Backward State - Marcus Harper

Overview:

Tara Grinstead from Ocilla , Georgia has been missing since October 24, 2005. It is reported Tara was upset in the days before her disappearance, by the break-up of a relationship that had lasted nearly 6 years. Her ex-boyfriend Marcus Harper, former Ocilla cop and ex-Army Ranger had returned to Ocilla shortly before Tara’s disappearance, and many believe he should be the prime suspect in her disappearance.

Analysis:

Tara Grinstead wanted to get married to Marcus Harper. Although the Dateline interview with Marcus Harper is short, his speech reversals may tell a bigger story.

In an earlier interview from Fox News, Marcus Harper's speech reversals indicate several times they had arguments. Tara's sister, Anita Gattis (see below), confirms this as well as a reversal from her indicating physical violence prior to Tara's disappearance.

Also see below reverse speech analysis on Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Gary Rothwell.

Dateline NBC 4-30-06

Click on the reversals to hear the mp3 file.

She gave me an ultimatum.

Madame spawned our babies. (At some point was she pregnant with their child?)

It was either get married, or she was moving along.

All her limbs didn't show. Here I make good use of it. (Was the baby handicapped?)

I've never hit, hurt any woman, and never will.

We will win it.

She wanted me back you know, and I told her...

Had me in the noose. ("Noose" is a metaphor in reverse speech, which is referred to as an instrument of self destruction. The way it is used here, he felt she was a noose around his neck. Combined with the previous reversal it indicates that he wanted a way out, and definitely would find a way.)

...I said uh, Tara...

Her wrist(s). Tied this up. (Does this indicate he had something to do with her disappearance?)

I've started shoppin' outside of Ocilla, think you need to do the same.

I was stupid ass.

Fox News - On The Record With Greta Van Susteren 11-7-05

October two thousand and four. (Question: Did there come a time when this dating relationship ended?)

Fought with her, I think it was awful.

She told me she felt like it was time for her to move on. (Question: What were the circumstances surrounding that?)

I remember her for mastering her life. (When this interview was done Tara had been missing for 2 weeks. Does it appear he is thinking about her in the past tense?)

...you know brushed shoulders off went on, and started dating other people. (Question: Were you upset by that at all?)

It was an ambush. Don't want to face relationship.

(Question: Did she say why in October 2004 she wanted to call it quits to your relationship?)

I think that uh she was looking more for marriage.

Because we shouted.

(The reason why they broke up?)

... she was crying and was upset about something.

It was somebody special.

(Could this be referencing a pregnancy?)

I do not know that information.

He shouted at her.

(Speech reversals are known to occur in the third person.)

(Question: Anything unusual about that afternoon?)

She said she wanted to hug me...

And I now wished deceased.

(His response was "She said she wanted to hug me". I don't know if that would classify as unusual, but in wanting someone dead badly enough that it shows up in a reversal is what I would call unusual. On the day she goes missing his reversal indicates he wanted her dead.)

...for her last time.

I tell off.

Four, five times. (Question how many times have you talked with the GBI?)

Should have proof.

If speech reversals are put together an overall theme can often be noticeable.

Madame spawned our babies.

All her limbs didn't show. Here I make good use of it.

We will win it.

Had me in the noose.

Her wrist(s). Tied this up.

I was stupid ass.

Fought with her, I think it was awful.

I remember her for mastering her life.

It was an ambush. Don't want to face relationship.

Because we shouted.

It was somebody special.

He shouted at her.

And I now wished deceased.

I tell off.

Should have proof.

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Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Gary Rothwell

Overview:

Agent Rothwell is the lead investigator in this case.

Analysis:

Update: 11-15-10

During the TV show Disappeared: Investigation Discovery there is a short segment where this website was mentioned. See You Tube segment. A clip of audio was played from one of Agent Rothwell’s speech reversals I had posted from the 48 hr. interview. The reversal played was a bit long, and not the clearest of reversals. The producers only used a small segment of that audio and played it from the slowest speed (the reversals are played at three different speeds), which made the reversal appear to be unrecognizable as information revealed from reverse speech. In light of that I have since removed the weaker reversals. The remaining reversals should be clear enough for most people to hear regardless of where a clip may be played from in the recording.

