Ride the Lightning

N.H. Judge Orders Amazon to Release Recording in Double Murder Case

November 14, 2018

According to a story in The ABA Journal, on November 9th, New Hampshire Judge Steven Houran ordered Amazon to release recordings from an Echo device in the Farmington home where two women were found fatally stabbed in January 2017.

 Echo can be activated with the word Alexa or other wake-up words, at which point it begins recording, prosecutors said. Police investigating the crime scene had seized the Echo device.

Prosecutors told Houran that the device could have been activated during the murder of 48-year-old Christine Sullivan, thought to have been stabbed to death in the kitchen. While that is certainly possible, the likelihood seems low to me.

Timothy Verrill, of Dover, has been charged with murder in the deaths of Sullivan and 32-year-old Jenna Pellegrini.

Blood was found in the kitchen and on a mattress – the bodies were found in the backyard under tarps on Jan. 29, 2017.

Verrill has pleaded not guilty. At a bail hearing in August 2017, police said Verrill knew Sullivan’s boyfriend and had access to the home’s security system.

An Amazon spokesperson said no information will be released until the company is served with a valid legal demand. Houran ordered the release of any recordings made between January 27 and January 29 of 2017.

I'll keep an eye on this one, but I would be surprised if the Echo device contains relevant evidence – that would truly be a stroke of luck for law enforcement.

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