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A recent murder trial involving the most medieval of weapons has recently concluded with a guilty verdict, thanks to some high-tech sleuthing.
From the BBC's report:
Some modern, expensive cars are installed with electronic systems which can track and store information about its movements. This so-called telematics system can be used as a tracking device if the car is stolen. It can also tell when a car's engine is started or stopped and even when a window, door or boot is opened and closed. When combined with evidence of owning a crossbow and bolts of the type used in the murder, it was enough to secure a conviction.
Like a mobile phone on wheels, the system uses a SIM card. Nick Harvey, risk data manager for Plant-I telematics company, said data is live constantly and GPS tracking could be accurate within 5m.
He said over the past 10 years, such tracking had become more commonplace in car technology and security systems and could now help with investigations. "Wherever a vehicle is going, it is sending into a cloud - no matter what happens to that vehicle there is always data behind," he said.
A car belonging to the defendant was found burned several miles away two weeks after the murder, but the incriminating data had long since been sent to the cloud. It placed the owner outside the victim's house at the time of the murder, with timestamps indicating details like the engine being turned off, and when the doors and boot (trunk) were opened and closed.
The complexity of the case saw it generate 5,500 documents and involve a team of 50 police officers before going to a trial lasting five weeks.
"If it wasn't for the electronics, the black box in the Land Rover - which didn't just record information but sent it to Jaguar Land Rover, [the defendant] Whall would have got away with his lies," the jury was told.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @08:29AM (8 children)
Someone drugged this guy to knock him out
Made a silicon mask and wig to look like him
Wore clothes to cover skin and makeup to match skin tone
Took his car and phone
Got a crossbow (bonus points for buying a crossbow and bolts while dressed as him using his apple pay)
Drove to someone's house
... Window.. Boot.. Door. Engine.. Bolt shoot.. Leave
Burn car
Throw phone and crossbow into lake or river or burn
Leg it.
...
Sit back to watch the mayhem unfold
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @08:32AM
Mayhem?!?
Call M.A.S.K.!
(Score: 4, Informative) by kazzie on Thursday February 27 2020, @08:42AM (3 children)
Good (if scary) thinking, but the defendant also got caught with some lies about his ownership of the crossbow. He said he'd sold his crossbow months previously, but there were records of him buying bolts for the it (of the type used in the murder) after that date.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @11:44AM (2 children)
Yes, I did purchase bolts. For the crossbow I used to own. Then I realized later that I had sold it. So that was silly. Oh well. It's only money. Sometimes I walk up to the wrong car and fail to open it with my key. It happens.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @03:07PM
It was an accident. I was cleaning it and didn't know it was loaded. My Land Rover was in the shop as usual.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday February 28 2020, @03:27AM
Easy to do. Whenever I go into a grocery store I instinctively walk over to the booze aisle and load up before I realize, "Oh shit, I just came here to buy food and have to go to work in an hour."
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday February 27 2020, @01:33PM (1 child)
(Score: 2) by Booga1 on Thursday February 27 2020, @04:24PM
Nah, the M.A.S.K. theme song [youtube.com] is pretty standard 80's rock.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @03:13PM
That would attract scooby doo and the case would for sure get solved by those darn kids