In July of 2008 I contacted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation about my findings from Agent Rothwell’s reversals. They have my full contact information. I gave them opportunity to notify me if anything revealed should not be made public. They never responded. Apparently they may have thought it opportune to try and discredit any findings through reverse speech analysis during this show.

The additional reversals found on Agent Rothwell appear to reveal more information investigators discovered at the home of Tara Grinstead. More than two years later a reversal occurs again about making an arrest while talking about Marcus Harper in the forward speech.

Also, it would seem he sees reverse speech, as found in his own speech reversal, as being accurate. As a side note there is reversal from Agent Rothwell that I have never made public, but he is aware of, where he mentions someone's name. I have assumed it is a name he might recognize, which would make evident the validity and accuracy of reverse speech.

Through reverse speech analysis, has it been revealed who Agent Rockwell believes to be the true offender? You decide.

48 Hrs. 7-1-08

Click on the reversals to hear the mp3 file.

...we discovered that Tara led a very complex life both socially and professionally.

No (staff) of males shows up as this marker.

(DNA was found on a latex glove found in the front yard of Tara's home. There have been no matches reported. This reversal from Agent Rothwell appears to confirm this. "Marker" would be a reference to a DNA sequence that can identify cells, individuals, or species. In this case his reversal indicates that the marker is from a male. 144 people have been tested for a match, all males.)

You can see that Tara's clothes that she had been wearing that night are on the floor here in her bedroom. That leads us to believe that she certainly had come home since she left the cookout.

I looked at her business.

We learned that Tara and Marcus had a relationship lasting approximately 6 years.

The lad is a cop. May arrest.

(Marcus Harper is an ex-police officer. In the forward speech he is talking about Marcus Harper. Who does it look like he believes will be arrested for Tara's disappearance?)

(Question: Could Anthony Vickers have been involved in Tara's disappearance?)

We looked into it extensively, at this point we can't draw a connection.

He over snitch.

(If a “snitch” is an informant, it would seem that Agent Rothwell believes Anthony Vickers has told investigators everything he knows. It would then seem this reversal is congruent in that Agent Rothwell doesn’t see a connection with Anthony Vickers and Tara Grinstead’s disappearance.)

There's someone who knows something, has a person they know that is involved in this case, and was withholding that information for fear that we were not going to be able to prove it.

There's the ex involved. Hasn't won yet.

(Marcus Harper is the ex-boyfriend of Tara. Could this be who he is referencing in the reversal as who he believes is involved?)

This case can be solved. I believe it will be solved.

Possible revealment.

Update 11-15-10

Disappeared: Investigation Discovery 10-11-10

Brackets [ ] indicate where the reversal occurs. Click on the mp3 to hear the reversal.

The clothes Tara was wearing on the night of October 22nd were on the floor in her bedroom. [Which indicated to us that she had indeed arrived home].

A broken vase. That's how they make an issue.

(He is giving the same information about the clothes in her bedroom as he did more than two years ago in the 48 HR interview as can be seen above. There are different reversals that occur between the interviews. Investigators seemed to have been looking at more than her clothes on the floor.)

He said that on [Saturday night he had, had gone to the] White Horse Saloon in Fitzgerald where he visited with some friends until approximately two in the morning.

More than likely, make an arrest.

(In the forward speech he is talking about Marcus Harper, where he again has a reversal about making an arrest.)

With all of the media attention there were a lot of armchair sleuths all over the country [that were contacting us, and some] conducting their own investigation. {Narrator: One website called Backward State goes so far to present excerpts from one of G.BI. Agent Gary Rothwell's television interviews played backwards.}

Mostly seen as accurate.