State v Bradley Cooper 3-17-2011

[SleuthyGal]

Sheriff's investigators can legally use a nontestimonial order to obtain such evidence as fingerprints, palm prints, footprints, blood specimens, hair samples, voice samples and photographs.

CPD did get a nontestimonial order to get BC's DNA, etc. I believe this was on or about 7/16/08 or 7/17/08 However, on 7/12/08 Nancy was 'only' still missing.

 

[ncsu95]

Did they know someone else did not come in the house and take Nancy ? After all, all Brad says he knows is he heard the door close. I agree, they were photographing a potential crime scene - good for them, smart move. As I said, LE can't win for losing - had they not taken these pictures everyone would be squawking because they did not and yapping about wth were they thinking (or not). Sometimes it is reasonable to admit to ourselves that LE knows a heck of a lot more than we do and to sit back and armchair quarterback them with zero training or understanding is pretty - well I won't say it.

Are you reaching here?

 

[CyberPro]

Dismuskes did testify that he wasn't particularly LOOKING for scratches or even at BC's neck. He was investigating a missing person case at that point. I don't know if he noticed the bandaged finger on his own or not, but he did not notice BC's neck until Daniels mentioned it. Then he said he did see red marks.

I have not gone back to look at all the documents, but ISTR seeing a picture of the back of BCs neck, and there were some red marks on it.

 

[ncsu95]

I have to say that I don't understand how this happened either. I use a Blackberry on a daily basis, and I know how to wipe the data, but you have to TRY to do it, it is not just "oops, I pressed the "Wipe all the data" button." It is buried in the menus pretty deep.

One possibility. It is a tenet of computer forensics, and a BlackBerry would be included is that you don't examine the data ON THE DEVICE. Usually, an exact copy is made to a media or similar phone using forensic tools. I have two possible reasons the data was wiped.

1. He tried to enter the password to unlock the phone too many times, and the phone erased the data.

2. The forensic tool malfunctioned and erased the data accidentally.

I would assume that NC was NOT using a Blackberry Enterprise Server for e-mail. This is usually done by companies for e-mail, since NC was not working, she would be unlikely to be using this option.

She could have configured e-mail from her phone provider, most who sell Blackberries have a server setup so you can forward mail to it.

My guess would be #1 since that is what the defense contends and he didn't have a sw at that point, so I doubt they did forensic testing on it.

 

[SleuthyGal]

I'm not suggesting that. I'm questioning if they could do a thorough investigation in 3 months on a circumstantial case.

Investigation in a case often continues even after a person is arrested. They need enough to get an indictment and show probable cause. They don't, however, have to have every single piece of evidence in at that moment. Nor could they in many situations. DNA analysis, hair & fiber analysis...things sent to the FBI, computer forensics...everything takes time. They get some things back within a month or so but not everything.

 

[ncsu95]

The mere fact Willoughby moved in only 4 months on Brad while he strung an obvious slam dunk case along for 3 years (Jason Young) is what I am hanging my hat on for now.

I think most people are using that same hat rack. I remember the discussion when he was arrested that they must have a bombshell on him since Willoughby moves slowly in cases like these.

 

[SleuthyGal]

I have not gone back to look at all the documents, but ISTR seeing a picture of the back of BCs neck, and there were some red marks on it.

Kurtz & Blum posted a pic of the back of BC's neck on their website, around the same time they posted the HT videos. They did this to show no scratches on BC's neck. Not sure of the date of this pic...it was within a week of NC going missing, IIRC, certainly no longer than 10 days after.

 

[ncsu95]

Nonverbal communication accounts for something like 90% of how we learn and 'read' other people. Nancy's friends SAW with their very own eyes things that were out of place, things that didn't look right, differences, behaviors of the defendant.

The cops are always suspicious and they look at everything too. I'm not saying they don't make mistakes and get things wrong, but they too use all their senses to make note. Intuition as someone is being interviewed can't be quantified, but cops do get that inner feeling.

So in the early days of the investigation, the cops know that statistically it's usually the spouse or ex that is most probably involved. They would be remiss if they didn't spend time investigating that person. And they see things that set off their antennae. No it's not 100% all the time, but it's part of the whole picture for them.

Nancy's friends KNEW something was wrong. They knew Nancy's behaviors, knew from their prior experiences with her that she was dependable and communicative. They knew how tense things were between the Coopers. You can't just forget all you know when something bad happens. We are an accumulation of our experiences. Of *course* they immediately suspected Brad. How could they not? Not just suspect....felt it deep down (and not because they didn't 'like' him).

I agree SG...but people see what they want to see as well. Her friends knew NC was missing...so I'm sure they analyzed every blink, arm movement, head nod and cough BC did in those next few days. Not saying what they saw was wrong, but I doubt they were casually observing him. He also knew immediately that he was under suspicion since JA called the cops. So he had an intense amount of pressure on him (whether he did it or not). I can't see how anyone would act normal in those situations. I mean if he cries or groans, it has to be fake. If he doesn't cry, it's because he did it and doesn't have any feelings. Especially given that everyone around him that day were her friends and had heard endless stories of BC from her. I can't imagine how I would have acted in that situation. Now it also could have been forced/faked because he killed her.

