ID - 4 Univ of Idaho Students Murdered - Bryan Kohberger Arrested - Moscow # 70

[maskedwoman]

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article271694187.html

What do cellphone records say about Bryan Kohberger’s location? Expert explains BY ALEX BRIZEE UPDATED FEBRUARY 02, 2023 9:21 AM

Idaho authorities have alleged that Bryan Kohberger’s cellphone records showed he was in the Moscow area less than an hour after four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death in an off-campus house — and that he visited the “coverage area” of the home 12 times before the homicides. But telecommunications expert and former electrical engineer Ben Levitan, who has analyzed cellphone data for the well-known Adnan Syed case featured in the “Serial” podcast, told the Idaho Statesman that while cellphone records can provide someone’s estimated location, they can’t pinpoint an individual’s exact location.

(snip)
But Levitan said a typical cellphone tower covers an area of 12 square miles. Someone could be miles away from the nearest cell tower, and Moscow is a roughly 3-by-5-mile town. “You cannot pinpoint a person,” Levitan said about cellphone records. “There’s no chance any expert in the world can tell you where that person is located.”

Levitan added that the nearest cell tower to the King Road home covers an area of 27.3 square miles — the same size as nearly 14,000 football fields. Moscow police said Kohberger’s historical phone records were pulled to determine whether Kohberger “stalked any of the victims” before the stabbings. Levitan said if authorities during the court proceedings try to show Kohberger visited the home 12 times, “they will be wrong and could damage their case.”

View attachment 399627

(much more info at link)

The article was not written by the expert, and it struck me as clickbait in much the same way all these cable news experts say controversial things that are only true in a narrow scope to keep people tuning in. For example "Kohberger’s cell records never show him traveling to Moscow on the night of the homicides". Yes, but the article fails to mention that his phone does show him leaving home that night and that his phone abruptly stopped reporting while he was on the move, and then showed up again after he left King Road and started his wild drive. If the author were trying to be unbiased, he would have mentioned that it will be very damaging to BK if that's the only time during the records period that his phone stopped reporting its location.

It would be interesting to know how much the expert's responses were edited, or whether what we see is the sum total of his responses. MOOoooo

Read more at: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article271694187.html#storylink=cpy

 

[ktm44]

Please correct me if I've missed something but, isn't the PCA the only account we have of her statement? Thanks!

That is all we have and I have a great deal of respect for both survivors for doing exactly what they should be doing. Honour their friends by providing statements to LE, assumably make themselves available to answer any questions that may arise and refrain from sharing their stories outside a coutroom.

<modsnip>

 

[Sundog]

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article271694187.html

What do cellphone records say about Bryan Kohberger’s location? Expert explains BY ALEX BRIZEE UPDATED FEBRUARY 02, 2023 9:21 AM

<snipped>

Interesting.

HOW RELIABLE ARE CELLPHONE RECORDS IN COURT? Levitan said cellphone records are completely reliable, but that authorities tend to overplay them. He added that cellphone records could help exclude suspects by showing they weren’t within a tower’s coverage area.

But, Levitan said, when someone does show up in the coverage area of a cellphone tower, it doesn’t mean they were at the scene of the crime.

“Cellphone records as evidence are very reliable and useful, but it’s not DNA,” Levitan said in a follow-up email. “It doesn’t have the precision that would allow you to pinpoint a person’s phone. The best the state can say is that this phone was in a 27-square-mile area that includes the crime scene 12 times.”

 

[WingsOverTX]

Interesting.

HOW RELIABLE ARE CELLPHONE RECORDS IN COURT? Levitan said cellphone records are completely reliable, but that authorities tend to overplay them. He added that cellphone records could help exclude suspects by showing they weren’t within a tower’s coverage area.

But, Levitan said, when someone does show up in the coverage area of a cellphone tower, it doesn’t mean they were at the scene of the crime.

“Cellphone records as evidence are very reliable and useful, but it’s not DNA,” Levitan said in a follow-up email. “It doesn’t have the precision that would allow you to pinpoint a person’s phone. The best the state can say is that this phone was in a 27-square-mile area that includes the crime scene 12 times.”

RBBM
Perhaps but as has been pointed out here, the location data on the phone is not all the phone data they've got.

I really think this story is irresponsible in ignoring that.

JMO

 

[gliving]

Again. There is WAY more info they have than just the cell towers, that we haven't seen. they aren't basing everything off of them, there are 3000 more pages of discovery we haven't seen and there are 4 towers, not 2. They have his phone and that provides accurate GPS especially for map apps etc. IMO.

Good points @RonSwanson33 I'm not sure if LE has BK's phone, though. That would probably be in the PA warrant and I don't think we've seen that one yet.

 

[Cassady]

True enough.

I am curious why the so-called expert doesn't discuss triangulation in his analysis. Too few towers for that possibility?

I don't like "hit piece" stories or headlines, which I think this is.

I'm not worried about the evidence, either. His defense attorneys have their hands full overcoming totality of evidence to create reasonable doubt.

