Brian Koberger's lawyer suggested last week that cell phone tower data would show the suspect in the murders of four University of Idaho students was not in the area of the crime scene at the time of the killings, giving him the latest alibi defense. , they said they planned to reverse it. Key testimony was sought from an Arizona-based cellular data analyst.
This is not the first time Cy Ray has been called upon to be an expert witness in a high-profile murder trial, but on Friday he was among the more than 100 times he has testified in state and federal cases, usually for the prosecution. .
Now, after previous scrutiny, Ray's involvement in the November 2022 stabbings of four college students in an off-campus apartment continues to spark speculation about why someone might have committed the gruesome act. It highlights Ray's expertise. his credentials.
Timeline of the Idaho stabbings
Wray declined to discuss the Koberger case, as a judge last year issued a gag order barring many of the people involved from speaking publicly, but in general, “interpreting call detail records” “We need competent professionals with sufficient experience to do so,” he said.
“The difficulty arises when there are different levels of experience, and some of these records are very complex,” he added.
Ray, a former detective from Gilbert, Arizona, founded ZetX Corp. in 2014, a company specializing in cell phone geolocation mapping. In court, Ray noted that he had previously been questioned about the reliability of himself and his mapping software, Trax.
“We've seen previous cases call into question his credibility,” said Mark Foff, a former El Paso County, Colorado, sheriff's detective and cell technology expert.
Mr. Foff testified for the defense at a 2022 hearing related to the case of a man accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend. But the judge barred prosecutors from using Ray's software data.
District Court Judge Juan Villasenor ruled that ZetX's Trax mapping is based on an “ocean of authenticity” and is unacceptable after other experts found the technology flawed. did.
“First, the court does not find Ray to be trustworthy,” Villaseñor wrote, adding, “He exaggerated his qualifications and inaccurately claimed that he was an engineer.” He also said that Ray had no “supporting qualifications, licenses, or qualifications” to call himself an engineer, and that there was “no evidence that Ray ever took any engineering classes.”
Villaseñor also took exception to the fact that the Trax algorithm has not been subjected to “scientific scrutiny.”
“Ray stands behind his formula, but it has no support in the scientific community,” the judge wrote. “The methodology and algorithms have not been published or subjected to peer review, and have routinely been labeled junk science by the relevant scientific community.”
Ray said Friday he agreed with the defense that while there were inaccuracies in the data, the case was unusual. NBC News discovered other cases, including Pennsylvania and Michigan, where Ray's credibility and data were questioned at hearings but judges ultimately found admissible.
“I fully support the product,” Ray said.
He added that a Colorado judge unfairly denigrated his record and was misquoted and misunderstood for discussing how he and the engineer should interpret the call records. He went into the field to study how cell phones connect to specific cell sites, but said it's not something engineers need to do.
“In a sense, I'm doing something that engineers don't do to find ways to do this better,” he said Friday, adding that the Trax software is “testable” by others. .
It's unclear how many law enforcement agencies are currently using Trax, but Wray said the company has trained more than 8,000 law enforcement officers, prosecutors and defense professionals in 2022. LexisNexis acquired ZetX in 2021. The data analytics company said in a statement that it is “proud to support a wide range of law enforcement agencies,” but did not disclose customer information.
Lay ended his role as director of LexisNexis Special Services last year, according to background on Lay's experience provided in court documents by Mr. Koberger's lawyers.
He has also appeared on various true crime television shows, including NBC's “Dateline,” and hosts a true crime podcast, “Socialite Crime Club,” with his wife, where he “covers criminal cases from around the world.” “discuss the involvement and content'' necessary to solve complex investigations. ”
alibi in idaho
In a 10-page filing Wednesday signed by Mr. Koenberger's chief public defender, Ann Taylor, Mr. Koenberger's lawyers said they would ask Ray for assistance in supporting their client's alibi.
