WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.839 So if you wanted to solve a murder like thirty 2 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:06.759 years ago, you basically just looked for what the killer 3 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:09.199 left behind in the physical world, right. 4 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:12.679 Right, Yeah, you're looking for a footprint in the mud 5 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:14.359 outside a window, or something. 6 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:17.399 Exactly, a dropped match book, maybe a stray fiber from 7 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:21.160 a jacket, or you're just canvassing the neighborhood, you know, 8 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:25.079 hoping someone happened to be looking out their window at 9 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:26.359 exactly the right second. 10 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:29.199 Right, Because the whole foundation of criminal investigation used to 11 00:00:29.239 --> 00:00:33.399 be built entirely on tangible physical traces. I mean you 12 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:34.759 could literally touch the evidence. 13 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:37.399 Yeah, you could see it under a magnifying glass. But 14 00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:41.799 the evolution of that process today is it's completely staggering. 15 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:46.640 We've shifted from relying on that physical trace to this 16 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:50.359 almost like total dependence on an invisible digital web. 17 00:00:50.439 --> 00:00:52.719 We really have. We're looking at a world where the 18 00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:56.079 absolute most crucial witnesses in a capital murder case aren't 19 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:57.280 even human beings anywhere. 20 00:00:57.359 --> 00:00:59.520 No, they're not. They don't sleep, they don't have eyes, 21 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:03.000 they definitely don't get intimidated by defense attorneys on the stand. 22 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:07.280 Exactly, and they are just constantly silently watching every move. 23 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:10.239 We make, which is terrifying, honestly, but that brings us 24 00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:13.640 right into our deep dive. Today. We are unpacking the 25 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:18.159 tragic and what initially seemed like a completely unsolvable murder 26 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:20.439 of Professor Matthew Wiser. 27 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:22.680 And we are drawing from a really incredible source for 28 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:25.840 this deep dive. It's a detailed transcript from the Crime 29 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:28.599 three to sixty true crime documentary series. 30 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:32.159 Right which gives us these amazing, raw, first hand accounts 31 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:34.359 we hear directly from the detectives on the ground, the 32 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:38.640 responding campus police, and really poignantly, the victim's own father. 33 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:41.079 Our whole mission with his deep dive is to extract 34 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:45.000 the mechanics of modern digital forensics for you. We want 35 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:48.359 to look at exactly how modern technology acts as that silent. 36 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:53.040 Witness, yeah, and how a single seemingly totally insignificant stolen 37 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:58.239 toy can literally unravel an entire highly sophisticated criminal network. 38 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:01.599 To really grasp the sheer contrast here, you know, between 39 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:03.439 the life that was taken and the violent nature of 40 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:05.680 the crime, we have to look at Professor. 41 00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:07.560 Wiser himself, definitely, so he was thirty nine years old, 42 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:11.319 an economics professor at the University of South Alabama. 43 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:13.400 Right, and the source material paints this really vivid picture 44 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:18.080 of a guy who was just deeply embedded in this quiet, 45 00:02:18.439 --> 00:02:21.680 highly routine academic life. I mean, he was in his 46 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:23.719 fourth year of a six year, ten year. 47 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:27.840 Track, which is super stressful. But he was beloved, He 48 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:30.719 revered his students, he never wanted to retire, and he 49 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:34.439 had this just profoundly gifted mathematical mind. 50 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.599 That anecdote his father shared is amazing, right. 51 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:40.000 The one about the high school math meets, Yeah, exactly. 52 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:42.919 His dad described how Matthew was like always targeted by 53 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:46.199 the moderators for every single question at these intense regional 54 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:46.759 math meets. 55 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:50.199 They would read off this incredibly complex, you know, multi 56 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:52.199 variable calculus problem. 57 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:54.039 To the whole room, and before anyone else could even 58 00:02:54.039 --> 00:02:55.759 pick up a pencil, Mathew would just sit there and 59 00:02:55.840 --> 00:02:59.000 state the answer is one thy nine hundred and forty eight. 60 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:01.240 And he was always exact. It's like he didn't even 61 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:04.840 calculate it. He just natively saw the architecture of the numbers. 62 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:08.719 It's wild. But beyond that huge intellect, the defining thing 63 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:12.360 everyone in the documentary kept coming back to was his gentleness. 64 00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:15.120 Yeah, he was physically a really large man, but his 65 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:18.719 father just described him as a gentle giant. He literally 66 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:20.159 had no enemies in the world. 