I think I can prove it wasn't Uncle Paul who used the washer software.
I'm going to bring this thread back and I believe we can solve the washer software debate for good. Then we can move on to trying to figure out the other aspects of this incredibly complex case.
I believe the Washer Software is solved and the police know it is, but are playing dumb. I think a good place to start is with Josh Newville’s podcast where Josh Newville was in contact with an unnamed
"room mate". Initially I
thought this was Nick, but now I believe it was Adam McDonald based on evidence I have seen. Also, the fact that washing software was used to remove some web history seems to be known about by all of the remaining “friends” who seem to be in damage-limitation mode - the tight-lipped Katie and Nick on the Netflix episode show they absolutely know much more than they're willing to admit.
~~~~~~~~
Transcript from Josh Newville podcast:
Josh Newville: And that roommate has denied ever touching Josh's computer. Is that correct?
Justin Tholl: That is correct.
Josh Newville: And their explanation is that they gave the username and password to someone else who was using Josh's computer in the days following his disappearance, right?
~~~~~~~
Paul Guimond (Josh's uncle), did admit he did searches for Josh and logged into his own webmail account. He denied installing washer software and said him nor Brian were savvy enough. I fully believed that. But it begged the question –
who was it?
Why Wash Internet History?
Josh's friends had a narcotics business going on. They also had a fake driving license ID “business” too. It’s very likely that this is what they were hiding from police. They had “careers to protect”, as the police say in the Netflix episode. This is why they would want to delete their internet history.
Adam McDonald's Account - "abmcdonald"
The hard drive was passed to a local Fox News station who had a digital forensics investigator take a look at Josh’s hard drive. :
(attached screenshot of the login script that shows Adam's account)
I studied the stills from the video and clearly see an account called: “abmcdonald” which belongs to Adam McDonald (Josh’s roommate). This is without any reasonable doubt the roommate that is discussed in the Josh Newville podcast.
Alex Jude's Confession - (Letter sent to Mike Hatch, State Attorney General from Jim Rothstein)
We can corroborate this with the following is taken from a letter addressed to Mike Hatch, State Attorney General, sent by the private investigator that Brian hired, Jim Rothstein:
“
March 10, 2004 at Kays Kitchen in St. Joseph Mn., the following students and friends of Josh, Greg Worden, Alex Jude, Nate Slinkard, Katie Benson(Josh girl friend) and one other female, came to confront Brian Guimond. I (Jim Rothstein) was with Brian. During this confrontation (meeting) they became very subdued when they were informed that we had cracked Josh computer (see item c) and found the phony drivers license operation. Jude stated "we erased all that information". When questioned about the narcotics business they had going on, they had nothing to say. It is apparent that they knew what i was talking about.”
Alex Jude stated “
we erased all that information”. This is publicly available information. The fact the police suggest they know little about it is embarrassing and stinks of a lie.
Further Evidence It Was Adam
KMSP found that a student of St John’s University named Adam McDonald logged on to Josh’s computer from 11:48 pm on 11/11/02 until 12:40 am on 11/12/02. Josh went missing around 11 pm on 11/09/02. Adam did a search and went to a internet washer website which allows you to remove any websites that were accessed on the computer. It is available in stealth mode. KMSP tried to interview Adam for the story, but he declined.
My Own Suspicions
After watching the Netflix show over and over and over, I began to take note of what Nick said. Nick told Unsolved Mysteries (34 mins) into the episode on Netflix: “
I was careful not to do anything on his computer” - “
it stuck me as something that may be significant”.
You don't exactly have to do any mental gymnastics to read into what Nick is saying. HE was careful not to do anything on his computer...but someone else did it (Adam). Nick is saying that he knew that computer was significant. I am 100% convinced at this point that the roommates (including Katie) all knew that Adam was going to try and erase the fake driving license/narcotics evidence from the computer.
What rouses my suspicions amongst all of these "friends" of Josh, is that they've all been willing to keep it secret. Nick refused a polygraph and Adam declined to talk to KMSP.
Conclusion
I consider
this part of the case closed.
TL;DR Adam McDonald searched for wipe software and downloaded the wipe software, (likely along with the compression software and inserted the USB) - the rest of Josh's friends knew he wiped the internet history - at least, Alex Jude definitely did - and he did so to try and hide the illegal narcotics and the phony driving license businesses they had going on (it doesn't look good for law students or any students to have illegal businesses). You have to remember, members of the CSB/SJU Mock Trial team included co-captains, junior Nick Hydukovich and sophomore Joshua Guimond. Katie Benson was the timekeeper (
Source). These people had lofty career aspirations and wanted to protect it - and thought they did by clearing internet history) but weren't savvy enough to delete all traces, as Alex Jude's statement suggests.
Where Next?
I'll have a think and go from here.
