More Gadgetry Used to Convict is this week’s Mystery Question. I had so much fun discovering how police use our gadgets to solve crimes that I had to do it again this week. 🙂
But first the photo of the night sky provided to me by one of our readers, Priscilla Bettis. It was taken using a telescope, and you can better believe a telescope is on my must-have list! When I opened it, the photo took my breath.
Ever since my dad showed me the North Star and pointed out the constellations, the night sky has fascinated me. When I’m on deadline, I often get up early–while it’s pitch dark–and go outside to collect the papers. When I look up into that night sky, stars twinkling on a background of black velvet stirs something within me. I’ve even threatened to move to the country where there are no city lights just so I can see the night sky better. 🙂
Now onto last week’s Mystery Question. Electronic Toys As Evidence. Three of these cases actually happened and I made one of them up. Can you guess which one?
- Data from a defendant’s smartphone’s health app played a role in his conviction. His testimony that he was asleep at the time of his wife’s murder was contradicted by data from the activity app on his cell phone.
- It was after 10 p.m. when a woman reported her mother-in-law had been murdered by intruders. However, the victim’s Apple watch indicated the victim’s activity and heart rate measurements indicated an attack occurred at 6:38 p.m. and that the wearer had “almost certainly” died by 6:45 p.m.
- Police arrested a jewelry store owner after he called in a break-in and the theft of an antique Philippe Patek watch from his safe insured for two hundred thousand dollars. He claimed he’d been home all night with his wife, but a cell tower indicated he’d made a call two miles from his store at eleven p.m. the night of the burglary.
- The suspect claimed he was asleep when the fire started that burned his house down. He was able to pack some items in a bag and climb out of his bedroom window to escape the flames. However, his pacemaker showed he was active during the time he claimed he was asleep.
And the answer is…#3. Congrats to everyone who answered correctly! I was surprised that the prosecutor was able to use the man’s pacemaker against him.
Now for this week’s Mystery Question–More Gadgetry Used to Convict: Three of these cases actually happened and I made one of them up. Can you guess which one?
1.Police suspected a man had something to do with the disappearance and death of his roommate found buried in a shallow grave. Police found blood and the victim’s backpack in the man’s car, but the suspect provided viable excuses for both. Then digital examiners found a Siri search on his phone that read: I need to hide my roommate. Cell towers also put him near the burial site.
2. A man and woman broke into a home and stole jewelry, computers, and TVs. The one thing they left behind undid them after the police arrested them. Alexa, who recorded their conversation after the man called the woman to help him with one of the TV’s. Her name happened to be Alec but it woke up Alexa. When police caught and brought them to trial, the jury compared the voices from the defendants’ interrogation videos to the Alexa recording. The jury found the pair guilty by a unanimous vote.
3. A father installed eBlaster on his son’s school laptop to keep track of his son’s internet activity, receiving reports to his laptop. It came time to return the computer to the school. The father had the laptop wiped clean but did not realize the eBlaster program remained despite the scrubbing. The father returned the laptop directly to the school’s principal. Several days later, eBlaster emailed reports indicating the laptop accessed child pornography sites. Needless to say, the school principal was even more surprised to get a visit from the FBI.
4. A man returned home after getting an alert from his home alarm where he found an intruder. His wife interrupted their struggle when she returned home after an exercise class, and the intruder killed her. After the man’s life-and-death fight with the intruder who escaped, the man crawled upstairs and triggered the home alarm. Unfortunately for the man, the wife’s Fitbit contradicted the man’s story when it showed she’d walked 1,217 steps after arriving home from the exercise class. Far more than the approximate 127 steps from the car to the stairs she supposedly walked.
Okay, Super Sleuths, which one did I make up? Leave your answers in the comments and I’ll enter you in a February drawing for a book from my library!
More Gadgetry Used to Convict--Can you guess which answer I made up? Leave an answer and I'll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library! #mysteryquestion Share on X
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Comments 52
They all sound feasible, but I will go with #4.
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Mary, I’m glad they all sound feasible! We’ll see next week if it’s #4. Thanks for stopping in.
I think #4
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Cheryl, I see a trend with #4. 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment!
Kudos to Priscilla for that fantastic photo! Whenever I look into a night sky filled with stars, I enjoy the quiet magistery of our almighty, eternal God. Your choice of Scripture to go with it, Pat, confirms that.
Pat, are there any amateur astronomers in your town, perhaps a club? They would be a good source for what kind of telescope to get. And from my experience, they would likely be thrilled to have another fan join their observing nights.
All of your gadget criminal catchers are plausible. I’m going with #2 as the one you made up. I’m not sure the voice recording would be strong enough evidence to convict, though it might be if voice prints were compared. But, what a way to get caught!
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Absolutely, Tim about the night sky and Priscilla’s photo. I was out late last night (9:30 lol) and the sky was clear. The stars were so pretty. The night sky just stirs something within me. I’ve not heard of an amateur astronomer’s group here in Northeast Mississippi, so I’ll have to check around. We’ll see next week if it’s #2. Thanks for always stopping by.
#2
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We’ll see Angela. Thanks so much for stopping by.
I think they are all good, but I will have to say #1
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Thank you, Janet! I’m glad you think they’re all good. We’ll see next week if it’s #1. So glad you stopped by.
