Experts: Bassam Hamzy’s writing shows ‘strong ego but immature’

In a two-page handwritten letter, Bassam Hamzy desperately tries to stop his extradition to Australia to face questioning over the murder of Kris Toumazis. Leading graphologists analysed the then 19-year-old’s writing. FIND OUT WHAT THEY CONCLUDED.

• Part 1: How Hamzy began two decade reign of terror
• Part 1: Hamzy to mum: ‘Did you send me some undies?’
• Part 2: Hamzy: From murderer to cocaine kingpin

He executed an innocent teenager at point-blank range; planned and ran an intricate drug dealing network while on the run and then from within the walls of our most secure jails, and ruled over one of the most-feared gangs to terrorise Sydney.

So the words nervous temperament, vulnerable, conservative, and introverted aren’t the first descriptors that come to mind when describing Bassam Hamzy.

Two leading graphologists — skilled in analysing a person’s handwriting by measuring angles, slants and spacings of letters, combined with a psychological interpretation of that writing — analysed a letter handwritten by Hamzy in early 1999 and addressed to US Consular official Julie Senia, who had responsibility for helping Australians arrested in Miami.

Hamzy was in custody and fighting his extradition to Australia where police were wanting to question him over the murder of Kris Toumazis in Oxford St, Paddington the previous May.

In the letter, found during a search warrant at his uncle’s house, Hamzy claims his fatal shooting of Mr Toumazis was a “terrible accident”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen but it did,” he wrote.

The two-page letter written by Hamzy was found during a search of his uncle’s home.

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“I feel great simpefy (sic) and remore (sic) that anything like this should happen but there was five of them and I was alone, alone with a dislocated shoulder.”

Without revealing Hamzy’s identity, only that he is male, aged 19 at the time of writing the letter, and educated in Australia, — both handwriting experts independently concluded that Hamzy was a person who was not only always on the look out for danger — but himself dangerous.

“The writing shows a nervous temperament that is often plagued by doubt,” Elaine Quigley from the British Institute of Graphologists told The Sunday Telegraph.

“He likes to have clear information to guide him and is always on the lookout for danger, though he can make silly mistakes when he feels vulnerable, because he is out of his comfort zone.

“The left slant is pulling away from connection with others who may be able to hurt or criticise him in some way,” she found.

A copy of Bassam Hamzy’s handwritten letter.

In the two-page letter, Hamzy claims he has “grown up a lot since I have been away from home”.

“The fact that he sees criticism as an attack can make him rise up and then it only makes things worse.”

A leading Australian graphologist found Hamzy’s writing showed “evidence of a conservative and conventional approach to life”.

“Although there is much concern with issues in the past, the writer lives in the present and has little drive or ambition,” she found.

“At the time of writing he is not sure of his place in society, how he fits into his world or how to move forward. There is confusion.

“The dominant left slope tells us that the writer is primarily reflective and introverted. He is inhibited, restricted and self concerned.

READ THE COURT TRANSCRIPTS

‘MUM, DID YOU SEND ME SOME UNDIES?’

‘DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME, I CAN SURVIVE ON MARS’

“At the end of the letter the slope changes — the writer reaches out towards his reader. It is important for him to be understood.”

She found while his thinking is “quite logical” he can “become confused and miss important details”.

“There are inconsistencies,” she found.

“Although he has quite a strong ego there is immaturity and a vulnerability. He enjoys being the centre of attention.”

Hamzy claims in his letter his shooting of Kris Toumazis was a “terrible accident”, despite witnesses seeing him shoot the innocent teen at point-blank range.

Ms Quigley said the handwriting showed Hamzy is “strongly linked to family and his associates and will be likely to break the rules to protect them” but that he could also be quite rash in his decisions.

“He does have an underlying loyalty to family and friends, but this can pile more anxiety on him once problems appear and he doesn’t know how to handle them.

“The more vulnerable he feels the more anxious he becomes,” she said.

“Then he tends to procrastinate or plunge headlong into dangerous situations.

“He can sabotage his activities because he panics. There is a constant push and pull as he tries to make up his mind about something, thereby ending up not taking any route, troubles mount up and he exhausts himself by worrying and scanning for danger.”

A third leading graphologist had prepared a six-page report, but when the author’s identity was revealed the expert was too fearful to hand over the findings.

“This is a very evil person. The criminal writer and his fearful buddies give me nightmares just knowing they exist in Australia,” the expert said.