CNN Forensic Files August 2, 2015 05:25:30 archive.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archive.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
investigators found two floppy disks on joe snodgrass desk which they thought might hold evidence of his complicity in his wife s murder plot. but before they checked the disks, investigators wanted to make sure they actually belonged to joe snodgrass and weren t someone else s. so they asked him to come to the interrogation room to identify them. joe snodgrass was in a cooperative posture. he s a law enforcement official. and so if someone is investigating, well, naturally, you try to cooperate so you can get him off the suspect list. as snodgrass investigated the discs, investigators were distracted. he pulled out a pair of scissors and shredded the discs. they tried to get the scissors away from him.
confession, joe snodgrass angrily denied any involvement in the murder of his wife and called his former housekeeper a liar. to prove it, he permitted investigators to search his house. they found these insurance policies under a mattress. hmm, and they said, under the mattress? he said, i really didn t want you to find those. a little suspicious looking. i didn t want you to find that. the policies revealed something troubling. joe had recently increased the amount of his wife s life insurance from $200,000 to over $400,000. and on joe s desk at work, investigators found even more potential evidence. they came up with a bunch of floppy disks, those big 5 1/4 inch disks that we used to use. just as the investigation was starting to take shape, joe s colleagues made a catastrophic
there are pieces of this disk on the floor. i ll tell you, a couple of things go through your mind at this point. the first thing is, how in the world did this man get scissors into the interview room? and second of all, how did he get the disks and do this? apparently, snodgrass new investigators had his floppy disks, and he came to the interrogation prepared. we knew that whatever was on that disk was absolutely should i say death to joe. joe snodgrass was immediately taken into military custody. called us up and said they are arresting me for the murder of your mother. and he said, i promise, i did not kill your mother. and i said, okay, i believe you.
and their research led to a brand of scotch tape called 811. doesn t leave a residue. it s very easy to apply. it s very easy to take off without damaging anything. so they used it to piece together the damaged floppy disks. to their enormous relief, it was a success. it took some initiative, and it worked. there were lots of cheers. it was pretty cool. it was pretty rewarding that we developed a technique that was working and we actually were getting data. what some said would cost close to $1 million had only cost $131. and that included $50 for the first disk drive that we destroyed. but was there any information on the disks that would implicate sergeant joe snodgrass in his wife s murder?