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6/21/11: Convicted Murderer Receives Life Sentence — Digital Evidence Took Center Stage
The man accused of fatally stabbing Iraq war veteran James Stropas, 32, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Philadelphia RCFL Examiner Mike Avella, on assignment to the laboratory from the Delaware County District Attorney's Office, testified during the trial and received an accommodation for his work on the high-profile case. The convicted killer, local businessman Sean Burton, placed a GPS tracking device under Mr. Stropas' vehicle. According to press reports, prosecutors said that Burton accessed the GPS device more than 100 times between the period of 6/20/10 through 7/21/10 — the day Mr. Stropas was murdered. GPS trackers can monitor a car's location and speed, with more sophisticated models sending this data in real time to the user's computer. Examiner Avella testified that when he accessed Burton's computer, he found information regarding "Black Line GPS," which was the same device found on Mr. Stropas' vehicle. Prosecutors stated that Burton was jealous of Mr. Stropas' relationship with his ex–wife. He placed the GPS device to track Mr. Stropas' whereabouts and attacked him on July 21 — stabbing him nearly 80 times in his upper body. Burton claimed he was acting in self-defense, however, the jury rejected this and reached a guilty verdict after deliberating for three and a half hours. Because Burton was convicted of first degree murder, he received the mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.  Examiner Mike Avella received an accommodation for his work on the Stropas case. Shown here from left to right are J.P. McDonald, Director of the PHRCFL, Springfield Township Police Chief Joseph Daly, Examiner Avella, and Delaware County District Attorney Mike Green, who's also a member of the PHRCFL's Local Executive Board and the RCFL Program's National Advisory Committee. - end - |