Investigative Journalism in Botswana Ntibinyane Ntibinyane – Investigative Reporter, 1.
With UFED Physical Analyzer, investigative team helps prove a case for capital murder
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CASE STUDY Case Snapshot “ Rene Novoa Forensic Project Manager DriveSavers Digital Forensics Department “ Who: Law enforcement forensic examiners in Carrollton and Dallas, Texas, in cooperation with DriveSavers Digital Forensics Department in Novato, California. What: Use of Cellebrite UFED Physical Analyzer to prove a murder suspect faked text messages from his victim. Why: Without the evidence from the victim’s badly waterlogged phone, prosecutors couldn’t prove premeditated homicide. Results: UFED Physical Analyzer helped establish that the victim had not recanted her rape accusation, and that her abuser lured her to her death. With UFED Physical Analyzer, investigative team helps prove a case for capital murder had sent, and although Davis’ phone showed that they had come from her number, her wireless carrier had no record of her number having sent them. To prove their case, prosecutors needed her device. However, her iPhone was so badly waterlogged that neither state nor federal law enforcement forensic labs had been able to recover its data. Prosecutors desperately approached Apple, who referred them to a Novato (Calif.)-based firm, DriveSavers Data Recovery. “When [Dallas County District Attorney] Brandon Birmingham first approached us, we didn’t know whether he was looking for data recovery, or a full forensic image,” said Bob Mehr, DriveSavers’ Legal Services Advisor. “But, based on the case details, I recommended the forensic image.” The iPhone arrived disassembled in multiple pieces, owing to an earlier lab’s effort. “We thoroughly cleaned all the components and repaired the resistors/jumpers ,” said Rene Novoa, one of DriveSavers’ Forensic Project Managers. “Then we assembled the pieces and placed them into a known good housing. Once connected, the device vibrated, but we still couldn’t see an image on the screen.” Novoa then turned to UFED Physical Analyzer to perform the extraction. “I was able to obtain a full image on the first attempt,” he said. Because it parsed the data so quickly...we identified the key data based on the easy access Physical Analyzer gave us to the data categories, and we were able to provide...with response within forty-eight hours of receiving the phone The destruction of evidence has become an increasing problem for digital investigators, who are often faced with mobile phones that have been crushed under the wheels of vehicles, submerged in water, and even charred in accelerant-fueled blazes or explosions. This kind of physical damage can compound the difficulties investigators experience in recovering evidence stored on the devices. Device data ports may be crushed, displays unreadable, memory chips corroded. In one such case, device damage was the only thing standing in investigators’ way as they sought to bring a child killer to justice. Shania Gray was just 16 when she was shot to death in Carrollton, Texas in September 2012. Prosecutors believed that her killer, Franklin Davis, had lured her to her death. His motive: keep her from testifying that he had raped her. Davis had thrown both her iPhone and his own into two separate ponds. Police had recovered both devices, reported a DallasNews.com article, but Davis’ device revealed text messages, which appeared to be from Shania. One contained an apparent confession that stated she had lied to police about his involvement in her rape. Still, prosecutors believed there was more to it than that. The text messages tone and content were inconsistent with other messages Shania Decoding Extraction Analysis Reporting
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Transcript of With UFED Physical Analyzer, investigative team helps prove a case for capital murder
CASE STUDYCase Snapshot
“
Rene Novoa
Forensic Project ManagerDriveSavers Digital Forensics Department
“Who: Law enforcement forensic examiners in Carrollton and Dallas, Texas, in cooperation with DriveSavers Digital Forensics Department in Novato, California.
What: Use of Cellebrite UFED Physical Analyzer to prove a murder suspect faked text messages from his victim.
Why: Without the evidence from the victim’s badly waterlogged phone, prosecutors couldn’t prove premeditated homicide.
Results: UFED Physical Analyzer helped establish that the victim had not recanted her rape accusation, and that her abuser lured her to her death.
With UFED Physical Analyzer, investigative team helps prove a case for capital murder
had sent, and although Davis’ phone showed
that they had come from her number, her
wireless carrier had no record of her number
having sent them.
To prove their case, prosecutors needed her
device. However, her iPhone was so badly
waterlogged that neither state nor federal law
enforcement forensic labs had been able to
recover its data. Prosecutors desperately
approached Apple, who referred them to a
Novato (Calif.)-based �rm, DriveSavers Data
Recovery.
