When pacemaker data becomes witness for prosecution

n3bul4 (62)in #life • 7 years ago

© angelhell / Getty Images / iStock

In the USA, September 2016 a curious case took place: The house of the 59 years old Ross Compton catches fire. Later, Compton tells the police, that after he had noticed the fire, he had packed some objects of value into a bag, crashed the windows with a stick and fled through the inferno to his car. However, the investigators got leery as soon as they found traces of gasoline on Comptons cloths. The suspicion: The man has set the fire on purpose to pocket the building insurance. The accusation is insurance fraud.

Besides the clothes there was no solid evidence. The accused assured, that the fire got out of control and he had no motive to burn down his house. At his examination, Campton stated to wear a smart pacemaker, which turned out to be disastrous for him. The investigators obtained a "search warrant", which authorized them to analyze the data, including his heart frequency before and after the fire. The evaluation of the data showed a different picture. A cardiologist, who analyzed the data stated, that according to the medical condition of the man it is highly unlikely for him to pack some things in a stressful situation and flee from the burning house.

Probably - and that could have been the most incriminating evidence - Comptons pulse was amazingly calm while the house was burning. As a consequence the criminal investigators said that Compton has acted advisedly, to get the amount insured. Now, he has been taken to court.

It is not the first time, that investigators analyze data from smart devices and use it as evidence for trial. Once a fitness bracelet exposed a husband as murderer in the USA. In that case a pregnant woman in Ellington Connecticut was found dead in her house - shot by the weapon of her husband. In his examination the husband put on record, that a masked man has shot his wife and he had already left the house to bring the children to the school and to drive to work, while his wife was at a spinning course. When his wife came at home, the murderer must have already been awaiting her.

Data does not lie

But the police was skeptical regarding this version. Only five days after the murder the husband tried to cash the live insureance of his wife in the amount of 475,000 US-Dollars. That would be a motive: Greed. Anyway, the investigators couldn't prove him guilty although his alibi was doubtful. This changed as they managed to analyze data from a fitness bracelet of the killed woman. The data told a totally different story: The evaluation revealed, that the last movements of the woman were registered at 10:05 AM - one hour later, than her husband has stated at the examination.

But that was not the only lie: The pregnant women walked about 365 meters on her coming back from the fitness course. This was contrary to the husbands statement, that his wife was shot instantly. The investigators could reconstruct the circumstances of the crime with the help of the data. Background: The fitness tracker contains a pedometer which counts every move. The fitness bracelet has found the husband guilty. Data doesn't lie.