A. Defense

Deleted messages can often be exculpatory to a defendant. Let’s examine a hypothetical case inspired by real cases. A defendant is being tried for sexual assault by the plaintiff. The plaintiff provided text message history to the police that painted a narrative of non-consensual acts and harassment by the defendant. The plaintiff told the police that they had had little contact with the defendant after the act and that the defendant sent messages that the plaintiff ignored. 

The defendant’s team decides to further investigate the messages between the plaintiff and defendant. Digital forensics experts use an advanced file system extraction to discover dozens of deleted messages from the plaintiff to the defendant. These messages showed the plaintiff responding to many of the messages the defendant sent, having casual conversations, and explicitly discussing the acts as consensual. 

These deleted messages paint a picture very different from the plaintiff’s testimony and can be used as key pieces of evidence in exonerating the defendant.

B. Prosecution

In France, two parents were notified of their daughter’s apparent suicide. Investigators immediately looked to the woman’s husband, whose story and alibi were filled with holes. However, when the medical examiner deemed the woman’s death a suicide, the investigation into her husband ceased.   

The mother received the daughter’s items after her death, including her iPhone 4. Suspicious of her late daughter’s husband, the mother decided to go through each and every text message on her daughter’s phone. She forwarded any suspicious messages to the police which sparked an in-depth investigation and analysis of the device. The appointed digital forensics expert used a physical extraction to discover deleted messages from the woman’s husband that ended up incriminating him in his involvement with her death.