that my use of the DBR™ and confronting the subject with his charts added greatly to the successful prosecution of this case.”

West Virginia, Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department  - Analyst/Det. Ron Booker reports that an individual was brought into the station suspected of murdering his brother. Following an interview, Det. Booker states that he was convinced that, based upon his many years as an interviewer and the facts of the case, the subject was innocent. However, following four Deception Indicated (DI) charts utilizing the CVSA, he decided to fax the charts to the NITV for a ‘Cold Call’ as the subject was extremely convincing, consistent, and very well rehearsed. Without any details of the case, the NITV confirmed that the charts were deceptive. Det. Booker then interrogated the subject for three hours and the case ended with a full confession by the subject that he did, in fact, murder his brother. Det. Booker states that even though he has vast experience as an interrogator, he was fooled by this individual until the NITV and the CVSA saved him.

Missouri, Missouri Department of Public Safety - Arson Squad:  - Analyst/Deputy Chief James Wilson reports that the Tri-County Major Case Squad requested their assistance after a polygraph examiner refused to test an individual who claimed that he was a paranoid schizophrenic. The subject was suspected of a brutal murder and there was very little evidence to go on. One of the arson squad's CVSA examiners, Dwayne Lasiter, who had recently graduated from the Certified Examiners Course, conducted three exams on the suspect and he failed all three. After being confronted with the deceptive charts and informed of the results, the suspect confessed and gave the detectives information that only the killer could have known. After the examiner left the room to confer with the other detectives, the subject tore the patterns to question # 6 (Did You Kill Mary?) from each of the charts and ate them, all on video tape. The Missouri Department of Public Safety now has 52 CVSA's and 110 trained examiners.

Florida, Palm Bay P.D.  - Analyst/Det. David Fowler reports that he was recently contacted by Columbus, GA, Police 'Cold Case' detectives while they were interviewing a witness to a 14 year old homicide that was being held by the Palm Bay P.D. on unrelated charges. The subject was believed to have witnessed a murder that occurred 14 years ago and was the key alibi witness for the main suspect in the murder. After six hours of the subject maintaining her original story, the Columbus Police detectives requested that Det. Fowler conduct a CVSA exam on the witness to determine her truthfulness concerning her version of the story which provided the alibi for the main suspect. The subject failed the exam and after being confronted with the deceptive charts, admitted that she had lied and had provided a false alibi for the main suspect. Columbus Police Detective Robert Jackson confirmed that the Grand Jury has returned an indictment against the main suspect for first degree murder.

Washington, D.C., Washington Metropolitan P.D.  - Analyst/Det. Tim Doughty reports that a man and woman were found shot to death in their apartment in Southeast Washington, D.C. A witness told police that she saw two men flee from the house at the time of the shooting and suspected that one of the individuals was the victims nephew. The witness flatly refused to positively identify the nephew and then became reluctant to cooperate further, although she did agree to a CVSA exam. The CVSA exam clearly indicated that she had actually seen the nephew flee the scene of the murders and that he was one of the killers. When confronted with the charts, the witness admitted that she had lied and she then made a positive identification of the nephew as one of the killers. A second suspect was also identified and when confronted, both he and the nephew accused the other of committing both murders. A CVSA exam was conducted on the second suspect and the subject displayed deception concerning his killing both victims. Det. Doughty reports that when he confronted the second suspect with the deceptive charts, and, utilizing the interrogation techniques taught by the NITV, he obtained a confession to both murders which the subject repeated on video tape. The nephew was allowed to plea-bargain and testified against the second suspect. The video taped confession was admitted at the trial and the subject was convicted on two counts of murder. The WMPD now has 18 CVSA's and 67 trained examiners.

