'You cannot pinpoint a person': Bryan Kohberger's phone data can only show estimated location, says expert
This article is based on sources and MEAWW cannot verify this information independently.
MOSCOW, IDAHO: After the arrest of Bryan Kohberger as a suspect in the murders of four University of Idaho students, several details have been revealed about him since. A few weeks ago, cops investigating the case released some information from an official affidavit that read that the 28-year-old’s phone’s location was checked and it placed him near the scene of the crime, hours after they happened on November 13, 2022.
Kohberger has been accused of fatally stabbing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in their off-campus house while they were asleep. He now faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary charges while being holed up at Latah County Jail.
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‘Can’t pinpoint an individual’s exact location’
However, as per, telecommunications expert and former electrical engineer Ben Levitan, mobile records were not strong enough as evidence to be used against a suspect. Speaking to the Idaho Statesman, Levitan said that such data gives an approximate idea of where the person concerned was at the time but “they can’t pinpoint an individual’s exact location”.
Citing the affidavit, the outlet stated that Kohberger to the King Road home at least 12 times before the murders took place. However, the expert made it clear that it did not not guarantee anything because a cellphone tower’s range covered an area of around 12 square miles. Also, Moscow is a small town of 3-by-5-miles. The tower could catch someone's location even if they were out of town.
Levitan also pointed out that the mobile tower close to the students’ rented house fetches data from an area of 27.3 square miles. He said, “You cannot pinpoint a person. There’s no chance any expert in the world can tell you where that person is located.”
‘They will be wrong’
The affidavit also mentions investigators tried to understand if Kohberger “stalked any of the victims” before allegedly murdering them through his phone records. However, Levitan remarked that during court proceedings, usage of this information to successfully get a conviction against the suspect could backfire at the cops. “They will be wrong and could damage their case,” he asserted.
No phone location does not mean the mobile was off
Levitan told the outlet that the official document claimed Kohberger tried to “conceal his location during the quadruple homicide,” since his cell phone's location was not available from 2.47 am to 4.48 am.
Investigators accused him of either switching off the device or putting it on flight mode, but the expert said that it was not so straightforward as “if someone’s phone isn’t showing up on the network, all it means is that they didn’t receive any calls or texts or use any apps during that time period.”
‘Cellphone records are not DNA’
Levitan accused the investigators of overemphasizing on the phone data. He said that the phone’s location details were vital in a case as they provided clarity on who was not close to any crime scene. He reportedly said, “Cellphone records as evidence are very reliable and useful, but it’s not DNA. It doesn’t have the precision that would allow you to pinpoint a person’s phone. The best the state can say is that this phone was in a 27-square-mile area that includes the crime scene 12 times.”