So in your opinion, the defense expert is going to testify that BK never turned his phone off that night? And this expert will testify that he left his apartment before midnight?
This might be a hard sell for the defense, though, as you say, we don't know what meta data they have. According to the PCA, his phone was using cellular resources that provide coverage to his apartment at 2:42am. And at 2:47am the phone was using resources that provide coverage southeast of the apartment consistent with traveling south through Pullman, WA. This is also consistent with the movement of the white Elantra they believe is his on video. And at 2:47am the phone stopped reporting to the network (could it have traveled to somewhere too remote for signal so soon and it was not actually turned off at that point?).
JMO
My thoughts about predicting the defense case are that it's really a case about the limitations of cellular infrastructure.
Most cell towers can only handle about 60 voice calls at the same time for 4G, which was predominant in 2022.
Remember, it isn’t always about cell tower reach, cell tower capacity is also a key factor.It seems that all the cellular carriers have really been pushing this “friends and family” focused method of data/plan sharing. I was recently at my local carrier store upgrading my phone when the...
surecall.com
When cell towers are at capacity, they shed cellular traffic (additional cellphones that come into range.) They do this by sending the new cellular traffic to the next closest cell tower. So, the user will still have connectivity, but usually fewer bars because they are further away from the cell tower they are actually using. When that happens information about which cell tower the phone was actually closest to can be misleading. If cellular traffic was high and the cell towers were at capacity BK's phone might have been being handed off by the tower he was closest to, meaning BK was not at home and then traveling South through Pullman at all. IMO, with all of the out-of-towners in Pullman and Moscow the defense might be describing this type of situation.
This map shows the 4 cell towers in Pullman:
IMO, IF BK was South and West of Pullman at Wawawai Park, it is likely his phone would access the tower in the upper left corner. BUT if that tower was at capacity, then which of the 3 other cell towers would a phone be handed off to? With all the extra people and cell phones in Pullman for Family Weekend, what if more than one cell tower was at capacity (too many users are trying to access it)? Then, it is possible that a phone could be handed from a cell tower that is at capacity to another tower that was almost at capacity and then be handed off by the second tower to another tower 5 minutes later due to the second tower reaching capacity. I'm not sure if I'm right or if something else impacted the cellular discovery, but it is an idea about what may have happened.
Let's look at what the defense has to say, which, IMO, appears to include the very timeframe you described between 2:42 and 2:47:
"Mr. Kohberger was out driving in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022; as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars. He drove throughout the area south of Pullman, Washington, west of Moscow, Idaho including Wawawai Park."
"PARTIAL CORROBORATION
Mr. Kohberger intends to offer testimony of Sy Ray, CSLI expert, (cell tower, cell phone and other radio frequency, curricula vitae is attached) to show that Bryan Kohberger’s mobile device was south of Pullman, Washington and west of Moscow, Idaho on November 13, 2022; that Bryan Kohberger’s mobile device did not travel east on the Moscow-Pullman Highway in the early morning hours of November 13th, and thus could not be the vehicle captured on video along the Moscow-Pullman highway near Floyd’s Cannabis shop."
IMO, the above is a very powerful statement. It clearly indicates BK had already left Pullman and the vehicle seen on camera in Pullman was NOT BK's. Yet we have him supposedly pinging 2 towers at 2:42am and 2:47am. IMO, this expert must have used a combination of BK's cellular data AND meta data to determine he was not in Pullman.
The defense continues:
"Additional information as to Mr. Kohberger’s whereabouts as the early morning hours progressed, including additional analysis by Mr. Ray will be provided once the State provides discovery requested and now subject to an upcoming Motion to Compel . If not disclosed, Mr. Ray’s testimony will also reveal that critical exculpatory evidence, further corroborating Mr. Kohberger’s alibi, was either not preserved or has been withheld.""
IMO, in the Defendants Supplemental Response, the defense is stating that the car caught on camera in Pullman is NOT BK's car and that he was NOT in Pullman at but instead was Southwest of Pullman that night and therefore, nowhere near Moscow.
IMO, the defense will hold that the cell tower data as interpreted by MPD with some assist from the FBI CAST unit is incorrect AND they have exacting proof of where BK was - which would be his cell phone's meta data.
IMO, the prosecutor should be very concerned about this information. If I were in the prosecutor's position, I would immediately hire an independent cellular expert to review all cellular data and meta data in the discovery and determine if the information that the prosecutor has been given about cellular data and meta data is definitely correct.
All JMO.