67 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:24.479 His dad actually called it an absolutely unnecessary crime. I mean, 68 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:28.159 he wasn't doing anything risky, no illicit markets, nothing, He 69 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:31.319 went to work, came home, graded papers, and played video games. 70 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:35.479 Just a life totally insulated by routine. And that peaceful 71 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:40.120 structure makes the chaos of November twentieth so jarring for 72 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:41.120 everyone involved. 73 00:03:41.319 --> 00:03:44.360 Right, and this is where the physical evidence, or i 74 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:47.280 guess the complete lack of it, presents the police with 75 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:48.719 an almost impossible puzzle. 76 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:51.080 Let's walk through that timeline of the discovery because it 77 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:54.400 really shows how fast a normal day just completely unravels. 78 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:57.400 Okay, so Professor Wiser had this ongoing issue with his leg, 79 00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:00.000 meaning he couldn't drive himself. He relied on a higher 80 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:02.280 driver to take him to work every day, even. 81 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:04.599 Though the university was what only about half a mile from. 82 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:07.639 His house, yeah, super close. So at twelve pm exactly, 83 00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:11.120 the driver arrives at the front door, knocks, waits, gets 84 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:11.960 no answer. 85 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:14.240 Which you know, in isolation isn't a massive crisis. People 86 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:15.560 sleep in, they get sick. 87 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:18.879 Right, they misplace their keys, so the driver eventually just leaves, 88 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:22.079 but the real trigger is an hour later, at one 89 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:26.759 point zero pm, Weiser misses his afternoon economics class. 90 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:28.560 And for a guy on a tenure track who loves 91 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:31.720 his students, missing a lecture without calling the department is 92 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:33.639 like a flashing red siren. 93 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:37.160 Oh Instantly, the university doesn't even wait. They dispatch campus 94 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:39.560 police right to his house for a wellness check. 95 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:42.439 Get there, knock on the front door, no answer, so 96 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:45.199 they walk around to the back, and the narrative immediately 97 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:48.319 shifts from a wellness check to a massive emergency. 98 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:51.879 The back door isn't just unlocked, it is violently swung 99 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:55.319 wide open. There are literal pieces of the wooden door 100 00:04:55.399 --> 00:04:57.120 frame just shattered on the ground. 101 00:04:57.480 --> 00:05:00.959 That kind of damage is a definitive signature of forced entry. 102 00:05:01.160 --> 00:05:03.920 Someone didn't just pick the lock or use a credit. 103 00:05:03.639 --> 00:05:05.839 Card now, they used a fulcrum like a heavy steel 104 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:08.839 pride bar or crowbar, and just physically defeated the dead 105 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.519 bolt by destroying the wood holding the strike plate. 106 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:15.519 When campus police see structural damage like that, protocol means 107 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:20.319 an immediate tactical response. They draw weapons, announce themselves, and 108 00:05:20.519 --> 00:05:22.439 enter to clear the house for any active threats. 109 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:24.839 The house is clear of threats, but what they find 110 00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:28.319 on the second floor is just devastating. Professor Weiser is 111 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:30.800 lying face down in a pool of his own blood 112 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:31.399 in the hallway. 113 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:35.399 It's immediately clear that he's deceased and that this is 114 00:05:35.399 --> 00:05:38.439 a homicide. So the City of Mobile Police Department homicide 115 00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:39.279 unit is called in. 116 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:43.680 You've got this beloved, innocent professor murdered in his own home, 117 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:46.720 essentially right next to the campus. The public pressure on 118 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:50.319 this case goes from zero to one hundred in minute, absolutely. 119 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:52.639 So the homicide detectives and crime scene texts get there 120 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:55.759 and they start processing the space, and the forensic reality 121 00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:59.199 starts to emerge, but it tells a completely contradictory story. Right. 122 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:02.079 They examine the body and find a single gunshot wound 123 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:03.439 just above his right nipple. 124 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:07.279 And the trajectory of this bullet is practically unbelievable, it 125 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:07.759 really is. 126 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:11.160 It passes entirely through his chest cavity, exits his back, 127 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:13.879 and then continues traveling straight down the length of the 128 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:15.120 whole second floor hallway. 129 00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:17.600 It strikes a closed bedroom door at the very end 130 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:20.079 the hall, goes cleanly through the wood and. 131 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:23.439 Enters the bedroom, and because Weiser was a huge collector, 132 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:27.519 I mean he accumulated massive amounts of stuff. That bedroom 133 00:06:27.560 --> 00:06:31.920 is packed floor to ceiling with boxes, electronics clutter. 