From the NY Times: February 13, 2003 Spotting Crime on the Internet By PAMELA LiCALZI O'CONNELL Cybersleuths A new case is drawing virtual detectives to crime-fighting bulletin boards: the unsolved Christmas Eve disappearance of Laci Peterson, 27, of Modesto, Calif., who was eight months pregnant with her first child. Thousands of postings at websleuths.com, crimenews2000.com and cybersleuths.com, among others, pool theories and debate evidence in the Peterson case. But can these amateur sleuths help criminal investigators, or are their discussions mere white noise? Ned Johnston, who has taken part in online crime forums for six years, said that participants genuinely believe they can "help in some way to solve a crime." He said he was once interviewed by a detective as a result of his postings about the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. Similarly, the founders of CrimeNews2000.com report that a last-minute witness in Michael Skakel's trial last year for the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley in Greenwich, Conn., had come to prosecutors' attention as a result of postings at the site. A sort of community policing, Internet style, is at work. There are participants "from everywhere," said Melissa Hoyle, moderator of the Peterson forum at Websleuths. "There is always someone who actually knows somebody. That kind of insight can't be gathered canvassing a neighborhood." (The Peterson forums became so popular at Websleuths that the site crashed last week, and its administrators are trying to get it back online.) Still, the gossip quotient is high, and claims of relevance can be inflated. Experts say these forums are most likely to be monitored by law enforcement in cases where leads have dried up. "Then you'll go after anything," said Bill Moylan, a Nassau County police detective and director of training for the Stephen E. Smith Center for Cyber Crime at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan (johnjay.jjay.cuny.edu/cyberctr). Sites that dig up Net-based information can be particularly useful because "locating records online is not a normal avenue of investigation for most homicide detectives," he explained. (Mrs. Peterson's listing at an online baby-gift registry was first found by a discussion board member.) Would Detective Moylan be monitoring crime forums if he were on the Peterson case? "Absolutely."
It Gave me a Chuckle.... ...to see good old Nedthan mentioned in the article. Ned of the kid-in-the-suitcase experiment. You must admit, Ned is an original. He must be a pretty good guy, because he was banned for life by jameson during the Westerfield debates. Memories....memories.....
