Hey - parabeagle. Welcome to the 'head spinning' club.
Don't worry, after awhile you actually get used to the spinning...and actually, if the spinning starts to slow down it means LE is about to release more info on the case to get the RPM's back up again.
In short, IMHO, the pings/calls, texts are just one more method of tracing Casey's life during the dates of interest. They tell us what vicinity she was in, and, in some cases, when used in conjunction with who she's calling/texting, or who is calling/texting her what might be compelling her actions. This information is yet another objective way to test out the statements given by Casey and other individuals in the case. For example, if Brian B. says he loaned Casey a shovel on 6/18, then, her cell ping info needs to support that she was in that area.
Another aspect to consider is periods when Casey was inactive. If she was unavailable to call/text for a period (e.g. 3 hours on 6/17) then she might've been involved in something that required her full attention.
Still another aspect is identifying the locations Casey visited that were out of her normal, day-to-day pattern. These locations draw attention as potential sites for disposing of a body. Since Casey could've just used a dumpster on her way between normal locations, this aspect isn't perfect, but, it can provide information on locations that would otherwise be unknown.
And, similar to identifying off-normal locations she visited is simple off-normal contacts she made. For example, there are some unidentified phone numbers she called/texted just prior to key dates in this case. In this regard, the cell/ping isn't much different than an old fashioned landline phone record.
I dunno if that helps, but, I'm sure other WS's will jump in and +/-. That should be a start though.