JMO

IMO the article was from the Idaho Statesman, and they are not in the business of doing hit pieces. This was just an article discussing information from the PCA. The PCA itself is not evidence and assertions made in the PCA will either have to be articulated in front of a grand jury or during the prelim via testimony.

IMO the person they interviewed is more than qualified to speak on the subject. IMO great attorneys know that there are a bunch of people who are smarter than the attorney and they seek those people out to provide "expert" testimony in trials.

IMO ineffective attorneys know everything, mock the "so-called" experts and do not generally employ their services.

Ultimately it is up to the Court to determine if an expert is qualified to provide testimony and then the finder of fact gets to determine their credibility and weight given to their testimony..IMO

 

[NoviceCrimeWatcher]

The article was not written by the expert, and it struck me as clickbait in much the same way all these cable news experts say controversial things that are only true in a narrow scope to keep people tuning in. For example "Kohberger’s cell records never show him traveling to Moscow on the night of the homicides". Yes, but the article fails to mention that his phone does show him leaving home that night and that his phone abruptly stopped reporting while he was on the move, and then showed up again after he left King Road and started his wild drive. If the author were trying to be unbiased, he would have mentioned that it will be very damaging to BK if that's the only time during the records period that his phone stopped reporting its location.

It would be interesting to know how much the expert's responses were edited, or whether what we see is the sum total of his responses. MOOoooo

Read more at: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article271694187.html#storylink=cpy

I thought the combination of his cell phone records and video camera footage of the car show the best picture of his whereabouts.

 

[Twistinginthewind]

If this goes to trial, he'll show up with his eyebrows tweezed into oblivion. What bushy eyebrows?!

Some OP commented in early January after seeing photos of BK after his arrest that it looked like he had shaved his eyebrows. JMO

ETA: And he supposedly had a person who cut his hair regularly since he moved there (link below). As an aside, some men do get their eyebrows (and even ears) trimmed when they get their hair cut as part of their regular hair upkeep, but don't know if BK does so or his hair stylist (ETA: who he reportedly kept an appointment with after the murders, see link below) did.

bryan kohberger hair cut barber - Yahoo Video Search Results

 

[LAHOLLA]

MOO it’s very specific.

Thrre is a mystery person behind a curtain, describe that person, the task is to describe their:

Gender
Height
Body build
Notable facial feature if visible

MOO
She was right on each count.

I agree.

Of course there are a bazillion (MOO) people who match that physical description but how many drive white elantras?

How many had their phone ping in the area of the home 13 times in a few months?

How many couldn't be ruled out based on DNA found on the sheath? DNA that excludes a bazillion (again, MOO. I can't provide a link proving this ) people but doesn't exclude them?

How many had students report a change in personality/grading/etc., following the murders? ( there are articles from approved sources stating this that have been posted repeatedly so I'm assuming I don't have to track down a link to prove this again).

I could continue but the point is that none of these are a clear indicator of guilt on their own but collectively they are pieces that fit this puzzle very well.

It goes without saying that BK could just be the most unlucky person alive. If that's the case he's due to get struck by lightning any day now.

EBM to correct a point.

 

[LAHOLLA]

her description of BK is nominal in this case. This level of speculation isn't needed IMO because they have so many other things on him IMO.

Yes! Alone it means little to nothing. Combined with all the other evidence we read in the PCA, the physical description holds a little more weight.

I doubt anyone thinks "bushy eyebrows" was a turning point for investigators.

 

[Boxer]

Yes! Alone it means little to nothing. Combined with all the other evidence we read in the PCA, the physical description holds a little more weight.

I doubt anyone thinks "bushy eyebrows" was a turning point for investigators.

Not a not a woman, not a black male not overweight, eyebrows not shaven. (Some rapist are known to prepare for their crime by shave their eyebrows along with all their body hair.)
It’s a white male 5’10-6’0” with bushy (noticeable) eyebrows.
Millions of men fit that description, but they are not in their white Elantra’s with their phone turned off circling before the murders and and then speeding off.

 

[maconrich]

Some OP commented in early January after seeing photos of BK after his arrest that it looked like he had shaved his eyebrows. JMO

ETA: And he supposedly had a person who cut his hair regularly since he moved there (link below). As an aside, some men do get their eyebrows (and even ears) trimmed when they get their hair cut as part of their regular hair upkeep, but don't know if BK does so or his hair stylist (ETA: who he reportedly kept an appointment with after the murders, see link below) did.

bryan kohberger hair cut barber - Yahoo Video Search Results

Looking at photos / video from initial arrest and extradition hearing, it's easy to see his eyebrows...

Suspect in Idaho Slayings Agrees in Pa Court to Extradition to Face Charges

A criminology graduate student charged in the November slayings of four University of Idaho students agreed Tuesday to be extradited from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested last week, to face charges in Idaho.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

 

[RonSwanson33]

Good points @RonSwanson33 I'm not sure if LE has BK's phone, though. That would probably be in the PA warrant and I don't think we've seen that one yet.