134 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:35.160 Which is usually a nightmare for crime scene texts. Finding 135 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:38.680 a fired bullet in that environment usually means dismantling the 136 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:41.120 room and cutting open the drywall. 137 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:44.000 Right using laser trajectory mapping and all that. But in 138 00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:47.240 this bizarre stroke of luck, one of the lead detectives 139 00:06:47.360 --> 00:06:51.480 is moving items and literally finds the fired bullet sitting perfectly, 140 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:53.439 neatly inside an open box. 141 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:55.800 Right on top of the clutter. In the transcript, he 142 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:58.639 actually says the bullet was just presenting itself like it 143 00:06:58.680 --> 00:06:59.519 wanted to be found. 144 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.519 Identify it as a point three to eight special caliber 145 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:05.600 bullet that suggests the weapon was a revolver, not a 146 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:07.279 semi automatic pistol. 147 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:10.040 Which perfectly explains why there was no spent brass casing 148 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:13.959 on the floor. Revolvers retain their shell casings in the cylinder. 149 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:16.800 But that single bullet is where the physical forensics just 150 00:07:16.839 --> 00:07:20.959 stop being helpful. It immediately becomes this massive psychological. 151 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:24.519 Paradox, exactly because the scene analysis creates this huge conflict 152 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:28.720 about the motive. When investigators analyze the scene, they're looking 153 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:32.120 for behavioral artifacts to understand the why, and. 154 00:07:32.040 --> 00:07:36.079 The shattered back door completely screams property crime. It is 155 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:39.519 the textbook daytime residential burglary entry. 156 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:42.959 But then they document the inside of the house and 157 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:45.240 that entire theory completely collapses. 158 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:47.800 Because you walk into a house breach with a crowbar, 159 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:50.759 you expect it to be ransacked. But his wallet is 160 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:52.480 sitting right there in plane view. 161 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:56.160 Credit cards, laid out, watches, expensive jewelry, checkbooks, even. 162 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:59.040 His personal cell phone is just sitting untouched. In his room, 163 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:03.000 they find high in laptops, tablets, and xbox, thousands of 164 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:05.680 dollars of easily paintable stuff totally ignored. 165 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:08.639 The contradiction is glaring. Right, you have the high risk, 166 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:11.800 high effort entry of a burglary combined with a zero 167 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:12.480 yield result. 168 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:15.519 Right, let's pause on that. You use immense physical exertion 169 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:18.120 to break a solid door off its hinges, step inside, 170 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:20.319 and leave laptops and cash sitting in front of you. 171 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:22.240 It makes no sense if this was a. 172 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:25.639 Random burglary gone wrong. Why fire one lethal shot and 173 00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:28.920 then abandon the whole reason you broke in? It totally 174 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:31.560 violates the basic logic of a profit driven crime. 175 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:37.039 It violates logic because human behavior under sudden catastrophic panic 176 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:40.759 is inherently illogical. We have to look at the physiology 177 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:42.039 of an interrupted burglary. 178 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:45.080 Oh, like, what's happening in the burglar's brain exactly. 179 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:48.000 The baseline assumption for a daytime burglar is that the 180 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:51.080 house is empty. They target hours between nine zero zero 181 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:54.399 zero am and three point zero zero pm because people 182 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:55.320 are at work, so. 183 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:57.360 They think they have total control of the environment. 184 00:08:57.519 --> 00:08:59.960 Right. They are in a state of high autonomic around 185 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:03.840 heart rate is up scanning for threats, but their brain 186 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:06.120 is completely focused on getting high value goods. 187 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:08.039 But then that assumption gets shattered. 188 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:10.639 Yes, a burglar comes around a corner and is abruptly 189 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:14.039 confronted by a six foot tall homeowner. The brain undergoes 190 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:17.399 a massive physiological event and amygdala hijack, where the. 191 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:21.000 Threat detection center just completely overrides the prefrontal cortex. 192 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:24.600 Right precisely, The rational planning part of the brain shuts 193 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:28.639 down instantly, the body is flooded with adrenaline and cortisol. 194 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:31.159 Pure survival instinct takes over. 195 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:34.440 So the single shot was just a reflexive startle response. 196 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:37.600 It wasn't a calculated execution, just sheer terror. 197 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:40.519 In the second that deafening gunshot rings out in that 198 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:43.200 hallway and they watch a man collapse, the reality of 199 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:44.559 the crime shifts instantly. 