Apple Watches, Fitbits Ratting Out Criminals

Information from Fitbits and Apple watches is turning out to be valuable crime solving tools to law enforcement agencies, Rolling Stone is reporting.

In some cases, the information had led to arrests of suspects in murder cases, convictions of others and even helped exonerate at least one suspect.

Here are some recent cases:

• Anthony Aiello of California was arrested for the murder of his stepdaughter, Karen Navarra, after her Fitbit data revealed her heart-rate spiked significantly when he was at her house on September 8 and stopped completely after. The Fitbit pinpointed her time of death, which coincided with his visit to her house
• Douglass Detrie was initially arrested for the 2016 murder of his girlfriend Nicole VanderHeyden, but his Fitbit data showed he was asleep at the time and could not have committed the crime. A Wisconsin jury ended up convicting another man.
• An Apple watch showed Myrna Nilsson of Australia was murdered during a seven-minute period in 2016. The data contradicted a story by her daughter-in-law Caroline Nilsson who said the victim had been arguing with a group of men for 20 minutes after a road rage incident. Caroline Nilsson was charged with the murder.

And The New York Times reported the growing popularity of the personal exercise trackers has presented lawyers and prosecutors with privacy challenges, as well as investigative advantages.

• Fitbit for Kids Lets Parents Track Activity Levels, Sleep
• Illegal Immigrant Charged in Murder of Iowa Teen Mollie Tibbetts