 

[jilly]

Jilly if you want to do an experiment with license plates, of course I have one. Dunno if you have ever looked behind your plates, but you might be surprised at what you find. And if you take one off and don't get it back just so, what you find behind it might just show up. One other point, with plates, unless your province or state requires a different plate every year, a fair amount of rust can accumulate on the bolts, and when you unscrew them, well, that rust breaks. There are ways to tell other than a screw gun laying in the laundry room and a loose tag...just saying.

bbm

Thanks RC! I get what you're "saying".

I actually did make the mistake of trying to change my own plate once - it wasn't as easy as it looked (at least with my car). Got the screw off alright but lost it and somehow it managed to fall back and get lodged in the bumper somewhere. Hubby wasn't impressed!:crazy:

 

[jmflu]

I'd really like to know what they found in his trunk. Do you think they are getting around to that?? Will they at least be able to say there was no gas?

 

[raisincharlie]

Are you reaching here?

Absolutely not.

 

[CyberPro]

Had to check my Leprechaun traps! Hoping to catch one today.... no luck so far....

:lepsmilie: :lepsmilie:

 

[Just the Fax]

I'm not suggesting that. I'm questioning if they could do a thorough investigation in 3 months on a circumstantial case.

My answer is they must have the smoking gun.

 

[SleuthyGal]

I had completely forgotten it was St Paddy's day until I noticed a bunch of the jurors wearing green.

 

[Cheyenne130]

Kurtz & Blum posted a pic of the back of BC's neck on their website, around the same time they posted the HT videos. They did this to show no scratches on BC's neck. Not sure of the date of this pic...it was within a week of NC going missing, IIRC, certainly no longer than 10 days after.

Here is a link to the pictures taken by Kurtz and Blum:

http://www.kurtzandblum.com/CM/Investigation/Lack-of-Scratches.asp

 

[jmflu]

Anyone volunteering for court duty tomorrow? It's only a half day... How will we make it through the weekend?!

 

[less0305]

I have to say that I don't understand how this happened either. I use a Blackberry on a daily basis, and I know how to wipe the data, but you have to TRY to do it, it is not just "oops, I pressed the "Wipe all the data" button." It is buried in the menus pretty deep.

One possibility. It is a tenet of computer forensics, and a BlackBerry would be included is that you don't examine the data ON THE DEVICE. Usually, an exact copy is made to a media or similar phone using forensic tools. I have two possible reasons the data was wiped.

1. He tried to enter the password to unlock the phone too many times, and the phone erased the data.

2. The forensic tool malfunctioned and erased the data accidentally.

I would assume that NC was NOT using a Blackberry Enterprise Server for e-mail. This is usually done by companies for e-mail, since NC was not working, she would be unlikely to be using this option.

She could have configured e-mail from her phone provider, most who sell Blackberries have a server setup so you can forward mail to it.

I don't own a blackberry, so I have no knowledge or experience to draw from. My only thought and question was that when he and the phone technician were discussing how to get into the phone data around the password since it was password protected, could he have either misunderstood the directions given over the phone by the phone company technician (I know sometimes these help desk individuals are overseas in another country - I have had trouble in the past understanding help technicians when I call in for assistance with my phone carrier) or... is it at all possible that the phone technician's instructions were resetting a password and that automatically resets the phone back to factory settings or deletes all data. Our password protected voicemail accounts lose all data when you reset the passcode - I know cell phones may be different, but I had that thought with this also. I mean, imagine buying a used cell phone and resetting it back to factory settings by resetting pass codes or something. Just my thoughts.

 

[SleuthyGal]

I agree SG...but people see what they want to see as well. Her friends knew NC was missing...so I'm sure they analyzed every blink, arm movement, head nod and cough BC did in those next few days.

Not only missing...but they had the sinking gut feel that harm had come to NC, even before her body was found. You might want to discount their observations of everything they noticed and saw, but I sure don't. They *knew.* And, of course, they were right.

 

[CrimeAddict]

I am listening to part 3 of the defense opening statements finally. I can't get over how he is saying Brad was trying to work it out and do things around the house and be a better dad and husband and all this crazy stuff about how everyone can program a voip to call out when they want. I don't know how to do that, I wouldn't even know where to begin..

This does make me nervous about J. Pearson and how he didn't tell LE that he had an affair with her at first? Unless the defense is lying about a lot of this stuff, I think the prosecution is in big trouble.

OMG I didnt realize how pissed the judge was at Kurtz... if you guys havent watched part 3, check out the last 5 mins.

 

[jilly]

Yeah it's not just the bandaged finger, but what was *under* that bandage and how bad was it? We'll never know.

They better have some (other) physical or strong circumstantial evidence tying BC to the murder or he's not going to get convicted.

They must. I mean, they've just GOT TO. I can't believe Willoughby would take this case if there wasn't something more compelling than what has been testified to so far.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for sure.

I agree. I remember reading about him in the Eric Miller murders. ALs book Deadly Dose.