A suspected murderer gave police an alibi so outlandish — it involves a masked assailant with a voice like Vin Diesel's who was ultimately chased off with a blowtorch — that the fact a Fitbit could hold the key to whether he is telling the truth isn't the strangest part of the story.
Richard Dabate told authorities that at around 9 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2015, a mysterious intruder entered his Ellington, Connecticut, home, and subdued him using "pressure points," The Guardian reports. Then, using a gun belonging to Richard, the man shot Dabate's wife, Connie, as she returned home from the gym. Dabate then claimed he used a blowtorch to chase the assailant away. Police say that Connie Dabate's Fitbit tells a different story.
The electronic physical activity tracking device showed that Connie was moving for more than an hour after her husband said the murder took place, police documents say. It also showed that once she came home, she moved more than 1,200 feet; Richard Dabate said she was killed in the garage right when she arrived home. Investigators say they also looked at computer records and found that Richard Dabate lied about sending an email to his work from the road, plus they were unable to find any signs of a forced entry, struggle, or a tall man with a "Vin Diesel voice," which is how Dabate described the alleged murderer.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Police say the couple's marriage was on shaky ground, and that Richard Dabate had a pregnant girlfriend on the side and attempted to claim a $475,000 life insurance policy on Connie Dabate five days after her murder. Now facing trial on charges of murder, tampering with evidence, and making a false statement, Dabate is due back in court Friday.
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulderspeed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
