San Diego

A handwriting expert testified Thursday at the David Lucas murder trial that the handwriting on a note found at the scene of the killings matches that of Lucas.

John Harris of Los Angeles told the jury that the note, found in the bathroom of the home of Suzanne Jacobs, 31, and her 3-year-old son--both of whom were killed May 4, 1979--matches handwriting samples he analyzed from Lucas, 33, of Spring Valley.

But, on cross-examination, Harris said he could not be 100% certain.

The note, which had the phone number and name of Love Insurance, was blown up in photographs and displayed on a board before the jury. Lucas had a policy with Love Insurance in 1979.

Harris said he did a letter-by-letter and number examination of the note and testified for several hours about his analysis.

When asked about the certainty of his conclusion by Lucas’ lawyer, Steve Feldman, Harris replied: “I’m not 100% certain. There’s no such thing as 100% certain unless I was there to see him write it.”

Harris acknowledged there were some variations between the samples of Lucas’ writing and the note. Harris has testified as an expert witness in many court cases, including the dispute over Howard Hughes’ will.

Lucas is also charged with four other murders in San Diego County, including the killings of Anne Swanke, 22, of San Carlos, Nov. 22, 1984; Rhonda Strang, 24, and Amber Fisher, 3, both of Lakeside, Oct. 23, 1984, and Gayle Garcia, of Spring Valley, Dec. 8, 1981.

All of the victims and one survivor, Jodie Santiago Robertson, 34, had their throats slashed.