How Digital Forensics Solved a Murder
On November 20, 2019, the body of economics lecturer Matthew Wiser was found in his apartment.
The lecturer taught at the University of South Alabama. The campus police were sent to his home because he did not show up for his afternoon lecture and did not respond to any messages or phone calls. This behaviour was very uncharacteristic of the professor.
After the body was found, the local police were notified and a homicide case was opened.
Solving the Murder
And how was the case solved?
In addition to the usual procedures such as questioning witnesses and searching for fingerprints, other methods were tried first. As a professor at a university, it is quite possible that there are students who are not exactly fans of him (due to poor grades or even failure). So this route was also considered.
However, this route proved to be unhelpful.
The Switch
At Professor Wiser’s house, all digital items were examined and recorded.
This list was compared with the purchases he had made. The only thing that stood out was that a Nintendo Switch was missing from his home. The detectives in charge then requested a subpoena to gain access to the device, which they received.
With the help of log files, it was possible to determine that the switch had connected via Wi-Fi some time ago (after the murder).
Through this connection, an IP address and thus a home address could be determined. This address led them to Kyneesha Timmons. She was then questioned and it came out that this was the Nintendo Switch of her brother, Tiquez Timmons.
The investigators were now one step closer.
The Honda
Investigators discovered that Timmons had purchased an old 2009 Honda Accord.
The GPS data from the Honda could be analyzed. It turned out that at the alleged time of death the car was located near Professor Wiser’s house. This fact contradicts Timmons’ statement to the contrary.
Timmons must have realized that he was in a difficult situation and, according to the investigators, had cooperated.
Aftermath
With Timmons’ cooperation and further evidence, he and two others (Curtis Womack Jr. and Derric Scott) were arrested.
All three were convicted of murder and are now serving their sentences in prison. Professor Wiser’s father said that he is glad that the case has been solved. He knows that many cases are not solved and that this is rather an exception.
He says that knowing what happened helps him to have some closure.
Conclusion
In this case, digital forensics played a key role in solving the case.
Our modern world is highly interconnected and a lot of data flows back and forth. Even data that we don’t necessarily always want to share. It is also sometimes frightening how other parties (both good and bad) have access to our data. In some cases, however, this access helps to do good and bring evil to justice.
I personally find this issue very difficult and it’s a balancing act between privacy and utility.
