Cellphone data defined 2025’s biggest criminal cases as expert calls them a 'crime scene in their pocket'
A forensic scientist said that cellphones have turned into a "crime scene" in the pockets of everyday Americans, as the device has been at the center of several major criminal cases over the past year.
In cases such as the University of Idaho murders and Brian Walshe’s killing of his wife, Ana, prosecutors and defense attorneys leaned heavily on cellphone data to present juries with evidence that simply didn’t exist a decade ago.
Forensic scientist and Jacksonville State University Professor Joseph Scott Morgan told Fox News Digital that everyday Americans may not be aware that they're carrying a "crime scene in their pocket everywhere they go" because of the amount of data that the device constantly collects.
"We're so married to it that people cannot see themselves absent this thing. They're gonna hold onto it, even if it means that it's gonna bring them down because so much data is captured on there," Morgan said. "People are, you know, certainly not aware of the fact that, that they are, they're carrying a crime scene in their pocket wherever they go."
Morgan said there’s much more evidence on a person’s cellphone than many expect, such as search history, metadata, deleted conversations, GPS data, time stamps and more.
"Now you've literally got digital breadcrumbs that might be hiding in the data and you can begin to track them," Morgan said. "And the thing about it is they're time-stamped. And this goes to, if someone is trying to alibi themselves, for instance, 'Wow, I wasn't there,' or ‘I never thought about that, contemplated that.’ Well, we show here in the data that we've collected out of your phone it."
Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to murder in the Nov. 13, 2022 killings of University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
FBI cellphone tower data obtained by NBC's "Dateline" allegedly showed that Kohberger's cellphone pinged nearly a dozen times to a tower that provides coverage to an area within 100 feet of 1122 King Road, where the four University of Idaho students were killed. The late-night drives all allegedly happened starting in July 2022 and continued through mid-August 2022.
According to the report, Kohberger’s late-night trips to the King Road area started after a Moscow pool party he was invited to. Kohberger allegedly visited the area three more times in the first two weeks of October 2022.
In total, FBI cellphone records allegedly indicated that Kohberger was within 100 meters of the King Road house on 23 occasions, including one time on Nov. 7. All the trips were after dark.
Brian Walshe was sentenced to life in prison plus a 22-year sentence on Dec. 18 after he was convicted of killing and dismembering his wife, Ana, after she disappeared on New Year's Day in 2023.
Massachusetts State Trooper Nicholas Guarino, an expert on digital forensics, testified during Brian's trial that he made several incriminating Google searches, which included the name of the man previously involved in an affair with Ana.
The Google and Yahoo searches made by Brian included the following, according to Guarino:
- "Best ways to dispose of body parts after murder."
- "How long does DNA last?"
- "Is it possible to clean DNA off a knife?"
- "How long someone missing until inheritance."
Brian's wife had a $2.7 million life insurance policy which he was the beneficiary of, court records show. He owed nearly $500,000 in restitution for his federal case.
Karen Read was acquitted of second-degree murder in June after her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, died. She was accused of ramming O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV, then leaving him to die during a snowstorm after the couple had a drunken argument.
During the trial, witness Jennifer McCabe admitted to searching for "hos [sic] long to die in cold," and claimed Read instructed her to make the search.
"You also testified that at the time you Google search those phrases, it was Karen Read screaming and yelling at you, shaking you to Google 'hypothermia,'" defense attorney Alan Jackson asked.
"Correct," McCabe responded.
However, Kerry Roberts, who was a friend of Read's, testified that she never actually heard Read ask for McCabe to make the searches.