My friend is under investigation and he has destroyed incriminating evidence, how much trouble is he in?

[Anonymous]

So my friend is under investigation by the feds and local law enforcement after he said some stupid violent stuff online. He told me that he lied to them and that he has destroyed evidence that it is him by ripping out his old hard drive and throwing it in the river along with his backup drive. Then he got a new phone (they have his IMEI number) and got a new wifi network system complete with a new router and etc. He says that his parents is helping cover for him. How much trouble is he in?

[PrettyPriya]

Okay, so I am not good with this sort of thing but my SO is quite knowledgeable. He is pretty tech savvy. So, I asked him his thoughts. They are not good for your friend. He likely is in too deep as he put it at this point that it wouldn't matter what he tried to cover.

If the sort of crime/evidence is that bad, the authorities will find it and piece it all together. The fact that they know he did already is going to be the issue. Simply getting a new phone and destroying a hard drive isn't going to mean much.

Sounds like (to my fiancé) that they already knew what he did and likely have all the evidence they need already. I don't think your friend is in a good position. Best keep your distance from him so you don't get tangled up in that as well.

[SueShe]

Let me assume that this friend of yours is actually nobody else than you. Why would you go in such details to ask this question. If this person did actually do what you claim he did, then it is utmost stupid of him to divulge what he did because the more people that are aware of what happened, the higher the likelihood is that the story will leak at some point.

Now, throwing a hard disk in a river is about the most stupid thing one can do to try to destroy evidence. Forensic investigation has been perfected to such an extend that a hard disk can still be read with forensic tools.

A new WiFi router, new cell phone, even a new provider will not deter the investigators to add one and one and eventually to find him. Not only will he be convicted but he will have to pay a rather hefty bill for the forensic evidence, depending on the means and time needed to find out the evidence. Good luck to you.

[Avicenna]

Well, nonone can tell you Gift sure without knowing all the facts, but obviously he didn’t destroy all evidence. He needs to consult a lawyer.

[driven159]

a lot and they can get stuff without the computer because if he sent stuff, it's on their computer can you spell plea-bargain

[Agape93]

Quite a bit. They can still retrieve the information, so he's getting an additional charge for every bit if evidence destroyed

[FunkyMonkee]

Are you talking about Hitlary?