News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Judge Alan Curtis sits in the back of the courtroom Monday before closing Friday’s Brad Srebnik murder trial. Srebnik is accused of killing Abbey Hill and Bryn Bills in 2021.
ALPENA — During the investigation into the disappearance and death of Abbey Hill and Bryn Bills, police collected nearly 30 electronic items from which Michigan State Police forensic analysts attempted to extract data.
To connect the dots, the Special Crimes Unit collected cellphones, tablets, SIM cards and information from Hill, Brad Srebnik, who is accused of killing Hill and the Bills, and some of their friends and associates. I received a combination of memory cards. About the incident.
Information about the substances pulled from the device was shared on the fifth day of Srebnik’s murder trial in 26th Circuit Court in Alpena.
Srebnik is charged in the 2021 deaths of Bills, a teenager from Mio, and Hill, a woman from Alpena. The charges against him include premeditated murder, weapons charges, and two counts of dismembering and mutilating a corpse.
He faces a possible life sentence but denies the charges.
In some cases, large amounts of data were extracted from the devices thanks to special tools and software, while in others little new information was provided to the police.
Some of the messages sent between the parties were encrypted through the use of an app called Signal, which scrambles messages sent and received.
Defense lawyer Patrick Cherry said police collected about 10,000 pages of data extracted from the devices before the jury entered the courtroom.
Chelsea Coburn, a digital forensics analyst with the state police, said extracting information from a device can be difficult, especially if the device has a passcode or uses an application that encrypts messages. said that it is becoming increasingly difficult. She said the tools police use have changed over time, but sometimes things slip through the cracks because they can’t be recovered.
“If you have a passcode, it’s difficult, but sometimes you can still get the data out,” Coburn testified. “It’s easy if the phone is turned on, but difficult if you have a passcode and the phone is turned off or arrives unpowered.”
In her testimony, Coburn reviewed evidence of conversations between Srebnik and her friend Josh Waggau, who is also charged with felonies in the deaths of the two women.
Late last year, Willgau reached a plea agreement with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office to reduce the charges. He is charged with mutilation of Ms. Bills’ body and other felonies, but prosecutors agreed to drop the murder charge against Mr. Willgau in Ms. Hill’s death. Wilgau could be sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison.
Much of the conversation discussed in court Friday consisted of Mr. Srebnik, Mr. Vilgau, Mr. Hill and their friend Bruce Kinsey checking in on each other. However, some messages will be used by prosecutors to establish evidence of Mr. Wilgau’s previous testimony.
Friday’s hearing was adjourned mid-day due to a personal emergency of a person involved in the case. The adjournment occurred before the defense could cross-examine Cobain.
The trial is scheduled to resume Monday at 9:30 a.m.
