Amazon Echo wanted as evidence in northwest Arkansas death

According to court records, blood spots were found around the rim of the tub, and the victim’s eyes and lips were swollen. The friend, James Andrew Bates, was later charged with murder. He woke up shortly afterward and claimed to have then come across Mr Collins’ body. A few days later, the Arkansas chief medical examiner ruled Collins’ death a homicide, and police obtained a search warrant for Bates’ home. Amazon refused, demanding a warrant first. The police issued a warrant to Amazon to retrieve the audio files, transcribed files and any other text records used by Bates. But the case raises all sorts of questions about the future of connected devices.

While the Echo is activated by specific words, it’s not unlikely for the IoT devices to start listening by accident.

If the Amazon Echo speakers were purchased or were received as a gift this holiday shopping season Amazon has a guide for the best skill Alexa has to help. The weight of the evidence gotten from IoT devices can be a subject of legal debate but it seems that audio recording will be clear and convincing evidence. “However, an audio recording would seemingly be a solid piece of evidence, if released”. The police officials are in search of evidence to prosecute him.

In this case, the Echo might reveal additional data related to the murder.

The trick in this case is whether anyone around the time of the murder issued a command to the Echo. Amazon says nothing is stored or sent to Amazon, and all listening is done locally. “Amazon objects to overboard or otherwise inappropriate demands as a matter of course”.

This scenario harkens back to when, in April, the Federal Bureau of Investigation forked over more than $1 million to unlock the iPhone used by San Bernardino attacker Syed Farook.

Weber said she applauds Amazon’s stance in this case and other cases in the future. “[The] government’s order to Apple exceeds the bounds of existing law and, when applied more broadly, will harm Americans’ security in the long run”, the filing said.

The good thing is that while Amazon does welcome third-party developers – and actively encourages them – it manages the Alexa APIs in such a way that it is responsible for storing and processing voice data.

According to Bates’ affidavit statement, he found Collins face down in the water when he woke up several hours later.

The trial for this investigation is due to begin next year, but with plenty of high tech clues, this murder case, like something out of a sci-fi movie, might be closed soon.

Amazon declined to provide any of the information the Echo logged on its servers, but did give police Bates’ account details. What did the Echo hear before Victor Collins was found dead in a hot tub?