A piece of technology called Fitbit just solved a 2015 murder case in Connecticut. The data from the victim's Fitbit revealed the discrepancies of her husband's statements, revealing that he was, in fact, a suspected killer.
They identified the suspect as Richard Dabate, 40, and the victim as Connie Dabate, 39. Richard claimed he struggled with a masked intruder, who tied him up on a chair after the supposed attacker demanded his credit cards and wallet. Richard added the intruder shot his wife when she came home from work.
Following Richard's initial statements, the investigators probed further. They used the victim's Fitbit, which is a piece of technology fastened to a person's body that transmits the heartbeat, sleeping schedules, location and other things related to such, to track her latest movements before she got killed. As per the investigation, Connie walked 1,217 feet around the house during the same time her husband claimed the attack took place.
Meanwhile, the other information on the Fitbit showed she left home for her fitness class at the YMCA at around 8:46 a.m. Richard said he left for work at around 8:30 a.m. after he dropped his kids off at school then went back to change for work.
Richard claimed that he went back home at around 9 a.m. as he left his laptop and that was the same time he claimed he saw the masked attacker. He then heard his wife return home so he yelled for her to run, People reported.
Richard added in his statement that the masked man went after Connie to the basement and he heard a gunshot. The masked man also attempted to shoot Richard but the latter used a torch to burn the attacker's face. After that, the attacker fled the scene. He called 911 at around 10:11 a.m.
It remained unknown what the motive of Richard was. He did tell detectives that he had an extramarital affair and got the woman pregnant. He did not say, however, if Connie knew about it. Police records also said Richard tried to claim the $475,000 life insurance policy of Connie five days before she passed away.
Richard faced charges including murder, tampering with evidence and providing false statements. He provided the $1 million bond and is now out on bail.
Other cases solved with the help of the Fitbit tracker involved a 2015 incident when a 43-year-old woman claimed she got sexually assaulted during a break-in. Her Fitbit, however, showed that she walked around during the time she told investigators the break-in took place, The New York Times reported. Just this March, a Garmin Vivosmart GPS, similar to a Fitbit, recorded the woman's struggled with her attacker at a park in Seattle.