200 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.840 It goes from a burglary charge to a potential death 201 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:49.360 penalty for capital murder. 202 00:09:49.799 --> 00:09:53.960 Right, the psychological priority shifts in a microsecond from getting 203 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:58.720 money to immediate escape. The laptops in cash don't matter anymore. 204 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:01.159 The biological imperative is just to flee before the cops 205 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:03.399 show up. That's why the house is still full of valuables. 206 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.600 They left empty handed because survival instincts overrode greed. 207 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:09.679 Which perfectly explains the chaotic scene, but it leaves to 208 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:12.559 detectives with a totally cold trail. They bring in the 209 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:14.279 specialized crime scene unit to this. 210 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:17.639 Massive house, and these techs spend hours and hours working 211 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:21.200 all night dusting for fingerprints on doors, switches, everywhere, and 212 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:24.759 they get absolutely nothing usable, not one print for the database. 213 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:27.399 This is a really critical point because people have this 214 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:32.519 huge misconception about fingerprint evidence from TV. The biochemistry of 215 00:10:32.519 --> 00:10:34.360 a fingerprint is incredibly. 216 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:36.759 Fragile because it's just sweat and oil, right, exactly. 217 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:40.279 A latent print is essentially a crime sweat mostly water 218 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:42.919 and amino acids mixed with subaceous oils from touching your 219 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:43.399 face or. 220 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.240 Hair, and for that to leave a readable print, the 221 00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:49.000 conditions have to be like completely perfect. 222 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:52.320 The surface is the biggest variable. Smooth glass or polished 223 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:57.279 metal hold prints well, but textured surfaces, unfinished wood, porous 224 00:10:57.279 --> 00:10:59.639 stuff actively disperse the oils. 225 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:02.679 Plus, if the guy's wearing cheap gloves or just wipes 226 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:05.399 his hands on his jeans, the oil transfer is basically gone. 227 00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:08.639 And Weiser's house was really dusty and cluttered. 228 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:12.480 So the probability of recovering an afis quality print drops 229 00:11:12.519 --> 00:11:13.399 to near zero. 230 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:17.240 So they have no biochemical evidence, no witnesses, nobody heard 231 00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:19.840 the shot, which happens in well insulated homes, and nobody 232 00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:21.000 saw anyone running away. 233 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:25.320 The canvas for surveillance, but Wiser didn't have cameras. They 234 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:28.240 finally find a next door neighbor with a ring doorbell camera. 235 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:30.120 The lead detective must have been thrilled. 236 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:33.200 He was. He pulls the footage expecting to see the 237 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:36.720 killer walking away, but he scrubs through it and it's 238 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:39.919 just a crushing disappointment. Just random cars driving by, no 239 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:40.679 suspect on. 240 00:11:40.679 --> 00:11:43.840 Foot, so they are in a total evidence vacuum, no 241 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:47.840 physical forensics, a motivational paradox of a scene, and starting 242 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:49.799 a high profile case from absolute zero. 243 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:53.519 It's the most precarious spot for a detective. They have 244 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:58.519 to shift methodology, establish a hard timeline, and desperately cultivate 245 00:11:58.519 --> 00:11:59.240 a human lead. 246 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:01.919 YU sure Cooker leads to what looks like a massive 247 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:04.000 break but is actually a huge distraction. 248 00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:08.399 The community is terrified, a peaceful professor gunned down in daylight. 249 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:11.440 The political and media pressure to close this is. 250 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:13.519 Immense, and right in the middle of that, the tip 251 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:16.559 line rings. An anonymous caller, a student at South Alabama, 252 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:19.399 says he overheard someone on campus bragging about playing a 253 00:12:19.399 --> 00:12:20.200 part in the murder. 254 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:24.000 From an investigative view, that is highly actionable intelligence. If 255 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:27.639 a professor is killed near campus, the statistical probability of 256 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:30.679 a student being involved is high enough to warrant immediate resources. 257 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.879 The police mobilize fast. They get a name from the tipster. 258 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:38.919 A student will call Joseph, and ironically he's studying criminal justice. 259 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:43.840 They use the university's CCTV system track Joseph across the quad, 260 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:47.159 get a high res photo. Have the tipster id him 261 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:49.080 and bring him straight to headquarters. 262 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:52.240 They bring him right into the interrogation room, and this 263 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:54.960 part is a masterclass in behavioral analysis. 264 00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:58.080 They don't accuse him immediately. They ask him to build 265 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:01.639 a minute by minute timeline of his day, watching his 266 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:04.159 micro expressions, his posture. 