Ride the Lightning

Fitbit Evidence Shows Wife Walking an Hour After Husband Said She Died

April 27, 2017

These are the stories that endlessly entertain me. The Internet of Things is providing all kinds of new sources of evidence. As The Hartford Courant reported, Connecticut resident Richard Dabate now faces charges of murder, tampering with evidence and making a false statement in connection with the 2015 shooting death of his wife.

Dabate claimed an intruder shot his wife before trying to subdue Dabate. But Dabate said he fought back, ultimately burning the intruder with a torch before alerting police when the man escaped.

Detectives found no signs of a struggle or forced entry, and police dogs didn't detect another person's scent. An e-mail Dabate said he sent from his car was actually sent from his home laptop, further causing investigators to question his story.

Ya think?

The data from the Fitbit worn by his wife showed that the murder took place about an hour after Dabate said it did. Dabate claimed his wife had just walked in from the garage when the intruder shot her; however, Fitbit records indicated she walked 1,200 feet around her home in the ensuing hour before the device stopped registering movement at 10:05 a.m.

The month after the murder, Richard withdrew $90,000 from an account in his wife's name, following a failed attempt to cash in her $475,000 life insurance policy just five days after she was killed. The salacious details (including a pregnant girlfriend) may be found in the story.

Hat tip to Charley Rothermel.

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