Former Georgia police officer, Victor Collins, 47, was found dead in a hot tub in an Arkansas home on the night of November 22, 2015. James Bates, the house owner, had some of his friends come over at his house to watch a game of football, and the morning after, one of his friends was found dead. Bates was charged with murder, but did not plead guilty. Alexa may hold the answer to the truth.
According to CNN, Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith hopes that Amazon's voice-activated Echo will be able to shed light on how Collins ended up dead in Bate's hot tub. Bates attorney, Kimberly Weber, said that Collins' death was a tragic accident, possibly stemming from his drinking.
Investigators contend Weber's claim, saying that there were signs of struggle, which include injuries to both Collins and Bates, a broken glass, some dried blood inside the home, and signs that the patio and the tub had been hosed down before the police officers arrived.
Daily Mail reported that the search warrant signed by a judge in August requests all "audio recordings, transcribed records, text records and other data" from Bates' Echo speaker. The Echo can talk back to its user in a female voice known as "Alexa."
The device, which debuted in 2014, is a cylinder-shaped speaker with internet-connected microphones. Just like other gadgets, it listens for a user's voice and responds to commands, and prosecutors have asked the court to force Amazon to provide data from the Echo that could reveal more clues.
So far, authorities were only able to obtain a basic subscriber account information. Discussions have already been made with Amazon, but so far, the bulk of the request remains unfulfilled.
Amazon release this statement so far: "Amazon will not release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us. Amazon objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate demands as a matter of course."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
