GUILTY NH - AH, 14, North Conway, 9 October 2013 - #10

[MamaJoJo]

I don't know where your from cheese, but we, here in New England say"Do not use "that" tone with me." And believe me, it is not said in a positive "tone." Just putting in my two cents here.

Yes, Donna, I would guess when you are saying that to a rude teenager it's because their "tone" is snippity or condescending.

But, LE and ZH have markedly said the letter was in a tone AH would use. That "tone" could be anywhere from positive to negative, IMO.

 

[Mom24]

I suspect that upon receipt, the letter did appear to from Abigail, in writing or wording, or what she wrote and then fingerprints and/or DNA backed up that impression. Not sure how they can ever be 100% positive, without finding her and getting the facts. But if it had physical evidence of her, it would not, at least, be some nut job with a hoax.

Any teen girl could remove one spare set of casual wear without her mother being able to tell, IMO. They seem to all have countless leggings, sweats, jeans, tees, etc. So unless she was deprived of a wardrobe I do not know how anyone can be certain she took nothing. She may have even had a change of clothes in her locker.

But I have sen nothing to make me believe she is staying away out of anger, desire to punish a parent, etc. I am not at all convinced she is "okay". JMO

Beyond having so many spare clothes that it might be difficult to know whether all your teen's clothes are there or not, she could have had help from a friend who gave her some clothing to help her run away.

 

[Spider92]

A few questions ...snipped

3- Mom's letter was dated 22 Nov.. Isn't it a bit late reaction to Abby's 6 Nov letter... 16 days is a quiet long time for authentication imo.

JMO

I'm guessing that the FBI also ran the letter through their Mail Covers program. I believe that the Feds photograph the front and back of every letter mailed in the U.S. They use this to see who citizens correspond with and to locate the source of a mailing. They used this method to identify Shannon from Texas - the woman who allegedly and anonymously mailed some ricin laced letters to Obama. I'm sure it takes some time to run a letter through the process. Of course, we don't know if it yielded any clues.

 

[Mom24]

I've found some of ZH's wording to be unusual. At first, I tried to attach some significance to her choice of words. After watching an interview though, I began to wonder if English is not her first language and that her word selection is less important than we would think. Do we know where she was raised?

ZH is Russian. Remember that in the Russian language they don't follow the same sentence pattern that we do in English and stress can be on words that might make an entire different meaning when you say something in English. For example, if I say "how ARE you?" as compared to "how are YOU?" you get two different meanings from how I asked. In the Russian language there isn't that same emphatic meaning so yes we can hear different things than what the person means.

 

[Donna64]

Mamajojo, I agree it could be either tone negative or positive. If it were positive why are we not privy to what was in the letter. I could understand not knowing if it were in anyway casting a bad light on either parent.

 

[Mom24]

I don't know where your from cheese, but we, here in New England say"Do not use "that" tone with me." And believe me, it is not said in a positive "tone." Just putting in my two cents here.

I think when the FBI referred to "tone" in the letter they were talking about it sounding like how Abby would talk. Her word choices, how she puts things together, catch phrases she uses. We all have a way of speaking and writing that's unique and our "tone" can be picked out. Part of it's basic linguistics like the word choices between someone from the Midwest, east or west coast. Then there's the way a person sets up their sentences, like one of my kids always writes "you know I mean?" when she makes a blunt statement. Or a friend who always writes "deserves you right" instead of "serves you right". Those little idiosyncrasies are the tone. I don't think they meant to imply AH had "tone" in her letter.

 

[Spider92]

ZH is Russian. Remember that in the Russian language they don't follow the same sentence pattern that we do in English and stress can be on words that might make an entire different meaning when you say something in English. For example, if I say "how ARE you?" as compared to "how are YOU?" you get two different meanings from how I asked. In the Russian language there isn't that same emphatic meaning so yes we can hear different things than what the person means.

Thanks for that. I think because of that, we can't put too much weight on her word selection and the phrases she uses. I know a very bright woman who grew up outside the U.S. - but she makes odd word choices on ocassion after being here in the U.S. for 20 years and it's particularly evident when she writes.

 

[LookingHoping]

Tone, sound...it sounded or read lthe way Abby speaks or writes.

 

[Hap]

Any teen girl could remove one spare set of casual wear without her mother being able to tell, IMO. They seem to all have countless leggings, sweats, jeans, tees, etc. So unless she was deprived of a wardrobe I do not know how anyone can be certain she took nothing. She may have even had a change of clothes in her locker.

Agree, Clu.

If someone was "helping" Abby to run away, they could have just said don't bring clothes, we will get new everything. Assuming this is someone with some money to do so. And a new phone as well............

 

[LookingHoping]

I don't see how the FBI could determine whether or not a letter was written under duress. Any ideas?

Only by what is written would be my guess.

 

[Steleheart]

This is excellent discussion everyone, thank you!

