Computer Analyst Provides Forensic Evidence in Triple Murder Case

By Joshua Cenzano

SANTA BARBARA, CA – In the ongoing trial here in Santa Barbara County Superior Court of Pierre Haobsh, accused of three counts of first-degree murder, a computer analyst provided evidence and detailed testimony as to Haobsh’s movements based on signals tracked from his cell phone.

Haobsh is accused of murdering Dr. Henry Han, his wife Jennie, and their five-year-old daughter Emily in their Goleta home. He has waived his right to a jury and his trial is presided over and will be decided by Judge Brian Hill.

The computer analyst, an expert with decades of experience, was called by the prosecution to present the exact times and locations to which Haobsh’s iPhone 6 was tracked between March 19 and March 23 of 2016, around the time of the alleged murders.

The witness provided evidence from AT&T that Haobsh’s phone was tracked to Tempe, Arizona, on Mar. 19, after which it moved to the Santa Barbara area where the murders allegedly occurred, and finally ended up in the San Diego area later in the week, where Haobsh was ultimately arrested.

The significance of this testimony is that it contradicts Haobsh’s statement to police that he had been in or on his way to Oceanside after meeting a friend for lunch at the time of the murders.

The prosecution faced an unforeseen complication during the computer analyst’s direct examination, as another witness arrived out of order in the courtroom. The attorneys conferred for a few moments and elected to call this witness midway through the analyst’s testimony.

The witness worked as a cleaning woman for Dr. Han’s business. She testified that she had been to Han’s house on a few occasions, including around the time of the alleged murders.

She testified that she had arrived at Dr. Han’s residence on the morning of March 23 and remained there for several hours to clean the house.

The attorneys for both the prosecution and defense were adamant about clarifying exactly which part of the house she had cleaned, since she presumably could have come across some evidence of the alleged murders.

She found it difficult to remember certain details about the day in question since it was so long ago, but her testimony was further beleaguered by her admission midway through that she had been on drugs that day and struggled to remember anything at all.

This came with a contradiction to her previous statement that she adamantly remembered cleaning only the kitchen of the Han residence.

Defense Attorney Christine Voss sought to further damage the witness’ credibility by entering into evidence her previous convictions for vandalism and possession of stolen property.

The trial is ongoing and is expected to finish around Thanksgiving.

Author

  • Joshua Cenzano

    Joshua is a second-year student at UCSB majoring in history. He is from Port Hueneme, California and is pursuing a career in law.

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