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Florida police obtain Alexa recordings in murder investigation
Police have once again obtained Alexa voice recordings as part of an investigation, although they're not necessarily expecting a treasure trove of information this time around. Law enforcement in Hallandale Beach, Florida has used a search warrant to collect Alexa recordings from two Echo Dots as part of a murder case. Investigators want to know if the smart speakers inadvertently picked up audio of a July altercation between Adam Crespo and his wife Silvia Crespo. She died of a spear wound to the chest; Adam maintained that it was the result of an accident that snapped the spear, but detectives want to know if Alexa preserved any evidence of possible foul play.
Justice Department sets rules for using genealogy sites to solve crimes
Investigators have used genealogy sites to solve a string of cold cases in recent years, but the US hasn't really had a firm stance on how and when to use those sites. There's now a basic framework in place, however. The Justice Department has established interim rules that determine how this forensic genetic genealogy can be used to tackle unsolved violent crimes. Officials portray it as striking a balance between the desire to solve crimes with the protection of privacy and civil freedoms.
Hitman convicted thanks to fitness watch location data
An alleged hitman has learned hard lessons about the the value of GPS data on fitness watches. A Liverpool jury has found Mark Fellows guilty of the 2015 murder of mob boss Paul Massey in part thanks to location info from the accused's Garmin Forerunner. An expert inspecting the watch's info discovered that Fellows had recorded a 35-minute trip that took him to a field just outside Massey's home ahead of the murder. He appeared to be scouting the route he would take later to perform the hit, a claim supported by cell site and CCTV evidence showing Fellows driving his car past Massey's house numerous times in the week before the slaying.
Judge tells Amazon to provide Echo recordings in double homicide trial
Prosecutors are once again hoping that smart speaker data could be the key to securing a murder conviction. A New Hampshire judge has ordered Amazon to provide recordings from an Echo speaker between January 27th, 2017 and January 29th, 2017 (plus info identifying paired smartphones) to aid in investigating a double homicide case. The court decided there was probable cause to believe the speaker might have captured audio of the murders and their aftermath.
Fitbit data helps police arrest another murder suspect
Fitbit may have helped police solve the murder of one of its users, after investigators used heart rate data to determine the identity of the alleged killer. On September 8th, Anthony Aiello visited his 67-year-old stepdaughter Karen Navarra in San Jose. He claims he brought homemade pizza and biscotti for her, and she walked him to the door and gave him a couple of roses as a thank you. But data from Navarra's Fitbit Alta showed a different story, according to investigators.
Didi halts carpooling across China after passenger's murder
Didi Chuxing has suspended its Hitch carpooling service across all of China in the wake of a driver raping and killing a passenger on August 24th. The ridesharing company wanted time to address the "many deficiencies" with its customer service approach that appear to have cost the victim her life, including the "cumbersome and rigid" process of sharing information with police. A customer had complained to Didi about the the driver's sexually threatening behavior a day before, but the company didn't follow through with an investigation that might have banned the driver in time to prevent the tragedy.
Didi passenger murdered following safety policy failure
Didi Chuxing's safety issues still aren't over. Police have confirmed that a driver for the service raped and killed a woman passenger in Wenzhou, China on August 24th. The ridesharing company said it was "deeply sorry" for the incident in a statement, but acknowledged that its safety protections fell short. From an initial glance, it appeared that the tragedy was avoidable.
China’s Didi restricts some rides to same-sex drivers
Last month, a passenger using Didi Chuxing's carpooling service Hitch was allegedly killed by a driver using his father's account. Since then, the company has been rolling out new safety measures for its ridesharing platforms including updates to its emergency help feature and making driver facial recognition verification mandatory for each Hitch trip. Didi also stopped allowing Hitch trips between the hours of 10PM and 6AM as it considered additional measures. Now, Reuters reports, the company is extending its hours but will only allow late-night and early-morning rides between drivers and passengers of the same sex.
Denver Uber driver kills passenger in alleged self-defense incident
An Uber driver in Denver has been arrested for an investigation into first-degree murder charges after he killed his passenger in the early morning on June 1st. Michael Hancock told a witness that he shot his customer, Hyun Kim, several times in self-defense after being attacked while on the highway. Uber said it couldn't provide details regarding the investigation, but noted that it was assisting police and had revoked Hancock's access to its driver app.
Apple Health app data used as evidence in rape investigation
Law enforcement might have difficulty accessing iPhones, but it can obtain a wealth of information when it does get in. German investigators have used data from iOS' built-in Health app as evidence in the investigation of a rape and murder case. Police cracked the suspect's phone with the help of an unnamed Munich company and discovered Health data that corresponded with his reported activity the day of the crimes, which included dragging the victim down a river embankment and climbing back up. The suspect's Health app appeared to have registered this last action as two instances of stair climbing, and an officer obtained similar results when replicating the accused's movements.
Facebook will hire 3,000 moderators to tackle livestreamed violence
Following a spate of suicides and murders that were streamed or hosted on Facebook for hours before they were taken down, Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company will be hiring an additional 3,000 people to its global community operations team over the next year. That will bring the total size of the department to 7,500, and the manpower will be dedicated to reviewing "the millions of reports we get every week, and improv(ing) the process for doing it quickly."
Facebook's live video problem is only getting worse
Facebook's struggle with livestreams of terrible crimes is still very real, and appears to be worsening. Local media report that a young Thai man used Facebook Live to broadcast a murder-suicide where he hanged his baby daughter before taking his own life. The social network cooperated with police and took the two archived video clips down, but only after they were online for roughly a full day. Officials won't be pressing charges against Facebook, which called the crime an "appalling incident" that had "absolutely no place" on its service.