 

[Steleheart]

I think that Cheese is onto the exact reason that Abby's classification has not changed. The analysis of the letter would have been very different depending on whether it was hand written or typed. Handwriting analysis can tell a lot with regard to line weight, stroke, etc as to whether it was written under duress and a typed letter has its own set of unique criteria for determining authenticity. It is my belief that FBI employs the very best in these fields and I feel confident that they have done that so it does not surprise me that between Nov 6 and the PC on Nov 22 that it took that long to analyze it. Of course at that time we had no idea there even was a letter from AH, but looking back I can see that Zenya's letter was a response to the letter that they received. It was short, simplistic and handwritten. I think that is significant.
"Abby's mother has asked to make a plea to Abby..."
not really IMO. ZH is not comfortable at ALL with public appearances.
"Dear Abby I believe you're out there, somewhere, watching and listening to me right now..."
I feel that this is an attempt to illicit a reaction, that if it WAS written by Abby to respond again, this time with a hand written letter like I have.

http://www.bringabbyhome.com/press-conference-from-1122-mom-reads-a-letter-to-abby/

http://www.bringabbyhome.com/letter-from-mom-to-abby/

 

[BillNH]

There are many definitions of the word "TONE" but only one really applies to the written language: style or manner of expression in speaking or writing.

I expect this means, like many have said, words, phrases and writing style/patterns that Abby would use. All the social media, plus her schoolwork would give them plenty of examples of her tone.

If the letter was being dictated to her or written by a captor, it would be the captor's tone, not Abby's. I believe this is significant if they believe it is Abby's tone. The only caveat, IMO, is that another teenager could possibly have pulled off a fake.

If she was under duress, the words and phrases would match those of when she was angry or upset on social media. Conversely, if she was not under duress they should be able to determine that also from her postings.

 

[Donna64]

Right BillNH. And I am guessing if the letter was from Abby that the tone was angry. And that is why we do not get to see it.

 

[Dixie811]

If Abby's letter expressed anger, Zenya should have recognized a lot of the 'tone' and wording within the letter.

Teenage girls fight/argue with their mothers. Some almost daily, and others just occasionally. Even those daughter who have a great relationship with their mother and are great kids have spats and argue with their parents sometimes.

Certain phrases used, the tone, and the points over which Abby was expressing anger should have been familiar to Zenya.

ALL JMO and only applies if the letter was written to express anger (ie.- 'I am angry about ___, ____, and ____' as an explanation for why she left).

 

[Donna64]

If there was an explanation of why she left it had to of been a damn good reason and one to which we are not privy to. There is more to this story. I smell a rat but the question is Who is the rat??

 

[majikbeans]

I think that Cheese is onto the exact reason that Abby's classification has not changed. The analysis of the letter would have been very different depending on whether it was hand written or typed. Handwriting analysis can tell a lot with regard to line weight, stroke, etc as to whether it was written under duress and a typed letter has its own set of unique criteria for determining authenticity. It is my belief that FBI employs the very best in these fields and I feel confident that they have done that so it does not surprise me that between Nov 6 and the PC on Nov 22 that it took that long to analyze it. Of course at that time we had no idea there even was a letter from AH, but looking back I can see that Zenya's letter was a response to the letter that they received. It was short, simplistic and handwritten. I think that is significant.
"Abby's mother has asked to make a plea to Abby..."
not really IMO. ZH is not comfortable at ALL with public appearances.
"Dear Abby I believe you're out there, somewhere, watching and listening to me right now..."
I feel that this is an attempt to illicit a reaction, that if it WAS written by Abby to respond again, this time with a hand written letter like I have.

http://www.bringabbyhome.com/press-conference-from-1122-mom-reads-a-letter-to-abby/

http://www.bringabbyhome.com/letter-from-mom-to-abby/

Sorry I don't know how to cut a piece of the quote--I'm commenting on the issue of handwriting. Didn't Zenya respond to the question of "was it handwritten" with the answer--"that's tough to answer"? or something like that. Why keep it a secret if it was written?

 

[LookingHoping]

Right BillNH. And I am guessing if the letter was from Abby that the tone was angry. And that is why we do not get to see it.

What if it was desperate or sad...or even happy? We haven't a clue what the mood of the letter was. To me, the key is there is a reason they aren't sharing it. I will always believe they (LE/FBI) are keeping it confidential in order to keep Abby safe.

 

[Hap]

...<snip>...we, here in New England say"Do not use "that" tone with me." And believe me, it is not said in a positive "tone." Just putting in my two cents here.

I have to laugh when I read this, Donna! I have said that exact thing to my own daughter so many times... and it usually ends with "missy" as in
"don't you use that tone with me, missy"

 

[BillNH]

What if it was desperate or sad...or even happy? We haven't a clue what the mood of the letter was. To me, the key is there is a reason they aren't sharing it. I will always believe they (LE/FBI) are keeping it confidential in order to keep Abby safe.

I think they aren't sharing it more for preventing copycats than for her safety. There is no reason to share it anyways. If it was necessary to share the contents they would have done so, otherwise it's a private communication.