Amazon.com, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Amazon Echo may have data that can help solve a murder case.
Police in Bentonville, Arkansas have issued a warrant to Amazon.com, Inc. in an effort to obtain data on one of its Amazon Echo devices. The murder case involves James Andrew Bates and Victor Collins. Bates, the prime suspect, had friends over to watch football. Collins was reportedly found dead the next morning in Bates hot tub and police believe he died from strangulation.
Police believe that Bates may have been using his Amazon Echo to stream music for the small party. They hope that the data may reveal something vital to the case. However, the Amazon Echo only records and sends information from a moment before its wake up word is used to the cloud.
Amazon.com, Inc. isn’t planning to hand over the data from Bates’ Amazon Echo. The company says that it won’t give it up “without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us.” It is also possible that police may obtain data for the case from Bates’ smart water device, reports Tech Crunch.
Amazon.com, Inc. won’t give up the information from the Amazon Echo in the case, but it has helped in other ways. The online retailer has provided the police with Bates’ account information and his order history.
While the Amazon Echo in the murder case is unlikely to provide police with the information they need, it could still have major ramifications for smart devices. Based on how this case goes, police may try and use smart devices more often to solve cases.
