Did Leslie Hartman commit suicide, or was it murder? Did her boyfriend, a sheriff's deputy, murder her, or just make the 911 call? Find out how ChromeCache and trace evidence from Discord helped solve the case.

Mario Merendon joins us this week to walk us through his role in this case. Mario emphasizes the importance of curiosity, validation, and inter-agency collaboration in digital forensic work. His careful testing and validation of timestamps, web cache data, and chat logs made the difference in solving this complex case. Special Guest: Mario Merendon of VX Digital Defense

Find Mario at https://www.vxdigitaldefense.com/

Digital Forensics Tools Mentioned in this Episode:

• Magnet Forensics Axiom
• ChromeCache
• Dcode

Digital Platforms Mentioned in this Episode:

• Discord

Key Topics from this Episode:

• The importance of verifying digital evidence beyond default tool outputs
• Utilizing open-source tools like ChromeCache View to dig deeper into web and application caches
• Correlating timestamps from images, chats, and web activity to build a timeline
• Challenges and solutions in extracting data from wiped phones and encrypted devices
• The significance of validation and testing in building a credible digital case
• Collaboration strategies with law enforcement and prosecutors to strengthen findings
• Lessons learned: curiosity, thorough documentation, and validation as core to successful forensics

Last week, we had lots of questions about those printed emails. So we brought on Lauren Hillery, who saw all the emails, to give us the inside scoop.

Lauren shares the defense's strategy with regards to the emails, the authentication issues, and tells us more about hiring a digital forensic examiner as a public defender.

This is Part 2 only. Go back and listen to Part 1 in S1 E38

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Xpa2gtG0fYI73sQV8Y37V?si=3vk-s0JQS0m3xPU0EW39Cg

Special Guest: Public Defender Lauren Hillery

Data Sources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Twitter
• Gmail
• Email
• iPhone

Sixty printed emails. Partial evidence. Incomplete story. Learn how digital forensics can fill the gaps in this real-world case.

Episode Summary:

This week, Becky and Stacy explore a case where printed emails became the centerpiece of a legal trial. A mother and daughter presented 60 pages of printed emails, which were actually Twitter DM notifications, as evidence of a crime. Discussions include the complexities of email authentication, the potential for email spoofing, and why forensic examination is essential for verifying digital communications. Will the jury take the printed emails into consideration? Tune in, and find out.

Key Takeaways:

• Digital evidence can be easily manipulated, making authentication crucial.

• Email headers are vital for verifying the origin of messages.
• Forensic examiners play a key role in legal cases involving digital evidence.
• Printed emails lack the necessary metadata for authentication.
• Email spoofing is a common technique used to forge messages.
• Forensic tools can reveal discrepancies in email timestamps.
• Legal teams must understand digital evidence to argue effectively in court.
• The jury's understanding of digital evidence can impact trial outcomes.
• Forensic examiners must communicate findings clearly to non-experts.
• Digital evidence issues can determine the outcome of a case.