267 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:07.559 And Joseph's reaction is totally opposite to a guilty suspect. 268 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:10.600 The detective said, he wasn't defensive, didn't ask for a lawyer. 269 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:12.600 He was remarkably polite and confident. 270 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:15.360 He didn't get agitated. He just said, no, y'all are 271 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:17.960 looking in the wrong place. Yeah. He even consented to 272 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:19.679 a search of his dorm room and told them to 273 00:13:19.720 --> 00:13:21.279 interview his roommates. 274 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:23.360 Which is a huge warning bell for an interrogator. Right. 275 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:26.519 Definitely, a guilty person, especially a young student who just 276 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:30.120 committed murder, is under a massive cognitive load. They have 277 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:32.240 to remember Lie's suppress. 278 00:13:31.879 --> 00:13:35.440 Fear and it leaks out through stuttering or anger or 279 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:40.480 getting defensive over tiny details. They definitely don't invite police 280 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:41.519 to tear through their room. 281 00:13:42.039 --> 00:13:45.679 Joseph's absolute calm consistency told the detective they were wasting 282 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:46.159 their time. 283 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:49.879 Well, wait, let's pause. If Joseph is totally innocent, why 284 00:13:49.960 --> 00:13:52.840 is an anonymous tipster calling the police saying they heard 285 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:55.960 him confessing? Was he just bragging about a murder he 286 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:56.799 didn't do it? 287 00:13:56.919 --> 00:14:00.720 Sounds deeply irrational, but in high profile tracks, this is 288 00:14:00.759 --> 00:14:05.639 heavily documented. It's the sociological mechanics of rumor and social contagion, like. 289 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:08.039 The telephone game exactly. 290 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:11.799 A community experiences collective anxiety, so people talk. Someone says, 291 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:14.000 I wonder if a criminal justice student did. 292 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:15.840 It, and the next person says, I heard a CJ 293 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:19.080 student was involved, and then it becomes I heard Joseph 294 00:14:19.159 --> 00:14:20.480 from my CGI class did it. 295 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:25.399 And sometimes people actually falsely claim involvement for status. Young 296 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:28.360 adults wanting clout might make a dark joke and a 297 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:30.759 bystander takes it literally and calls the cops. 298 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:34.480 Human intelligence is just so fragile compared to hard data. 299 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:37.399 So Joseph is cleared. They burn precious time. They're back 300 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:39.600 to square one, but the clock is ticking. 301 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:42.679 They pivot away from rumors and go straight to digital records, 302 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:44.600 starting with wiser cell phone. 303 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:47.519 But they aren't looking for a suspects number, the subpoena, 304 00:14:47.559 --> 00:14:50.960 the call detail, records the CDRs to establish an immovable 305 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:51.759 time of death. 306 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:54.840 This is where the digital footprint starts to show its power. 307 00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:58.159 The telecom data show is Wiser made an outgoing call 308 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:02.720 at exactly eleven one point two five am, and we know. 309 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:04.840 The driver arrived at the door at twelve thro z 310 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:06.919 pm flat and got no answer. 311 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:11.200 So through digital records and witness testimony, the window is locked. 312 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:13.759 The murder had to happen in that tight thirty five 313 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:14.360 minute window. 314 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:16.399 It's like a steel trap. It doesn't tell you who 315 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:19.279 pulled the trigger, but it creates a perfect filter. If 316 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:21.480 you can't prove where you were between eleven point twenty 317 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:23.679 five and twelve zero zero, you're caught. 318 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:26.799 It's the structural foundation for the case, but we have 319 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:29.679 to acknowledge the massive emotional weight on the team here. 320 00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:32.200 They have a timeline but zero. 321 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:35.320 Suspects, and the documentary shares this haunting detail. The lead 322 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:38.120 detective had actually spoken to Wiser on the phone three 323 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:40.840 weeks before the murder about a neighborhood issue, and. 324 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:44.240 During that call, Wiser made an offhand comment that he 325 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:46.399 didn't expect the police to ever sult the case as 326 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:49.600 something happened to him because crime is just too random, just. 327 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:53.440 A chilling prophecy. The detective is fighting against the victim's 328 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:56.960 own fatalism. And on top of that, he promised Wiser's 329 00:15:57.000 --> 00:15:58.399 dad he'd be the one to call when they made 330 00:15:58.399 --> 00:15:58.919 an arrest. 331 00:15:59.080 --> 00:16:02.159 He's carrying that promise while staring at a file with 332 00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:07.320 zero physical evidence and zero witnesses. So the investigation undergoes 333 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:08.840 a fundamental evolution here. 334 00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:11.320 They stop looking at what the killer left behind and 335 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:14.960 start obsessively focusing on what is actually missing from the house. 