I would 100% imagine they have his phone due to the way he was apprehended IMO.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article271694187.html

What do cellphone records say about Bryan Kohberger’s location? Expert explains BY ALEX BRIZEE UPDATED FEBRUARY 02, 2023 9:21 AM

Idaho authorities have alleged that Bryan Kohberger’s cellphone records showed he was in the Moscow area less than an hour after four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death in an off-campus house — and that he visited the “coverage area” of the home 12 times before the homicides. But telecommunications expert and former electrical engineer Ben Levitan, who has analyzed cellphone data for the well-known Adnan Syed case featured in the “Serial” podcast, told the Idaho Statesman that while cellphone records can provide someone’s estimated location, they can’t pinpoint an individual’s exact location.

(snip)
But Levitan said a typical cellphone tower covers an area of 12 square miles. Someone could be miles away from the nearest cell tower, and Moscow is a roughly 3-by-5-mile town. “You cannot pinpoint a person,” Levitan said about cellphone records. “There’s no chance any expert in the world can tell you where that person is located.”

Levitan added that the nearest cell tower to the King Road home covers an area of 27.3 square miles — the same size as nearly 14,000 football fields. Moscow police said Kohberger’s historical phone records were pulled to determine whether Kohberger “stalked any of the victims” before the stabbings. Levitan said if authorities during the court proceedings try to show Kohberger visited the home 12 times, “they will be wrong and could damage their case.”

View attachment 399627

(much more info at link)

This is exactly what many of have said every time a MSM article or posts pop up saying he was at the home 12 times prior to the murder. Maybe he was, but the public facts of the case don't support that. MOO

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Again. There is WAY more info they have than just the cell towers, that we haven't seen. they aren't basing everything off of them, there are 3000 more pages of discovery we haven't seen and there are 4 towers, not 2. They have his phone and that provides accurate GPS especially for map apps etc. IMO.

But we don't have all that information. All we have is what's been made public and that's what these posts are based on. By the same token, there are likely many facts the defense has that we haven't seen that could suggest another killer. We just don't know. JMO.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

True enough.

I am curious why the so-called expert doesn't discuss triangulation in his analysis. Too few towers for that possibility?

I don't like "hit piece" stories or headlines, which I think this is.

I'm not worried about the evidence, either. His defense attorneys have their hands full overcoming totality of evidence to create reasonable doubt.

JMO

I'm curious, what makes this a hit piece?

 

[Gemmie]

He has a pretty impressive resume:

https://www.jurispro.com/expert/ben-levitan-3006/cv

Wow!

A 9 page resume?? I was always taught it was best to keep it to 1 page. It's obvious there's no way in heck this guy could whittle down all his experience to 1 page. Impressive is an understatement.

 

[TeaTime]

The lead investigator in a murder trial I just watched last fall said he was reading social media.

I have always thought like you, that we are a good cross section of how some jurors might see the Case.

Very true.

It let's a prosecutor see if there are holes that need to be filled in the story and what level of explanation people need to understand the technical testimony.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Has this "expert" seen the phone records for himself? No.

Phone records have GPS, phone calls made and received, texts, Wifi pings, etc..

BK's phone likely pinged on WiFi's and could have pinged on the victims' Wifi but the "expert" wouldn't know without looking at the actual phone records.

This is all just my opinion and I don't say it to be critical, but it seems that we've hit the point where there's no new information coming out thanks to the gag order so we're elevating every MSM article suggesting BK is a killer and dismissing, discounting, and tearing apart every article that suggests some evidence isn't as strong, such as the cell tower data.

It's going to be a long 4 months if we don't at least give some credence to experts weighing in. At the very least, I think they probably have better insight into these topics than, for instance, I do, having no expertise in this subject. This does concern me about seating an impartial jury.

JMO.

 

[gliving]

The FBI comes down hard!

FBI denies losing murder suspect Bryan Kohberger during cross-country follow

The FBI dismissed true-crime author Hoard Blum’s lengthy report as “anonymous sources providing false information.”

nypost.com

True-crime author Howard Blum — who is penning a book on the shocking slayings — claimed in a roughly 15,000-word, two-part special for Air Mail that the feds’ surveillance squad lost the 28-year-old murder suspect almost as soon as he left for the road trip home for the holidays in Pennsylvania.

The former New York Times reporter claimed sources told him “with a bristle of embarrassment” that “for several alarming hours” or more, the “chief suspect in a quadruple homicide that had shocked the nation had seemingly vanished.”

However, on Thursday the FBI bluntly denied Blum’s reporting.

“The FBI is aware of reports detailing alleged FBI surveillance on Idaho murder subject Brian Kohberger,” a spokesperson said.

“There are anonymous sources providing false information to the media.

“Publishing of false information attributable to anonymous sources is not helpful to the case against Kohberger or to the American public,” the spokesperson said.

A law enforcement source also earlier denied the report, calling the detailed claim about the surveillance team losing eyes on the suspect and only finding him through a lucky break “absolutely false.”

“Blum needs to go back to his source — that is absolutely not true,” the source told The Post.