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.

David Freyman shares how collaboration helps put together the digital pieces of the Lauren Giddings murder. Learn how hashes of IP addresses, a seemingly innocuous USB drive, and a previously ignored digital camera reveal vital clues that bolster the case.Special Guest: Retired FBI SA David Freyman

Digital Forensics Techniques Mentioned in this Episode:

• MD5 Hashing: Used for verifying data integrity and identifying unique digital signatures.
• Epoch Time Conversion: A method for interpreting timestamps stored as a series of numbers.
• File Recovery Software: Utilized to recover deleted video files from a camera.

The Lauren Giddings case was still making headlines in 2025. Learn more at https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/macon/family-of-murdered-mercer-law-student-lauren-gidding-renew-search-body/93-9fda7367-e568-4c50-924e-8f4d1148631d

Explore the gripping Bobby Jo Stinnett case, where digital forensics helped prove premeditation. Discover how recovering internet history led to an IP Address that led to a killer and kidnapper.

Special Guest: Mark Johnson

Find Mark Johnson on the Computer Crime Chronicles at https://open.spotify.com/show/2EEWgr7sY07DzyimzdQnkt

Trigger Warning: Fetal Abduction by Maternal Evisceration is discussed. In this case, the baby does survive.

Episode Summary: In this episode, digital forensics expert Mark Johnson delves into the intricate digital investigation of the Bobby Jo Stinnett case. Mark examined a wide range of digital evidence, including emails, internet history, and cached web pages, to piece together a timeline of events. His analysis uncovered crucial details, such as the suspect's online searches for unassisted home births and emergency C-sections, and the manipulation of ultrasound images. By leveraging tools like EnCase and Internet Evidence Finder, Mark's expert review of digital footprints played a pivotal role in solving this rare and gruesome crime, demonstrating premeditation, and ultimately leading to the recovery of the kidnapped infant and justice for the victim.

Software Mentioned in this Episode:

• EnCase
• Internet Evidence Finder
• Wayback Machine
• Netscape Navigator
• Internet Explorer

We explore the need for human expertise in solving cybercrimes. We discuss forensic tool limitations, examiner competence, and evolving technology challenges in digital evidence analysis. We'll also share insights on effective forensic methodologies and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of tools in real cases we've worked. Please join Stacy Eldridge and Becky Passmore for this episode of Parsing the Truth: One Byte at a Time.

Digital Forensics Tools and Software Mentioned:

• Axiom
• SQLite Viewer
• Excel
• Celebrite UFED Reader
• Autopsy
• Fex Forensic

Takeaways

• Tools don't solve cases, people do.
• Digital forensic tools amplify expertise, not replace it.
• Understanding data structures is crucial for examiners.
• Networking and communication are key in digital forensics.
• Forensic tools are effective when data is stable and predictable.
• Examiner competence is critical for courtroom defensibility.
• Manual analysis provides precision, tool-assisted analysis offers feasibility.
• Forensic success depends on methodologies, not expensive tools.
• Tools assume metadata is intact, which isn't always the case.
• Expertise lives in the chair, not in the tool.
• Tools don't speak. People speak.

What makes an expert witness persuasive? Preparation, Presence, Education. Tune in as Laura Heldwein, a nearly 40-year FBI veteran, helps us break down how to testify with credibility and clarity.Special Guest Laura Helwein.

To find Ricky Saxton's murderer, Wayne Mitchell has to manually recover hundreds of tiny digital crumbs in an attempt to find video evidence of Ricky's murder. But here's the thing, Wayne was almost kept out of the loop. Find out how it all went down.

Special Guest: Wayne Mitchell