Fitbit Data Used In Arrest Of Murder Suspect

Our fitness trackers and smartwatches can tell us a lot about ourselves, or in the case of Karen Navarra, the time she was murdered. A report from The New York Times has revealed that the Fitbit that Navarra was wearing could have been used to help lead law enforcement to her alleged murderer.

The Fitbit that she wore showed her heart heart suddenly spiking, followed by rapidly slowing down before stopping completely, all within a 15 minute window. The suspect was her stepfather, Anthony Aiello, who police found in surveillance footage where his car was spotted parked in her driveway, and where it also showed him leaving 5 minutes after her heart had stopped.

Fitbit cooperated with the police in helping them obtain the data from Navarra’s Fitbit, where based on their privacy policy, they say that the company “may preserve or disclose information about you to comply with a law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request.” Interestingly enough this is actually not the first time we’ve seen our gadgets become evidence in crimes.

According to a report from earlier this year, the Apple Watch was also used in a murder investigation where based on its data, it allowed police to make their arrest. Also a couple of years ago, an Amazon Echo device might have actually picked up audio recordings during a murder.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: fitbit, Legal, Wearable Tech