Cell Phone Lookup Leads to Murder Evidence

Had the killer turned off the victim's cell phone, he might have gotten away with murder. Instead, he is going to spend the rest of his days in prison.

William Henry Knepper Jr. killed his mother-in-law. First, he tried to shatter her skull, and then smothered her with a pillow. To remove the evidence, he dumped his bloody clothes and the dead woman's purse containing her wallet and cell phone 30 miles from her home.
When detectives couldn't find the victim's cell phone, they performed a routine search: first, they found the number running a cell phone lookup, and then allowed cell towers to pinpoint its location. They walked around the area, repeatedly calling the number, until they heard it ringing in a garbage bin of an apartment complex located only a short distance from Knepper's workplace. Not only did the bag contain the purse he took to make it look like a robbery, but the clothes, of course, had his DNA and his mother-in-law's blood all over them. The detectives knew they got very lucky: had the killer thought of turning off the cell phone, it would have been nearly impossible to find, regardless of the cell phone lookup and cell tower assistance.

Subsequent investigation led the detectives to the conclusion that the killer had a prescription drug problem, which he desperately tried to conceal from his family. However, things were spinning out of control and Knepper was getting desperate. He tried to conceal his financial problems by opening new bank accounts in his mother-in-law's name without her approval. On the day of the murder, he apparently went to her home to steal some pills, which resulted in a deadly confrontation.

The irrational actions of this man really lead one to realize his disturbed state of mind. It is inconceivable that in this day and age the man who tried to dispose of murder evidence didn't take into consideration the forensic technology at the investigators' disposal. Between DNA testing, cell phone lookups and all the other cell phone-related tricks, it is unfathomable that he didn't do a better job destroying the evidence, not to mention turning off or breaking the cell phone! But there it is.

Knepper pleaded guilty to aggravated murder charges and plea bargained for life in prison, the lightest sentence he could have hoped for if convicted by a jury. He sobbed and apologized to his family. His wife of almost 20 years appeared catatonic, clutching her mother's picture and staring ahead without a word.