The Evidence

With just under a week to review the evidence I got to work looking at everything available to me objectively.  A new case with fresh eyes, setting aside bias of my criminal justice experience, what I know to be true of Travis’s character, and just following where the evidence led.

The evidence the prosecution had sent over was outlined in this previous blog.  A quick reminder:  17 comments to six political figures and a photo which they indicated was taken from Travis’s phone after he volunteered it for forensic analysis; even though they did not provide a warrant and Travis did not volunteer for the photos to be taken from his phone and no forensic analysis evidence was shared.

I looked at some of the dates the prosecution identified the ‘threats’ were made and took pause.  From September 23-30, 2021 Travis and I traveled to Torrey and Moab, UT.  We spent the majority of our time hiking or sightseeing in places which did not have cell reception.  We also got engaged on this trip in the red rock canyons under Corona Arch. There was no cell phone reception there either.  The prosecution’s discovery stated “on or about” for each date listed.  Every post made on social media platforms are time stamped.  How could the evidence possibly be “on or about”?  Not knowing what timeframe “on or about” means legally I took note and kept digging.

I reviewed Travis’s photos.  I did not find the photo they claim came off his phone.  Perhaps the photo had been deleted, but Travis had been adamant he had never seen the photo before. I had never been so grateful for the foundation of honesty we had built our relationship upon because in experiences like this with my ingrained mindset from the criminal justice world –you must have done something to be in this situation—honesty is a saving grace.  Additionally, I created a safe space in our relationship for honesty to be further nurtured.  Humans are not perfect so I had insisted when all of this began back in February if he addressed whatever underlying issues had led to this situation occurring, I would remain by his side throughout.  Therefore, there was no threat to losing our relationship if he did admit to being responsible for the ‘threats’.  He never once blinked or waivered in his conviction about not making the posts, seeing the photo before, or having access to the IG account. 

What I did find in Travis’s photos brought about more questions than answers.  There were screenshots showing unexplainable messages being sent through an iCloud account he claimed to have not created or operated.  This account had sent messages to his brother.  While his relationship with his brother was severed around the end of 2018, his brother had text Travis to tell him about this odd message.  Then there was the email message he supposedly sent to his friend Mike which clearly wasn’t Travis.  I mentioned before about how the vernacular of the ‘threats’ were not how Travis talked.  Another word Travis never used showed up in this email that came from his account:  “salutations”.  Clearly Mike knew immediately it wasn’t Travis sending out that message either.

There was Facebook.. Travis’s name and photo existed where a friend was attempting to contact Travis.  Travis didn’t respond of course because he had closed the account a couple years before. When his friend didn’t get a response, he reached out to Travis about whether Travis received the message.  Travis informed his friend the account wasn’t his and his friend sent the screenshot information showing an account which did appear to be Travis.  I checked Facebook to see if there was an active account—to see if Travis was lying.  I could not find any account which belonged to him.  (I discovered last week apparently Facebook messenger stays active even after you close your Facebook account.  I didn’t know this back in June, but this could explain why Travis still had an active messenger account even though his Facebook account had been closed.)

There was a screenshot of Instagram (IG) locations from Travis’s personal IG account showing him in Des Moines, IA.  I was with him the day he looked at his locations and took the screenshot.  We were both physically sitting on the couch in our home in Lincoln, NE.  

Another screenshot from Travis’s personal IG account was of a meme he had posted.  It was posted the day before the verdict was rendered in the Kyle Rittenhouse case and said ‘Kyle is innocent.  We have your back.’  IG had censored this post and warned Travis this was violent and in violation of their violence or danger guidelines.  Travis submitted the censorship for review in case one of the algorithms which search for key words and whatnot had made an error, and IG upheld their censorship decision, but never explained what in the post was dangerous or violent.  Travis’s personal IG account had been closed by IG later in the year of 2021.  He regularly reposted memes and information on topics such as the origins of COVID, vaccine dangers, alternative COVID treatment protocols, and election integrity.

I also took note the prosecution’s discovery coincided with the use of Travis’s older iPhone, and when he upgraded to his current iPhone in November 2021 all of the iCloud account activity, FB oddities, etc ceased—including the ‘threats’.

Remember there were four other devices connected to the activity made through the d_h_mazer account.  Based upon what I had looked at so far, the evidence was showing me there was at least one more individual involved.

Additionally, I considered Travis’s lack of adeptness with technology.  If the internet goes out, he tells me.  He has never reset the router.  When documents need printed, he sends them to me.  He doesn’t know how to sync a device to a printer.  At one point in time, I had jokingly asked him what he had done before I came along, and he said when he lived in Arizona if his TV needed updated or he had any tech issues he would call his brother.  His brother owned a mobile audio business and installed things such as car audio systems and remote starts for a living.  He had a plethora of cameras at his business and his home and seemed to be a very techy guy.  Convenient solution for Travis to say the least.  Also, an interesting connection to this case since the IG account in question had been created through his brother’s email address.  An email address Travis had never been able to access.  Travis had a document or “note” on his phone with all of his accounts and their passwords.  He had also given the FBI permission to access that information.  Neither the d_h_mazer IG account nor his brother’s email address were included in the list of accounts he had log in information to be able to access.

I reviewed Travis’s current social media account on Truth Social and IG failing to find any antagonistic or threatening conduct.  After Travis’s original IG account was closed, he did open a new account but was very limited with what he could do through the account.  He wasn’t able to add or follow other accounts so there wasn’t much to see there.  IG had been very thorough in their censorship of his account.

I was certain the prosecution would definitely be taking all of these items into consideration as they built their case (I was later proved to be very wrong), but I needed to have a solid argument and case to be able to articulate these points clearly to the prosecution when I met with them.  If these were all of the puzzle pieces available to me, how did they fit together?  What were they showing me?

We needed to take a little trip back in time to some family events to truly consider every angle and piece of the puzzle of this case…

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Peace & Love,

Janessa