Apple Watch heart rate data used to identify Australian murder suspect

[editor]

Very interesting use of data here:

In a sensational story out of Australia, the heart rate sensor on the Apple Watch was used by authorities to help them identify and arrest a suspect in a gruesome murder case. As originally detailed by the Daily Mail (via VentureBeat), the story centers on a 57-year old woman named Myrna Nilsson was bludgeoned to death at her home in September of 2016.

In the subsequent investigation, Nilsson’s daughter-in-law claimed that a group of men had forced their way into Myrna’s apartment following an altercation on the road. The daughter-in-law’s story and timeline, however, did not align with data that investigators ultimately gleaned from the victim’s Apple Watch. By looking at heart rate data recorded by the Apple Watch, investigators were able to determine when the attack occurred and a general time frame as to when the victim passed away.

Specifically, authorities managed to narrow “the time from when she was attacked to when she died to a seven-minute window.”

… data showed a burst of heavy activity, consistent with the woman being the victim of an ‘ambush-type’ attack followed by a period of less activity when she possibly lost consciousness.

[Prosecutors] said the watch stopped recording the woman’s heart rate soon after.

Authorities in Australia used Apple Watch heart rate data to identify a murder suspect

 

[Virtual Blue]

But I thought Apple Watch HR monitor was crap and inaccurate

 

[SpookyFrank]

Another good illustration of how you're a fucking moron if you give your phone company your fingerprints.

 

[Pickman's model]

Another good illustration of how you're a fucking moron if you give your phone company your fingerprints.

pls elaborate, not seeing fingerprints and phones in this case

 

[B.I.G]

Another good illustration of how you're a fucking moron if you give your phone company your fingerprints.

But was victim

 

[IC3D]

Surely the woman was dead and they logged into her apple account using her using her fingerprint if that even happened why was it a bad thing?

 

[Yossarian]

What happens if you don't have "Find My Murderer" enabled?

 

[DotCommunist]

#moderndaycolumboepisodeideas

 

[SpookyFrank]

pls elaborate, not seeing fingerprints and phones in this case

If the phone company will hand out data about victims they'll gladly do so for suspects too. If the phone company has your fingerprints, so does the state.

I'm not suggesting we have any murderers here but we do have plenty of people the security services might take an undue interest in.

 

[Gromit]

Another good illustration of how you're a fucking moron if you give your phone company your fingerprints.

So your argument against decreased privacy is that you want to be able to get away with murder?

 

[SpookyFrank]

So your argument against decreased privacy is that you want to be able to get away with murder?

Plenty of murders were solved before we all started carrying our own little iSnitches around with us.

 

[joustmaster]

If the phone company will hand out data about victims...

thats not what happened

 

[Gromit]

Plenty of murders were solved before we all started carrying our own little iSnitches around with us.

And plenty didn't. So many in fact it has its own TV series called Cold Case. It's own TV show!!!!!

You are still arguing about making murder solving easier. Why is this? Who are you intending on murdering?

 

[Dogsauce]

If the phone company will hand out data about victims they'll gladly do so for suspects too. If the phone company has your fingerprints, so does the state.

I'm not suggesting we have any murderers here but we do have plenty of people the security services might take an undue interest in.

Fuck all to do with the phone company, the HR data and fingerprint would have been stored on the phone itself, that’s how these things work.