Extract from Casey C. Sullivan’s article “iPhone Data Becomes Key Witness in Murder Trial”
A murder trial in Germany could hinge on a novel piece of evidence: health data from the accused’s phone. Hussein Khavari is accused of raping and killing Maria Ladenburger in Freiburg im Breisgau. The details of the grisly crime—she was a young medical student and daughter of a top-ranking EU official, found dead in her town’s shallow river—as well as Khavari’s own complicated background—he was a refuge, with a contested age and country of origin—gripped Germany throughout 2016, remaining in the headlines long after the crime was uncovered.
Khavari confessed his guilt at the beginning of his trial last fall. He had been connected to the crime by DNA taken from a strand of hair found on Ladenburger’s body. But Khavari also contested some of the details of the crime. The crime was committed after a day of drinking and smoking hashish, he claims. He had lost control of himself, had snapped when he saw his victim.
That’s where his iPhone comes in. Investigators are using information from the phone’s Health app to help prove that Khavari did not act in the heat of passion.
