Computer technology developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and transitioned to law enforcement by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center Northeast (NLECTC-NE) was featured this spring in a segment of the HBO series Autopsy: Sex, Lies and Murder.

One of four segments of the current series, “He Said…She Said” focused on the slaying of 48-year-old Susan Fassett, who was gunned down in October 1999 as she was leaving choir practice at the Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church in Dutchess County, N.Y. Dawn Silvernail and former Town of Poughkeepsie water superintendent Fred Andros—both of whom were linked romantically to Fassett—were convicted of the murder. Police determined that Silvernail shot Fassett at Andros’ behest. Silvernail, found guilty in 2001, is serving a sentence of 18 years to life in prison. Andros, sentenced to 25 years to life, died in prison in 2002.

A major key to the convictions was cell-phone records and a new forensic tool developed by the Air Force, WebTAS (Web Enabled Timeline Analysis System). “WebTAS provides a capability to rapidly connect to diverse data sources and combine the data in multiple analytical/visualization tools, with the goal of providing alerts/warnings of developing situations,” said John Mucks, a program manager in the AFRL Information Directorate. “Currently, WebTAS supports operational users in the tracking of events, individuals, and/or organizations in support of counterinsurgency, counter drug, counterterrorism and law enforcement.”

Autopsy producer Gaby Monet told the Poughkeepsie Journal that she decided to examine the Fassett case because "it was a very complicated murder case with many twists and turns with a very unusual situation.”

"In addition," Monet said, "we are always looking for new aspects of forensic science that we haven't dealt with before in previous shows. I had never heard of the special computer forensic science which was used to solve the Andros case."

Silvernail admitted her part in the crime and testified against Andros at his trial; however, New York State law prohibits a conviction based solely on a co-conspirator’s testimony. State Police turned to NLECTC-NE’s Law Enforcement Analysis Facility (LEAF) at Griffiss Business & Technology Park to review records of thousands of communications—telephone, pager and cell phone calls, as well as e-mail correspondence between Andros, Fassett and Silvernail. The goal was to connect the three and establish Andros’ involvement. The problem was sorting through all the information.

“Our job was to input all those communications into a computer and to analyze it,” said James J. Hepler, a law enforcement analyst for LEAF. “There were 4,000 (records), all on paper and in different formats. We had to enter them all by hand. It took us six weeks.”

The result of LEAF’s work and its implementation of WebTAS was an easily understood picture of the thousands of communications between Andros, Fassett and Silvernail. It showed Silvernail and Fassett had no independent communications and therefore no relationship. It also corroborated Silvernail’s testimony regarding times, dates and locations of her contacts with Andros.

“WebTAS graphically plots criminal events and presents visual and statistical data on timelines, graphs, tables and maps,” said Hepler. “The timeline developed for this case showed links among those involved. Maps were created with data from Andros’ electronic toll road access card that showed where he was when he made certain calls.”

Over the past decade, HBO's Autopsy series has allowed viewers to witness how forensic pathologists, known as "doctors of death," crack their most difficult cases, unlocking secrets of mysterious crimes that might otherwise go unsolved. Offering first-person explanations by experts and family members, videotapes of autopsies and crime scenes, and photographs from case files, the documentaries have featured insights from Dr. Michael Baden, former Chief Medical Examiner of New York City.

Dr. Baden performed the autopsy on Susan Fassett and helped police determine some of the circumstances leading up to the shooting. On the show, he explains how WebTAS technology enabled police to use phone records to reconstruct how Andros planned the crime.

NLECTC-NE is a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) program that assists criminal justice practitioners in the development, implementation and evaluation of modern technology. The organization’s goal is to leverage AFRL technology to benefit the criminal justice practitioner.

NIJ is the research and development agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ provides objective, independent, nonpartisan, evidence-based knowledge and tools to meet the challenges of crime and justice, particularly at state and local levels.

In compliance with federal Posse Comitatus restrictions, no Department of Defense personnel were involved with the case.

For more information, contact Francis Crumb at (315) 330-3053.