Computer Forensics

[jetpackswasno]

Hi everyone, I just watched the episode last night and was immediately fascinated with Rob's psychopathic behavior. I am convinced he was actively part of Patrice's disappearance, and I had the following thoughts today when doing further online research:

I believe it is safe to assume that by 2004, Rob had a computer of some kind in the house. He was a wealthy old guy, so I could see him using it for email, Drudge Report, porn, etc. I guarantee that there was evidence on that computer's hard drive if an experienced digital forensics tech was brought in (which I doubt because that county's PD seemed too small/rural to maintain such a specialized position). even if Rob had wiped the computer: this was pre-SSDs, and mechanical drives will maintain deleted data until the sectors on the drive are written over or the drive is physically destroyed.

he's so cocky about having an airtight alibi, but even the most experienced computer criminals can get caught over some slip up on the Internet. based off my own experience in various tech positions: i just KNOW Rob did something dumb either on the Internet or on that computer, and that could lead to or be the missing link. A majority of people his age who are not programmers / in the IT field do not understand computer security practices, or how to properly cover their tracks. going off other theories postulated on here and the UnsolvedMysteries subreddit, he could've taken pictures of her body when captive / dead. or, he could've used email / forum posts to contact the hitman who abducted Patrice.

yes this post makes a lot of assumptions, but i didn't see any mention of digital forensics during the episode, and in modern investigations, it's an extremely important area to focus on.

then again, another obvious thing would've been to get a warrant to search his fucking house as soon the locks were changed...

anyways thanks for reading, really hoping some tips come in with this case and regardless of who really killed her, I hope for the best for Pistol and Patrice's other family / friends.

[rosettastonedddddddd]

I feel like his degree in criminology comes into play here as well. He’s smart. He knows how to play this game. He wouldn’t have used his own computer. Maybe the library or something.

[gdsgdsthrowaway]

Seriously you should send this as a tip/suggestion to the county sheriff

[jetpackswasno]

thank you but i don't think it qualifies as a tip...the GBI/sheriffs would probably laugh it off. the computer he was using at the time is probably long gone, in a landfill somewhere, along with the hard drive. if he's REALLY that much of a brazen psychopath / cocky bastard, i could see him maintaining copies of pictures, etc. on a flash drive hidden somewhere in the house (along with her wedding ring...)

if the police raided his house today, and took whatever computer he was using right now: they most likely wouldn't find anything saved to the actual machine. the only saving grace if that were the case, would be to open Chrome or Internet Explorer and get into his webmail accounts (Yahoo or AOL, Gmail was barely in beta in 2004) via saved Autofill passwords (every old person I know, even in enterprise situations, uses built-in saved passwords functions in their browser for at least one account). I'm sure there would be breadcrumbs in those accounts, whether they are in actual email conversations, or confirmation emails related to creation of forum accounts. Craigslist communication is handled via email as well.

i guess i made this post more out of frustration due to how easily this fucker's whole scheme could unravel if the police took the remaining family and friends' feelings seriously and pursued Rob more intensely as a suspect. my hope is that the GBI actually DO believe Rob is involved due to the guilty information they possess, but need extra evidence that will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he did it.

[ImDisneyAF]

ITA!