Digital Evidence
Instructions Identify two reported cases that have impacted the evidentiary process or analysis in digital forensic cases; student will cite the case and summarize the issue before the court; the majority of the analysis should be dedicated to the impact the cases had on the application of digital evidence in the criminal justice system or the manner in which the digital forensic analyst performs his/her function Students may use an unreported case with the instructor’s approval; instructors may pre-identify the cases, and the project will begin with the summarizations Project Requirements: 4 full pages minimum (approximately 2 pages per case) Paper should be initiated with an introductory paragraph and ended with a conclusion Cover page (not included in page count): course number, course title, title of paper, student’s name, date of submission Format: 12 point font, double-space, one-inch margin Bibliography/reference page (not included in page count): APA citation style, textbook included as a reference
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Digital Evidence
Introduction
Digital evidence has been vital in putting guilty defendants behind bars. Reports have been made of Blackberries that contain incriminating admissions, and computers holding digital evidence that is essential in the identification of a perpetrator or getting a conviction (Hak, 2009). This paper provides a discussion of two court cases which have to a large extent impacted the evidentiary process as well as analysis in cases of digital forensic. The issue before the court is cited and summarized. An analysis is provided on how digital evidence can be applied within the criminal justice system and how the digital forensic analyst performs his/her function. The two reported cases are (i) the case of BTK serial murderer Dennis Rader; and (ii) the Scott Peterson case.
Case 1: The BTK Serial Murderer Case
Dennis Rader – the BTK killer – for over 3 decades terrorized Wichita, Kansas. He terrorized people for that long until evidence found on a computer disk led the law enforcement officers to the former Cub Scout leader and church council president. Police officers had spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours trying to learn the identity of the person who had murdered 10 persons in and around Wichita between the year 1974 and the year 1991 (Bardsley, Bell & Lohr, 2013). Computer forensics, on 16/2/2005 achieved what the law enforcement officers had not succeeded to do for over 3 decades by identifying the murderer as a man whose name was Dennis Rader. The BTK case is basically the most famous one ever to have been solved by computer forensics. The case began on 1/15/1975 when Rader strangulated to death 4 members of the Otero family. He then confessed, over the next 15 years, to binding and murdering 6 more victims, all of them being female (Associated Press, 2005). As he was killing his victims, he mocked law enforcement officers by sending to them weird notes.
In the year 2004, Rader sent to law enforcement officers a Word document on a floppy disk which was immediately looked at by computer forensics (Associated Press, 2005). With the use of EnCase forensics software, law enforcement officers were successful in pulling up a word document which had been deleted. The retrieved document had metadata in it that indicated it had been modified at Christ Lutheran Church by a person whose name was Dennis. Search on the hard drives of Denis Rader found the BTK message. Denis Rader was the president of the Christ Lutheran Church congregation council. Rader’s background and examination of the DNA evidence connected him with the BTK killings. He was found guilty and is currently at El Dorado Correctional Facility where his jail term will end on 26 February, 2180 (Bardsley, Bell & Lohr, 2013). This case illustrates the usefulness of computer forensics experts in the digital age of today. Computer forensics is presently utilized more than ever in solving rape, kidnapping, embezzlement, as well as murder cases. Investigators regularly bring to light information which was believed to be long gone on mobile phones, computers, networks and Web chats. Digital evidence may damage or strengthen a case. A case could turn on just one vital piece of evidence. Attorneys today use evidence that was never available in the previous decades. It is notable that a case could be lost on digital evidence just as easily as it can be won (Hak, 2009). The BTK case illustrates how a case can be won using digital evidence.
Case 2: The Scott Peterson’s case
In this case, the computer of Scott Peterson ...