“When [Dallas County District Attorney]
Brandon Birmingham �rst approached us, we
didn’t know whether he was looking for data
recovery, or a full forensic image,” said Bob
Mehr, DriveSavers’ Legal Services Advisor.
“But, based on the case details, I
recommended the forensic image.”
The iPhone arrived disassembled in multiple
pieces, owing to an earlier lab’s effort. “We
thoroughly cleaned all the components and
repaired the resistors/jumpers ,” said Rene
Novoa, one of DriveSavers’ Forensic Project
Managers. “Then we assembled the pieces
and placed them into a known good housing.
Once connected, the device vibrated, but we
still couldn’t see an image on the screen.”
Novoa then turned to UFED Physical Analyzer
to perform the extraction. “I was able to obtain
a full image on the �rst attempt,” he said.
Because it parsed the data so quickly...we identi�ed the key data based on the easy access Physical Analyzer gave us to the data categories, and we were able to provide...with response within forty-eight hours of receiving the phone
The destruction of evidence has become an
increasing problem for digital investigators,
who are often faced with mobile phones that
have been crushed under the wheels of
vehicles, submerged in water, and even
charred in accelerant-fueled blazes or
explosions.
This kind of physical damage can compound
the dif�culties investigators experience in
recovering evidence stored on the devices.
Device data ports may be crushed, displays
unreadable, memory chips corroded. In one
such case, device damage was the only thing
standing in investigators’ way as they sought
to bring a child killer to justice.
Shania Gray was just 16 when she was shot to
death in Carrollton, Texas in September 2012.
Prosecutors believed that her killer, Franklin
Davis, had lured her to her death. His motive:
keep her from testifying that he had raped her.
Davis had thrown both her iPhone and his own
into two separate ponds. Police had recovered
both devices, reported a DallasNews.com
article, but Davis’ device revealed text
messages, which appeared to be from Shania.
One contained an apparent confession that
stated she had lied to police about his
involvement in her rape.
Still, prosecutors believed there was more to it
than that. The text messages tone and content
were inconsistent with other messages Shania
DecodingExtraction Analysis Reporting
“Because it parsed the data so quickly, we
didn’t have to carve data manually; we
identi�ed the key data based on the easy
access Physical Analyzer gave us to the data
categories, and we were able to provide [DA
Birmingham] with response within forty-eight
hours of receiving the phone.”
The next step was to make sure that the
Carrollton Police Department had access to
the latest version of UFED Physical Analyzer
so that its examiners could read the data and
validate the evidence. They could, and the
investigators were able to parse the victim’s
Facebook timeline along with the text
messages.
They found that Davis was pretending to be a
man named “D,” and had used phone calls,
text and Facebook messages to contact
Shania and gain her trust. The forensic image
also de�nitively showed that Shania had not
sent the text messages, and that the message
that claimed she’d lied to police was a fake.
About Cellebrite
About DriveSavers
Founded in 1999, Cellebrite is known for its technological breakthroughs in mobile forensics. Its Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) is used internationally by law enforcement, military, intelligence, corporate security, and eDiscovery agencies to extract data from legacy and feature phones, smartphones, portable GPS, tablets and phones manufactured with Chinese chipsets.
Prosecutors ultimately were able to show that
Davis used an app called FakeSMS to send
himself spoofed text messages, which
appeared to come from Shania. That evidence
and other data proved that the murder had
been premeditated, not a reckless act as the
killer claimed. This meant that the state could
prosecute for a capital offense.
Following Davis’ sentence, Birmingham noted
that Shania had “had a right to speak out
about her abuse,” a right that Davis tried to
deny her and that ultimately, investigators’
work with UFED Physical Analyzer gave her a
voice.
DecodingExtraction Analysis Reporting
DriveSavers works extensively with law enforcement agencies, attorneys, corporate legal, IT departments, HR departments and individuals to provide legally defensible investigations and reports.
DriveSavers delivers electronic discovery solutions that are legally defensible, repeatable and auditable. The company offers customized solutions to help control costs and manage the collection, processing, review and production of Electronically Stored Information.
DriveSavers, Inc.400 Bel Marin Keys Blvd. | Novato, CA 94949 | 800-440-1904 | 415-382-2000 | www.drivesavers.com
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