Maryland, Baltimore P.D. -  Analyst/Polygraphist Det. John T. Brown reports that one of his first exams as a new examiner involved in the murder of an elderly lady that was found stabbed to death in her apartment. Several days later, police received an anonymous call in which they were told that the young man that lived in the first floor apartment had committed the crime. The young man was brought in and questioned and was offered a CVSA exam. The subject passed every question on the MZOC except "Do you suspect someone in particular of killing Mrs.........?" Although he had responded no, deception was displayed. When confronted with the charts, the subject admitted that he suspected his sister, who lived in the third floor apartment of the murder. When the sister was brought in for questioning, she stated that her mother had committed the murder. When the mother was confronted, she claimed that her daughter had committed the murder. Det. Brown conducted CVSA exams on both subjects and the charts clearly showed that the daughter had committed the murder. The mother's charts also showed that she was present when the murder was committed, but that she did not commit the murder. When confronted with the test results, both subjects admitted that the CVSA results were correct and gave full confessions. Det. Brown reports that this was only the first of many cases that he was able to clear with the CVSA and that the Baltimore P.D. now has 8 CVSA's and 22 trained examiners.

Ohio, Springfield Township P.D.  - Analyst/Det. Pat Kemper reports that a 12-year-old girl accused a 31-year-old man of abducting her and attempting to have her perform oral sex on him. The suspect was questioned and the detectives became convinced that he was guilty and that he was very close to a confession. At this point, a CVSA exam was requested. Analyst/Det. Kemper, an 18 year veteran, was also convinced of the suspects guilt by both his verbal and nonverbal responses. However, the CVSA showed that the suspect was innocent. The investigating detectives then went to the victim's house to question her again and she admitted that she had made up the entire story. Det. Kemper states that without the CVSA, the suspect would probably have been charged.

Florida, Casselberry P.D.  - An adult female made allegations that her boss had made arrangements for her to come to work early one day and then had sexually assaulted her prior to the other employees arriving for work. The suspect was contacted and it was requested that he voluntarily come to the station for an interview in reference to the allegations. During the pre-test interview the suspect at first denied that he had sex with the victim. After being confronted with the request to take the CVSA exam he then admitted that he had sex with the victim. He stated that the woman had been flirting with him and that the sex was at her suggestion. He said he had denied having sex with her at first because he is married and also afraid that because he is a manager that he would be fired. A CVSA exam was conducted. The man admitted that sex had taken place at work but that both parties had consented and that no force had been used. The suspect was given the CVSA exam and showed no deception in his answers.

The victim was then requested to submit to a CVSA exam in relation to the allegations. She maintained that she had been forced to have sex. She was given the CVSA exam and the results indicated that her answers were deceptive. After being confronted with the results of her exam and the results of the suspects, the victim signed a statement that she did not want to proceed with a police investigation. The case was closed exceptional.

What is particularly disconcerting about this case is that DNA evidence was likely obtainable that would have made the victim's allegations appear truthful had not the CVSA exams been used to ferret out the truth.

Missouri, Newton Co. Sheriff's Dept.  - Analyst/Det. Terry Lankford reports that a 17 year old female alleged that she had been raped by three men following a party. Upon being asked to take the CVSA exam, two agreed and one refused. Both of the subjects that agreed to take the exam passed. The victim was then asked to take the exam to verify her story. The victim failed the test and finally confessed that she had consented to have sex with the three men and afterwards had become afraid that she might get pregnant. After talking with a girlfriend, they made up the story about the rape. Analyst Lankford states that "Through the CVSA, three innocent men were saved from being arrested and possibly going to prison, for a crime that they did not commit".

Ohio, Cincinnati P.D.  - Analyst/Police Specialist Roger Webster reports that a woman reported two separate B&E offenses. In the first she reported that someone broke into her residence and took three hundred dollars from her purse but nothing else. The second incident occurred several days later in which a man broke into her residence while she slept in a chair. She awoke to find the burglar kissing her and holding a knife to her throat. The burglar took thirty dollars from her and fled. The investigating officer did not believe the victim and felt that she was making the report to cover her missing rent money and requested a Computer Voice Stress Analyzer examination. After listening to her story, newly trained analyst Webster also did not believe her. However, the CVSA exam indicated that she was being completely truthful. Several weeks later an individual was apprehended during a B&E and when questioned by P/S Webster, admitted to both of the B&E's and confirmed all of the details given by the victim. Analyst Webster states that the CVSA has now become a regular part of his investigative arsenal.

Louisiana, Baton Rouge P.D.  - Analyst D/Sgt. Ron Cowart was asked to conduct a CVSA exam on an individual who was the last person to