336 00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:18.200 Shifting from positive evidence to negative evidence, and this leads 337 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:21.360 to the biggest breakthrough of the case, a digital tripwire. 338 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:26.159 The inventory revelation. Remember the house is a labyrinth of boxes. 339 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:29.840 Taking inventory of a hoarder's house is grueling. They're comparing 340 00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:32.519 everything to receipts and Amazon histories. 341 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:35.840 And they establish Wiser was an avid gamer. As they 342 00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:41.000 self through everything, they realize one relatively inexpensive item is gone. 343 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:43.639 Out of all the laptops and jewelry, the only thing 344 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:46.360 missing is a Nintendo Switch gaming console. 345 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:49.840 The ultimate needle in the haystack. But how do you 346 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:52.879 scientifically prove it was there that morning and not sold 347 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:53.639 months ago? 348 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:57.000 Because the empty plastic game cases for Zelda, Breath of 349 00:16:57.000 --> 00:16:59.679 the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey are sitting right near 350 00:16:59.679 --> 00:16:59.960 the tea. 351 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:04.440 They tear apart his office, his car, every box. The 352 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:08.039 games are there, the doc is there, the console is gone. 353 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:11.160 So they decided to subpoena Nintendo. The detectives admit there 354 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:14.119 was zero precedent in their department for using a children's 355 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:15.920 toy to solve a capital murder. 356 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:18.839 They're used to pinging cell phones with GPS. A switch 357 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:22.000 as a toy doesn't have a cellular radio or GPS. 358 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:25.440 But the detective understands modern electronics the Internet of Things. 359 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.960 A switch operates on a complex Wi Fi architecture. 360 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:33.039 To update or play multiplayer, or verify licenses, it has 361 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:36.599 to perform a handshake protocol with a local network routing 362 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:37.960 to Nintendo's global server. 363 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:41.200 His hypothesis is brilliant. If the killers took it and 364 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:43.440 ever turn it on and connect to the internet, it 365 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:45.680 acts as a digital beacon. It calls home. 366 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:48.400 So they send the subpoena to Nintendo's legal team and 367 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:52.240 wait days past then weeks. The trail goes ice cold. 368 00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:55.680 It feels like Weiser's prediction of random violence is going 369 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:59.519 to win. Then On December seventh, almost three weeks later, 370 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:03.119 around two point zero zero pm, the detective gets an 371 00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:04.799 email from Nintendo. 372 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:07.599 And he literally screams in the middle of the squad room. 373 00:18:08.920 --> 00:18:10.799 The switch has connected. 374 00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:12.680 To the Internet and the data is super specific. It 375 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:17.440 connected for exactly ten minutes, which is a huge behavioral clue, but. 376 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:20.720 It raises a logical question. If you steal the device 377 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:23.480 during a murder, why wait three weeks to turn it 378 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:25.559 on and why only for ten minutes? 379 00:18:25.880 --> 00:18:27.759 Right? Wouldn't you just wipe it the mini got home, 380 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:29.319 so you could sell it, you'd think. 381 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:32.759 So, But that ignores the underground economy as stolen electronics, 382 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:34.720 there's a life cycle for fence goods. 383 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:37.039 H because it's a high heat crime. The item is 384 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:38.720 radioactive exactly. 385 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:40.680 The offenders know the police are looking for it, so 386 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:42.799 it gets put in a drawer or a stash house 387 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:44.319 while they wait for the heat to die. 388 00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:47.079 Down, so it just sits there, or it gets passed around, 389 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:50.319 traded for drugs until someone decides it's safe to sell. 390 00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:53.599 But to sell a modern console, you can't leave the 391 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:57.519 victim's profile logged in. You have to execute a hard factory. 392 00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:00.119 Reset, and the OS requires an active Internet connection and 393 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.440 to authenticate the wipe with Nintendo servers before it formats 394 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:04.039 the memory. 395 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:08.079 Precisely, that ten minute window wasn't someone playing Zelda. It 396 00:19:08.119 --> 00:19:11.920 was someone rapidly connecting to Wi Fi, executing the factory 397 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:13.440 wipe and disconnecting. 398 00:19:13.640 --> 00:19:16.559 They thought they were a rasing Wiser's digital ghost, making 399 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:20.319 it untraceable, but trying to sever the connection is what 400 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:21.599 lit them up on the map. 401 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:24.200