In today’s digital age, cellphones have become inadvertent repositories of crucial evidence, turning the pockets of everyday Americans into potential crime scenes. This phenomenon has been prominently highlighted in several major criminal cases over the past year.
Notable cases, including the University of Idaho murders and the killing of Ana Walshe by her husband Brian, have seen legal teams heavily relying on cellphone data to construct compelling narratives for juries. Such reliance on digital evidence marks a stark contrast to the investigative limitations of just a decade ago.
Joseph Scott Morgan, a forensic scientist and professor at Jacksonville State University, underscored this transformation in a conversation with Fox News Digital. He pointed out that most people might be unaware of the vast troves of data their smartphones continuously collect, effectively making these devices crime scenes that are carried around everywhere.
“We’re so attached to our phones that it’s hard to imagine life without them,” Morgan remarked. “People hold onto them even if it means their downfall, given the immense amount of data stored on these devices. Many don’t realize they’re essentially carrying a crime scene in their pockets.”
Illustrating the pervasive nature of cellphone data, a photograph captured at the Miracle City Empowerment Center in Conroe, Texas, shows individuals charging their phones, a testament to how integral these devices are to daily life. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Morgan emphasized that cellphones house more evidence than most would anticipate, including search histories, metadata, deleted messages, GPS tracking, and time stamps. This digital footprint can be a treasure trove for forensic investigations, increasingly shaping the outcome of legal proceedings.
“Now you’ve literally got digital breadcrumbs that might be hiding in the data and you can begin to track them,” Morgan said. “And the thing about it is they’re time-stamped. And this goes to, if someone is trying to alibi themselves, for instance, ‘Wow, I wasn’t there,’ or ‘I never thought about that, contemplated that.’ Well, we show here in the data that we’ve collected out of your phone it.”
Here are three criminal cases in 2025 that relied heavily on cellphone data:
University of Idaho murders:
Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to murder in the Nov. 13, 2022 killings of University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)
FBI cellphone tower data obtained by NBC’s “Dateline” allegedly showed that Kohberger’s cellphone pinged nearly a dozen times to a tower that provides coverage to an area within 100 feet of 1122 King Road, where the four University of Idaho students were killed. The late-night drives all allegedly happened starting in July 2022 and continued through mid-August 2022.
According to the report, Kohberger’s late-night trips to the King Road area started after a Moscow pool party he was invited to. Kohberger allegedly visited the area three more times in the first two weeks of October 2022.
In total, FBI cellphone records allegedly indicated that Kohberger was within 100 meters of the King Road house on 23 occasions, including one time on Nov. 7. All the trips were after dark.
Brian Walshe’s murder of his wife, Ana:
Brian Walshe was sentenced to life in prison plus a 22-year sentence on Dec. 18 after he was convicted of killing and dismembering his wife, Ana, after she disappeared on New Year’s Day in 2023.
Massachusetts State Trooper Nicholas Guarino, an expert on digital forensics, testified during Brian’s trial that he made several incriminating Google searches, which included the name of the man previously involved in an affair with Ana.
Brian Walshe leaves court after sentencing at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. Walshe was sentenced to life without parole for the murder of his wife, Ana Walshe. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
The Google and Yahoo searches made by Brian included the following, according to Guarino:
– “Best ways to dispose of body parts after murder.”
– “How long does DNA last?”
– “Is it possible to clean DNA off a knife?”
– “How long someone missing until inheritance.”
Ana Walshe pictured in a May 2022 Instagram post. (Ana Walshe/Instagram)
Brian’s wife had a $2.7 million life insurance policy which he was the beneficiary of, court records show. He owed nearly $500,000 in restitution for his federal case.
Karen Read:
Karen Read was acquitted of second-degree murder in June after her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, died. She was accused of ramming O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV, then leaving him to die during a snowstorm after the couple had a drunken argument.
Karen Read outside of Norfolk County Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)
During the trial, witness Jennifer McCabe admitted to searching for “hos [sic] long to die in cold,” and claimed Read instructed her to make the search.
“You also testified that at the time you Google search those phrases, it was Karen Read screaming and yelling at you, shaking you to Google ‘hypothermia,’” defense attorney Alan Jackson asked.
“Correct,” McCabe responded.
However, Kerry Roberts, who was a friend of Read’s, testified that she never actually heard Read ask for McCabe to make the searches.
