A more detailed look at some of the warrants...
I am looking at the warrants for the story. IMO -- and this is just the way I am looking at this -- I try to keep any speculation within the framework of the known facts, so even if I like a theory, if it's incongruent with what we know now, I put it aside (although admittedly, a few of the things I thought were total hooey at the beginning of this have been pulled back in as potentials - that's how wild this trail has been!)
IMO the warrants tell a story. I am connecting the dots in various ways, following behind as LE followed the leads. There are a lot of holes, a lot we don't know, but there
is a trail IMO. I keep in mind that court rules/ID statutes determine what is exempt from PRR and what can be sealed/redacted as I wade through these.
I.C.A.R. 32. Records of The Judicial Department - Examination and Copying - Exemption From and Limitations on Disclosure. | Supreme Court I.C.A.R. 32(i)
The financial institution warrants are of particular interest to me (not more than DD and Tinder and 19-20 accounts and the footprints and the 8 hours and the exculpatory evidence - but they're way up there on
List of Things I Want to Know), so I went back and took another look because the other most interesting pieces are really
spaghetti at wall right now IMO). A few other caveats that I tried to remember as I reviewed these:
- The other 3 and 5 may not always be the same 3 and 5 on each warrant.
- The other 3 and 5 may not may not just be the roommates and boyfriends.
- The other other 3 and 5 may not be names known to us at all.
- The other 3 and 5 redacted names on the receipts may be different from receipt to receipt, warrant to warrant; IOW, I cannot assume it's only a pool of 7 or 9 people total.
- The only combination I can be certain of is that of the four victims. The rest is assumption.
LE did the first round of financial institution warrants 11/19 - 6 days after the victims were discovered. It totally makes sense to see if there was a financial motive and/or trail within those records:
- Bank of America: 11/19, 4 victims and 3 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and 3 others)
- Block: 11/19, 4 victims and 3 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and 3 others)
- Umpquah Bank: 11/19, 4 victims and 3 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and 3 others)
- Paypal/Venmo: 11/19, 4 victims and 3 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and 3 others)
After that, the number of additional parties increases from 3 to 5 -
but why?
Warrant requirement tells us that there's a nexus to the crime, so
what probable cause did LE have for the increase in accounts and parties? Maybe it's just a lot of free toasters and credit cards, but that's a lot of toasters and a lot of unsecured debt to college students imo.
IMO it looks like LE was following a trail -
but of what?
It looks like they knew about the 11/19 accounts initially, and then something happened and they started adding more parties and obviously looking at more accounts.
But why?
- Numerica Credit Union: 11/27, 4 victims and 5 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and 3 others)
- Idaho Central Credit Union: 11/27, 4 victims and 5 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and 3 others)
- Wells Fargo: 11/27, 4 victims and 5 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and 3 others)
- American Express: 11/27, 4 victims and 5 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and I can't tell how many others because bullet points were redacted)
- Idaho Dept of Labor: 11/28, 4 victims and 3 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and 3 others)
- Discover Bank: 11/28, 4 victims and 5 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and 3 others)
- Banner Bank : 11/28, 4 victims and 3 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and 3 others)
- Potlach Credit Union #1: 11/28, 4 victims and 3 add'l (receipt says they got info for 4 victims and 3 others)
And why didn't they do this one right away or at least with 11/27-11/28 ones:
- Elan Financial Services: 12/22, Kaylee only (by this time they knew about BK, but it's interesting and potentially telling that they did not do a warrant for this along with the other rounds - why not?)
Was there no probable cause prior to that? If not, why not? What changed?
Other warrants with similar dates -
Do any of those pieces fit together?
The Apple warrants are not for the victims; theirs were done earlier and their names are not redacted.
- Apple warrant #1 Order to Seal - warrant and affidavit sealed - 11/28
- Apple warrant #2 Order to Seal - warrant and affidavit sealed - 11/28
- Apple warrant #3 Order to Seal - warrant and affidavit sealed - 11/28
- First DoorDash warrant was 12/6. Ditto for first Tinder warrant for 19-20 redacted.
I also find this one interesting because it's a warrant for
AT&T and not for the victims or BK and completely sealed, not just redacted (warrant and affidavit) on
1.6.23,
after BK was in custody:
These 3 are completely sealed (warrant&affidavit), we don't even know to whom, so
why is that? What would the name tell us?
This one on
11.16
This one on
12.5
This one on
1.9.2023 (after BK was in custody, completely sealed warrant and affidavit):
This is all IMO except for the
specific dates and information stated in the orders, warrants and receipts. Those are linked here:
Idaho Judicial Cases of Interest
I do not want to stir up speculation, but to share my summary and put this out, not expecting answers because we just don't know, but to raise questions and see if others are considering the same things.
We know LE cannot get warrants for curiosity. There must be probable cause and specificity as to things and places to be searched/seized and nexus to crime. Warrants are not issued for spitballing (see general warrant information below) If the court is honoring the fourth amendment (and I like to believe that they do), then probable cause exists, and the compelling evidence of that within the sealed affidavits. If all that is true, then these warrants tell a story. In support of my statements above re 4A and general warrants:
Why general warrants are verbotten and of
Probable Cause and Particularity:
Introduction: If You Build It, They Will Come For months, Zachary McCoy tracked the distance of his bike rides around his neighborhood in Gainesville,...
harvardlawreview.org
and some links in here and an explanation of
why general warrants are not allowed: