The first case that came to mind where computer forensic evidence was used in a criminal investigation was the BTK Killer in Wichita, Kansas, where it ultimately was used to solve the case in 2005. In this instance that BTK Killer had terrorized citizens of Wichita by being dubbed the Bind, Torture, Kill, (BTK) Killer. He for many years had sent letters to the local media, and police almost boosting he ability to escape being captured by the police. Over a 25 year period he had tortured and killed 10 people. Then on February 16, 2005 Dennis Rader used his church’s computer to create a CD to send to the Wichita Fox News affiliate station KSAS. The digital footprint was taken from the CD and traced to the church computer where supposedly deleted files were recovered that pointed to Dennis Rader.
Only a few items were involved in the computer forensic evidence, such as the church’s computer, and the CD that Rader sent to the Fox News affiliate. There was other DNA information that was collected from the murder scenes but this evidence was never entered into court.
Ultimately, Dennis Rader confessed to being the BTK Killer. His confession was taken in March of 2005, and he was sentenced to serve 10 consecutive life terms.
In my opinion it was the forensic evidence that solved this case of the BTK Killer. If it wasn’t for him loosing his cool and sending a CD that he created on his church’s computer, these murders would still be unsolved. Although, this case never went to trial to see if the evidence was enough to convict Dennis Rader, it was enough for him to confess to the killings. In this situation it was the digital footprint left behind by a deleted file that caught the killer.
I found my information from two different websites:
http://www.kansas.com/214/index.html
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/unsolved/btk/btk_jump_page.html
Todd Becht 