December 5th, 2007
Cops try again for GPS data in Peterson case
An interesting govtech twist in the Stacy Peterson case is the focus on data from the GPS system in her husband’s car. Drew Peterson is suspected of first degree murder of his wife, and Tuesday investigators executed yet another search warrant, this one allowing the “seizure of items containing plastic shavings, blood, bodily fluids, fingernail scrapings, chemicals that may alter the decomposition of a body and “biological material that may be evidence of the offense of first-degree murder,” The Chicago Trib reported.
On Nov. 1, a warrant permitted the seizure of “all GPS records, cellular service records, logging records or any other electronic records in the possession of OnStar Inc. . . . relating to the above described GMC vehicle.”
Only thing is, OnStar said they have no such data.
“We do not track our subscribers’ vehicles—that’s the bottom line,” spokesman Jim Kobus said. “The only time we would know where the vehicle is, is when the driver initiates contact to OnStar or when the vehicle has been in an accident, the air bag deploys and the vehicle automatically calls us for help.”
In Tuesday’s warrant, the GPS language was broader, omitting references to OnStar and replacing them with generic language including the phrase “in-dash GPS navigation systems,” according to the warrant.
That suggested to former prosecutor Mark Rotert, “It shows that they think they had the right idea the first time, but maybe the wrong product,” he said. “So they’re trying to expand the language.”
The rest of the warrant was pretty specific, Rotert noted. It specifies objects containing “blue plastic, lead weights, plastic shavings, plastic scuff marks, circular impressions or carpet indentations, and any other indication of the carrying, placing, movement or collision of a plastic or barrel-like object or large storage container.”
“This suggests that there are some pretty specific theories in place. They might be based on logic, they might be based on specific information from interview, or some combination of the two.”
