Austrian Police catches the offender responsible for brutal robberies
Identifying the suspect through crime patterns and CCTV
THE CASE
Since June 30, 2017, eight retired pensioners were robbed in broad daylight, each at different times and places.
THE CHALLENGE
As the robber(s) were not caught, the investigative team had to work fast to apprehend them before the next incident, as the victims were brutally injured during those attacks.
In the meantime, police took the opportunity through a news broadcast to remind the public to take several measures to protect themselves as this case is ongoing.
HOW GEOTIME HELPED
Crime analysts have been working in the background to help solve this case. Each robbery is mapped out – time and location – as well as the victim’s movements prior to each attack, to outline certain patterns that may point towards the next incident.
Once a possible suspect was identified with the help of public transit CCTV, the investigators obtained the call detail records of the suspect’s two phone numbers through a court order.
In GeoTime, the analysts were able to find evidence that the suspect was in close proximity to the victims in time and location for all crimes except robberies #3 and #8.
A second identified suspect was excluded after mapping his CDR in GeoTime, because it showed he was far away from all crime scenes.
GeoTime Features Used
- Callout Annotations in 2D, 3D and calendar view
- Snapshots & Reports
- Videos
- Automated Analysis Patterns
THE RESULT
From that analysis, police have determined that at least 6 of these 8 robberies were carried out by the suspect. Knowing that police is looking for him, the suspect fled to Romania where he was arrested by the local police.
After his extradition to Austria, he denied everything. When confronted with the cell site analysis of his call records in GeoTime, he was more than shocked, but has not confessed.
On January 12, 2018, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment – the maximum possible sentence. Video and mobile phone information was crucial in the trial as he had not confessed to any of the crimes.