Apple Health data used to convict man in wife's death

An Alabama man has been convicted of manslaughter in the death of his wife after police used Apple Health app data from his iPhone to contradict his alibi.

Jeff West, 47, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the death of his wife, 42-year-old Kat West, according to The Birmingham News.

Kat West died from a blow to the head delivered by her husband, the jury found. Jeff West has maintained his innocence for more than three years since her death in January 2018. The Health app on his iPhone, however, told a different story.

West had told police that he fell asleep around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2018 and woke up around 5:15 a.m. the next morning to the sound of police vehicles outside his home.

Data from the Health app on his iPhone, however, showed that he had actually taken 18 steps from 11:03 p.m. until 11:10 p.m. on Jan. 12.

Forensic analysis carried out on Kat West's device also showed that the last time she moved was around 10:54 p.m. That was around the time that Jeff claimed to be in bed. Additionally, police also found Jeff's fingerprints at the bottom of the bottle that was used to bludgeon his wife in the head.

According to The Birmingham News, prosecutors believe that Jeff killed his wife after an argument and proceeded to stage the scene to make himself look innocent. Jeff West was a trained crime scene investigator, they added.

West has been in prison for the last three years as the trial progressed, despite his claims of innocence. He was convicted of reckless manslaughter in November, and a judge handed down the 16-year sentence on Monday.

10 Comments

elijahg 2822 comments · 18 Years

About 3 years ago

i really don't think that "18 steps" being shown on a health tracker is proof of murder... My watch used to show steps when I was asleep pre-watchOS 7.

Xed 2874 comments · 4 Years

elijahg said:

i really don't think that "18 steps" being shown on a health tracker is proof of murder... My watch used to show steps when I was asleep pre-watchOS 7.

That isn't the only evidence. She was bludgeon to death and they have a murder weapon, and his watch shows that he was awake after the murder. That sounds like a lot more than just circumstantial when you put it all together, and I'm sure there is plenty of other details that we're simply not privy to in this Apple tech article.

hammeroftruth 1354 comments · 16 Years

elijahg said:

i really don't think that "18 steps" being shown on a health tracker is proof of murder... My watch used to show steps when I was asleep pre-watchOS 7.

Maybe you sleepwalk? Maybe it’s counting trips to the restroom?

luisfrocha 43 comments · 9 Years

hammeroftruth said:

elijahg said:

i really don't think that "18 steps" being shown on a health tracker is proof of murder... My watch used to show steps when I was asleep pre-watchOS 7.

Maybe you sleepwalk? Maybe it’s counting trips to the restroom?

Not necessarily. Plenty of times I place my watch to charge at the end of the day and put it back on for sleeping. As I lay in bed, I might check the watch and it shows that I had stood up and that I had a handful of steps, even though I had been in bed the whole time, just tossing and turning. I’m not saying he didn’t do it; I’m only saying that the Watch sometimes shows activity when there’s none.