MOO - On the map shown in court (with the push pins I believe) that showed BM’s movements within the home after it is alleged he shot SM, it was said that the map represents what may have been BM chasing SM around the home until she was rendered unconscious from the tranquilizer dart.
I actually think it was just BM’s rapid movements of adrenaline in engaging the coverup of his act. I do believe it was likely SM was shot while outside sunbathing shortly after her last selfie, and was caught unaware. Even if she stumbled to react, I don’t feel she would have gotten too far before becoming immobile. Had there been a chase around and in the house between SM and BM, I think there may have been some sort of evidence to a struggle. Maybe something broken that shouldn’t be; things of that nature.
What I would look for on that map (especially in the hour after he got home) are the following:
-Did BM go into Mallory’s room? (Stripping of sheets to wrap SM’s body)
-How many times did he go into the garage?
-Did he go into the laundry room?
-How many times did he go in and out of the back patio door area?
-Did he go near the security system box where it was discovered the cords had been disconnected?
-Did he spend time wherever the home computer was located? (Possibly booking the HIE room)
I had read a post that compared the use of a tranquilizer to a scene from the movie What Lies Beneath. In the movie Harrison Ford uses a tranquilizer to subdue his wife and then puts her in a bath tub to drown. I strongly feel this is the first part of what happened to SM but possibly in the hot tub instead of bath tub. I hate to admit, but it’s clever in that it explains no blood being found in the home. BM then likely used the bedsheets to wrap SM’s body in for concealment and transport out of the home. I feel extra chlorine tabs were used to clean up any bodily excretions within the water/tub. Faced with his wet clothes (and towels if used for cleanup and/or bedsheets), he likely put everything on a dry cycle, hence the discover of a forgotten dart cap in the drying machine.
MOO
Apologies in advance for yet another lengthy post but I think it’s important info to be aware of. There’s a lot in here and it would require many links to document it all so I’m only offering it as MOO. Tech changes rapidly. Come this time next year we may be talking about how the hyper accuracy of Apple AirTags figure into an investigation.
I think the positional data presented in the PH (probably from SW’s to pull from cell tower records and BM’s phone’s location services) is fine for the purposes of the PH. But I don’t think it will fly in quite the same way at trial. (I really doubt they went over any of the technical details during the hearing but, since we were living by tweet, who knows?)
The positional systems used with cell phones — GPS and cell tower triangulation — are simply incapable of precisely locating someone — indoors or outdoors. Currently, those systems can place someone at the scene but that’s about the extent of it. Here’s why…
While GPS data is highly accurate for military apps, air traffic control, etc., the commercial GPS apps that we, the general public, use every day intentionally obfuscate location and position slightly. IMO 30’ to 50’ is the generally accepted degree of accuracy for that data and it depends on the the actual arrangement of the GPS constellation at the moment of measurement and any potential occlusion of the satellites in that constellation. (Those satellites are traveling at 9,000 mph so things are always in flux!) This is especially important indoors where GPS signals are attenuated even further by walls, ductwork, appliances, etc.
With cell towers, on the other hand, the phone needs to receive timing signals from 3 separate towers to identify it’s position on a map. And it needs a timing signal from a fourth tower in order to include elevation data. But position of the towers in relation to the device, signal reflections, interference, and obstructions make the measurement imperfect. Once again, depending on the exact circumstances at the time of measurement, accuracy is at best, 60’ or so. (GPS is currently considered the more accurate technology.)
Cell phones are incredibly smart devices. Apple’s products, for example, amalgamate GPS, cell tower, and wi-fi network signals to provide enhanced location accuracy for various apps and services including “Find My…” Even so, they still only claim accuracy to 20 meters because so many things can interfere with an accurate location measurements no matter how they are calculated.
These measurement errors result in a device appearing to drift over time. You can probably see it for yourself if you turn on “Find My…” to view the location of your phone or iPad. I live on the side of a small mountain (large hill?) with Verizon service that will occasionally drop calls since we’re in the radio shadow under the ridge-top towers. When I misplace my phone, I can get a pretty good feel for if it’s in my car in the garage or if it’s in the bedroom at the other end of the house. But it may present as being in the middle of one side yard or the other. Or in the middle of the house. And it’s not at all clear if it’s upstairs or in the basement. But it’s good enough for me to find it.
We don’t know how many towers were providing timing to BM’s phone when he was bopping around the yard “shooting chipmunks” or how solid and consistent those timing signals were. We don’t know what the GPS signals looked like. But his moving at 38mph from point A to point B may have been him dashing about like Usain Bolt or it may just be signal drift and the phone constantly giving it’s new best estimate of it’s location. My money is on drift — he crouched behind a big rock, it attenuated signals, the location calculation changes. As he circles the house, the location calculation changes and it may show him indoors or outdoors. The prosecution knows this. BM probably didn’t and was talking to them without a lawyer. Bad move. It seems the defense also doesn’t know this. But you can bet they will by the time this goes to trial.
What’s important is that the data places BM and SM together — both at the scene after which all signs of life cease for her. That’s what counts. If she was sunning, I’m afraid she may not have been wearing her Apple Watch. But I’m sure hoping she was…
Again, everything above is MOO.
