On 27 January 2017, two friends Christine Sullivan and Jenna Pellegrini were mysteriously murdered in the New Hampshire region. The former lived with her boyfriend, and the latter lived in a room upstairs. The bodies of the two victims were found on the victim’s porch, ruthlessly stabbed, with a tarp to cover it. The murder weapon was found buried in a pit, under the bodies of the victims.
Adjudication in the Sullivan Case
The authorities arrested one Timothy Verrill, currently under trial as he has been charged for both the murders. This case took an interesting turn when the prosecution began to allege the motive of Verrill. Apparently, the prosecution has a reason to believe that Verrill was involved in Drug paddling and murdered the victims because he suspected them to be informing the cops.
A Chronicle of Public Opinions
Presently, in a bid to uncover the truth, the Court reportedly ordered Amazon to share the details of what the victim, Christine Sullivan’s Echo Dot could have probably overheard. It may be recollected that in an earlier case akin to this one, the Honourable Court had ordered Amazon to share similar information from the Echo Dot to adjudicate a murder case.
In the aforementioned case, the body of one Victor Paris Collins was found murdered in a bathtub. Later, charges were framed against one James Andrew Bates and the record of his Alexa was sought from Amazon by the Court. However, in this case, Amazon’s client was charged with a murder, but in the Sullivan case, Amazon had the opportunity to help a deceased customer get justice and to bust a drug racket.
Amazon and its approach
Amazon continues to live under the presumption that Alexa and its customer’s information is protected under the First Amendment and has reportedly submitted that it cannot overlook the privacy of its customers by disclosing it. It may be recollected that in November 2017 the charges against Bates were not leveled, but were instead dropped.
Returning to the Sullivan case, a parallel public opinion is that the rights of the citizens cease to exist upon their demise. Further, people have opined that the information sought by the Honorable Courts must be provided because it is sought in public interest. Also, providing it would only provide justice to the Late Christine Sullivan. Unfortunately, there has been a delay in the adjudication of this matter due to Amazon’s internal data policies and legal presumptions. Although Alexa’s recording would only supplement as corroborative evidence in the Sullivan case.
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