Facebook reviews reporting process following livestream confession
On Sunday a man posted a video to Facebook detailing his intent to kill another man. Two minutes later he posted another video of the murder. That video was available on the social media site for over two hours before the suspect's account was disabled and the video was no longer visible. Today Facebook says it is reviewing its reporting flows in order to help people inform the site about content like this.
Amazon hands over Alexa data after murder suspect gives the okay
Amazon has agreed to hand over Alexa data to prosecutors in a murder trial after the defendant, an Echo owner, gave permission. The company had initially refused to do so, saying it "seeks to protect the privacy rights of its customers" and that Alexa's questions and answers are protected by the first amendment. The case involves Arkansas resident James Bates, who is charged with the murder of a man found dead in his hot tub in November, 2015.
A light-hearted game of mass murder in 'Party Hard'
In January, someone moved into the house right next to Alex Nichiporchik's. Nichiporchik, CEO of SpeedRunners studio TinyBuild Games, immediately wasn't a fan of his new neighbor. "He decided it's a funny idea to throw parties every night until 3AM," Nichiporchik recalls. One month into this late-night party hell, TinyBuild signed a contract with Pinokl Games, a studio known for crafting family-friendly experiences. But Pinokl's new project was wildly different: Party Hard, a stealth game about skulking through a bumpin' party and murdering everyone there. "Coincidence? The final level is actually modeled against what I imagine the next door party is," Nichiporchik says.
Here's how to steal from NPCs in Elder Scrolls Online
"Justice is coming to Tamriel," according to ZeniMax's latest website notice. It's probably more accurate to say that criminality is coming to Tamriel, though. More specifically, Elder Scrolls Online's upcoming Update 6 features the justice system which will enable your avatar to participate in a variety of underhanded activities including murder and thievery. The latter involves relieving hapless NPCs of their valuables while avoiding those pesky town guards, and the former involves assaulting and even killing AI citizens. At some point you'll end up with a bounty on your head, which in turns affects how guards react to your presence. Click through the links below to read the rest of the details.
CrowdSolve wants to turn amateurs into true detectives
There are libraries full of stories featuring amateur detectives showing police officers how to do their job. Hell, the Serial podcast has shown what one journalist can uncover even when investigating a murder that's more than a decade old. If you've ever thought that you'd fancy joining the ranks of Sarah Koenig, Sherlock Holmes and Jessica Fletcher, then a new project is looking to recruit you.
Enter at Your Own Rift: How to tell a great story in an MMO
My character still hasn't (ahem) ascended to Nightmare Tide levels yet, so today's RIFT story will instead be about Storm Legion. I had been working my way through the Eastern Holdings in Brevane when I encountered a quest chain that floored me with brilliant storytelling that showed exactly how MMOs can utilize this platform to tell tales in ways that other mediums cannot. It is audacious, bold, and incredibly dark, especially for RIFT. And I cannot praise it enough, especially in light of long-held claims that RIFT is often weak on story. I have two caveats before we go through what made this quest chain so great. First, I'm going to spoil it from start to finish, so if you haven't played it and want to remain innocent, just bookmark this column to read later on. Second, there are some truly edgy themes in this recap. Got it? Let's go!
Free legal advice: don't ask Siri where to hide a body
"Siri, read him his rights..." If you happen to murder someone, it's just common sense: do not ask Siri for help on where you can hide a body. Early on, Apple's intelligent assistant used to come back with locations like quarries, swamps, and dumps. Well, according to various news sources, a man accused of killing his roommate allegedly asked Siri "I need to hide my roommate" and of course got those responses. Police in Gainesville, FL produced Siri's response to his question as evidence in the trial of 20-year-old Pedro Bravo. Something's a bit fishy with this story, however. It turns out that Bravo has an iPhone 4 -- which, of course, cannot run Siri -- but he did have a screenshot with that Siri query stored on his device. There's more iPhone data that is also being used as evidence in the trial: On September 20, 2012, the flashlight function of Bravo's iPhone was on 9 times for a total of over 48 minutes (which is an odd forensic tidbit, unless he was using a standalone flashlight app). Police also note that the locations tracked by the iPhone on that date don't match where the suspect says he was. In case you're wondering, Siri now answers the question about where to hide a body with slightly different answers -- like "I used to know the answer to this," and "What, again?" The trial should wrap up later this week. There's no word on whether Siri will be offered a job as a prosecutor or expert witness in other cases. To keep up with the trial, you can follow TV reporter Stephanie Bachara on Twitter.
Noir Syndrome offers a new murder mystery with every play
Noir Syndrome is a novel take on a classic of the storytelling genre. Instead of offering players a single murder mystery, it uses procedural generation to randomize clues, suspects and victims each time you play. Beyond its randomized killings, Noir Syndrome also offers a number of other features you wouldn't expect from a game with such a pixelated, spartan aesthetic. According to the IndieDB entry on Noir Syndrome, despite its procedurally generated nature, all objects in the game are persistent, creating the illusion of a functioning, open world until you start a new game and everything is rebuilt from scratch. In this world, players are tasked with seeking out clues, then using these clues to nail suspects, but the game also offers players the freedom to ignore the central murder mystery in favor of exploration or gunning down random bystanders. Currently, you can find Noir Syndrome in the Steam Greenlight queue. Like all Greenlight games, it must attract a certain number of affirmative votes before earning the right to be listed on the Steam marketplace. While that means there's going to be a wait for the final, retail version of Noir Syndrome, you can attempt to gain access to a beta release of the game by following the instructions in this IndieDB entry. [Image: Glass Knuckle Games]