At the time of the murder, Koberger was a doctoral student at Washington State University and living in Pullman, Washington, about 16 miles west of Moscow, where the University of Idaho is located.
In an affidavit after Koberger's arrest weeks after the murder, prosecutors said a man's DNA found on a knife sheath left in the victim's apartment linked him to Koberger. was said to be involved at the scene.
In addition, through cell phone use and surveillance, investigators said they tracked Koberger around his home after picking up a Hyundai Elantra that he was believed to be driving.
Kobehar's alibi defense attorney said he goes for drives at night, which only increased during the school year.
“This is supported by data obtained from Mr. Koberger's cell phone, which shows him to be in the countryside on several occasions late at night and early in the morning,” they wrote. “The phone data includes numerous photos depicting the night sky taken at several different late nights and early mornings, including in November.”
Kaylee Gonsalves, 21, was murdered in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022. Madison Morgen, 21 years old. Zana Karnodol, 20 years old. Koberger was “driving” in an area south of Pullman and west of Moscow, police said.
However, the defense team argued that Ray's testimony was incorrect because “Koberger's mobile device was not traveling eastbound on the Moscow-Pullman Expressway in the early morning hours of November 13th, so it was not in the vehicle captured on video along the Moscow line.'' He added that he intended to show that “this is impossible.” Pullman Highway near Floyd's marijuana store. ”
They said that Mr. Ray would be able to share further analysis based on the evidence provided by the prosecution, but that if such information is not disclosed, Mr. Ray's testimony would also reveal important exculpatory evidence, and that Mr. Koberger This will further support his alibi.” Not saved or pending. ”
Prosecutors said in an affidavit that the search warrant provided 24 hours worth of cell phone data before and after the murder, showing that Koberger left her home two hours before the killing and turned off her phone afterward. He said it turned out he had turned it off and then turned it back on. He was then seen traveling from Idaho to Pullman.
Last May, a grand jury indicted Koberger on four counts of murder and robbery, and a judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
The trial was scheduled to begin in October last year, but was postponed and a new trial venue is scheduled for June 27th.
mobile phone analysis
Further details about how Mr. Wray will support the defense's alibi claim are unclear, but experts say cell phones like this one will be used by prosecutors as they try to prove that the defendant was at the crime scene. The use of mapping technology and forensic science has become a required skill in legal proceedings. crime. Defense teams may similarly bring in their own experts to refute law enforcement's analysis.
Kevin Horan, a former FBI agent and co-founder of the Ohio-based legal case consulting firm Precision Cellular Analysis, said mapping software generally works the same way. Match the list with information on mobile phone sites known as call detail records. Find out the number of cell towers and plot it on a map.
He said analysts can determine which side of the base station, or sector, the cell phone is being used from. In a criminal case, investigators can use that information to analyze whether the phone was in a particular vicinity of where the crime occurred, he added.
“The question of where the cell phone was at the time in question will ultimately be answered by the jury, who must decide, based on all available evidence, whether the defendant and his cell phone were at the scene of the crime. We have to,” Horan said. “Cellphone evidence like this can only help a jury draw these kinds of conclusions. A properly trained cellphone expert can determine whether a defendant or his cellphone I will never testify that it was located at: It's a crime scene. ”
Horan said Ray's Trax mapping software stands out from other programs because it includes estimated coverage areas for mobile phone sites, which is “very problematic and misleading.” He felt that only a “driving test” using a scanning device would be helpful. Determine the complete coverage area of your mobile site.
Ray said the company he founded has a database of every cell phone site in the United States (hundreds of thousands) mapped, updated and archived over time.
“We've been doing road tests since 2014, and we archive all the road tests we've conducted,” Ray said. “No one can road test every base station. That's an impossible task.”
Horan said it is generally essential that the data collected is accurate and correctly interpreted.
“People's lives and liberties are at stake, and the last thing we want to do is convict an innocent person or use questionable evidence that could later be disproved,” he said.
