Has Utah's most infamous forger struck again?
A lead scroll blaming Brigham Young for the Mountain Meadows massacre, was supposedly written in 1872 by John D. Lee.
Experts are now formally declaring it a fake.
And some wonder if it's the work of convicted murderer and hoaxer Mark Hofmann.
The find last January has divided historians. But over the weekend, 80 forensic document experts reached agreement.
It's a fake.
News Specialist John Hollenhorst has the exclusive story.
The document was met with skepticisim from the day it was discovered in January. But its sensational content, blaming Brigham Young for Utah's bloodiest crime, guaranteed that experts would have to consider it seriously.
Now, their first major findings are in.
The document was found in January inside John D Lee's old fort.
Words engraved in a lead sheet: the Mountain Meadows massacre was done "on orders" from President Brigham Young.
But did John D. Lee really write it in 1872?
William Flynn/Forensics Document Examiner: "CLEARLY, I MEAN AND POSITIVELY, IN MY OPINION THE HANDWRITING IS NOT THAT OF J.D. LEE."
William Flynn is one of two document experts brought in on the case. They compared the lead sheet with Lee's handwritten journals.
WILLIAM FLYNN/FORENSICS DOCUMENT EXAMINER: "THERE WAS ACTUALLY ALMOST 30 YEARS WORTH OF WRITING AVAILABLE OF MR LEE."
They knew, though, that writing on paper might naturally look different than words scratched into lead.
WILLIAM FLYNN/FORENSICS DOCUMENT EXAMINER: "WE WERE FORTUNATE THAT WE ACTUALLY HAD A WRITING OF MR LEE THAT WAS SCRATCHED INTO A ROCK, FORMING A PETROGLYPH."
The two experts used microphotography and advanced imaging techniques.
The authentic Lee rock engraving matched perfectly with his handwritten journals. But both looked very diffrerent from the writing on the lead sheet.
At a weekend conference, the two experts had their evidence peer-reviewed by 80 other document examiners.
WILLIAM FLYNN/FORENSICS DOCUMENT EXAMINER: "I BELIEVE THERE WAS PRETTY MUCH UNANIMITY AMONG THEM, AGREEMENT THAT THE WRITING IN QUESTION, THE WRITING WAS NOT THAT OF J.D. LEE. "
Both experts helped crack the famous case in the 1980's when Mark Hofmann produced dozens of fake documents, many of which seemed designed to discredit LDS Church history.
Hofmann went to prison for murdering two people with bombs to cover up his schemes.
We asked Flynn who might have done the Lee Hoax.
WILLIAM FLYNN/FORENSICS DOCUMENT EXAMINER: "DON'T KNOW IF I'M INVENTING A WORD HERE. BUT IT IS RATHER HOFMANNESQUE, SO TO SPEAK. I FOUND OUT JUST RECENTLY THAT AMONG THE ITEMS SIZED FROM MARK HOFMANN'S HOME WERE SEVERAL SHEETS OF LEAD."
Bob Stott, lead prosecutor in the Hofmann case, says he can't speculate about a connection with Hofmann here.
But, he says, Hofmann used a staggering variety of materials for his forgeries, including engraved metals.
Hofmann told investigators he got started at a young age, using chemicals to alter the mint mark on an old coin to enhance it's value.
He even had it verified by experts.
Robert Stott/Lead Hofmann Prosecutor: "HE CHANGED IT. AND NOW IT BECAME A RARE COIN. AND TO MARK, AS WE LATER LEARNED, APPEARANCE IS REALITY. IF PEOPLE BELIEVE SOMETHING IS REAL THEN IT IS REAL."
Ken Sanders sells rare books and documents.
He doubts Hofmann is behind the Lee forgery because he says Hofmann typically would manipulate events so he got credit for discovering a rare document.
But Sanders has come across dozens of Hofmann forgeries over the years, including--recently--a signed first edition copy of Moby Dick.
Ken Sanders/Rare Document Collector: "AROUND HERE IF YOU'RE GOING TO DEAL WITH AUTOGRAPHED MATERIAL AND DOCUMENTS, YOU NEED TO SMELL HOFMANN WITH EVERY TRANSACTION."
At our request, a prison official went to Hofmann's maximum security cell and asked him about it.
Hofmann responded: "I just have no comment on it right now."
The physical circumstances strongly suggest the document was place in Lee's Fort no later than 1999, no earlier than 1984.
In 1984 and '85, Mark Hofmann was a free man, at the peak of his career as a master forger.
April 29, 2002
Past Stories
- Mountain Meadows Massacre Document a Hoax?
- Hofmann Plea Bargain
- "Hofmann Papers" Released
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Mark Hofmann: Forger's Hand in History, Pt. 1, Dec. 1990
The nation's document dealers begin to fully realize the impact of Mark Hofmann's forgeries. Much of that realization is the product of one woman's crusade. News Specialist Con Psarras reports.
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Mark Hofmann: Forger's Hand in History, Pt. 2, Dec. 1990
The Mark Hofmann forgery case launched a new era in the creation of scientific methods for detecting forgery.