LOVE the photo. These are all fascinating and chilling, but I’ll go w/ #2. I don’t think her name was Alexa.
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That photo is absolutely gorgeous, isn’t it, Delores! We’ll see next week if her name was Alexa. Glad you dropped by!
I’ll take #2
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We’ll see, Sally Jo. Thanks for dropping by.
Hi, Ms Bradley. I agree with you and others about the photo and verse. My husband and I have made several trips to Arizona from Missouri and usually do night driving. We like to stop on the side of the road somewhere in New Mexico, get out of the car and just star gaze. The night sky is so clear and beautiful with no light pollution you can really see our God’s handiwork. I have always loved the stars though rarely get a chance to see them here in the city so when I do get a chance, I find it difficult to continue on. My husband is a science nerd and he will show me the stars and their names too.
Awww on to the game! I think it might be #3, at least I hope so.
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That sounds “heavenly” Pearl! I would love to look at the night sky in New Mexico! Here, there are too many lights to really see it well. Thanks so much for stopping by…and we’ll see next week if it’s #2.
I am guessing #4 this week.
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We’ll see, Gloria. Always good to ‘see’ you here!
I think it is #4. Have a Great week and stay safe. The photo of the Night sky is Beautiful.! I was wondering why I had missed the last blog post and I remembered it was one of the days we had no electricity. Thank God all is back to normal now. God is Good.
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Yes, Alicia, God is good! So glad your power is restored. Mine, thankfully, never went off. And we’ll see next week if it’s #4. Thanks for stopping by.
2
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Deb, we’ll see next week. 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
4 – thanks for the chance
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Hi Lynn! We’ll see if it’s the ever-popular #4 next week. So glad you dropped by!
I’m going with #4 this time simply because I think FitBit measures steps, not feet. I love the pic and verse.
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Hi Perianne…thanks, I love that photo, too. It’s possible that feet was supposed to be steps…in case you want to change your answer. Thanks for stopping by!
I’m liking #2 this week. I love the night sky. We got to see the Aurora Borealis when we lived in Wisconsin and in North Dakota.
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Oh, wow, Paula! That had to be beautiful. We’ll see next week if it’s #2. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
I’m going to say #1 is false. These are really fun and hard to tell which ones made up.
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Good, Megan! I’m glad you’re having fun with them, though. We’ll see next week if it’s #1. Thanks for stopping in.
I guess I’m going to go with #2.
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We’ll see, Diana…so glad you stopped by.
I think I will go with #2 since Alexa only responds to certain voices
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Shelia, my phone responds to anyone who says, “Hey, Siri!” lol. Except me…And she NEVER understand me. Thanks for stopping by.
Like one of your other readers, I also wondered how I had missed last week’s post, and the I realized it was because we lost our power and then our internet. I’ll go with #3 this week. Loved the picture of God’s handiwork.
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Linda, isn’t it amazing how our routine being disrupted can make us lose all focus! I’m still wondering where last week went! We’ll see if it’s #3 next week.
Hey, I recognize that photo.:-) Hmm, I’m going with number 1 this time because SURELY a criminal wouldn’t be that dumb!
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Hi Priscilla. Love your photo! I’ve been meaning to ask what kind of telescope you have. Your photo has made me want to get one! And we’ll see next week if a criminal is that dumb. lol Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks, Patricia. It’s a Celestron CPC-1100 XLT, an 11-inch Schmitt-Cassegrain.
Oh, that is one sweet scope, Priscilla! I think I’m having astro envy 🙂
Thanks, Tim.:-)
Beautiful scripture and photo, Pat!
Guessing #4 is false.
I love the scripture and photo. #4
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I love Priscilla’s photo, too. And thought the scripture went well with it, Lucy! So glad you stopped by!
#4
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We’ll see, MS Barb. So good to ‘see’ you here tonight!
That is quite a great shot of the night sky! One of my wife’s uncles was getting rid of a large telescope a number of years ago and gave it to one of our kids. I shied away from it because it looked terribly complicated. After seeing this picture, I kinda wish I had tried to figure out that scope.
I am choosing # 1. I’m not sure a person could simply explain away blood in the car. It seems to me that would have been stronger evidence than some digital search of Siri records. I am only guessing because I know next to nothing about any of those gadgets.
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Hi Edward! I’m always wishing I’d figured out something. lol My brother-in-law had a telescope and for some reason, he couldn’t get it to work right, so it kind of discouraged me from trying. lol We’ll see next week if it’s #1. Thanks for stopping by.
#1
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We’ll see, Patricia…it’s the same number Edward chose…
It’s going to be a total guess this week, so I’m going with #1 just because 🙂
I love these each week and with the new technology we have with computers, our phones & all that…I would think it would be harder to hide a crime you’ve commited. I’m sure criminals can still figure out a way around that, but who knows?
I just love this weeks picture! I’m fasinated with some of the Hubble telescope pictures I’ve seen over the years. The galaxies God created are so vast and huge, it brings to mind that scripture that says something like “who am I that God takes notice of me”. We seem so small here on Earth when compared to the other planets & galaxies yet undiscovered. But God loved me enough to want to have relationship with me….it just blows my mind really!!
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Oh, Trixi, that would have been a great scripture verse for that photo! And I’ve always loved looking at the night sky. And we’ll see next Tuesday if it’s #1. lol Thanks for stopping by and commenting.