How Gmail Server Evidence Led to a Jury Verdict of $23.2 Million For Wrongful Death (andrewwatters.com) 32
Long-time Slashdot reader wattersa is a lawyer in Redwood City, California, and a Slashdot reader since 1998. In 2022 he shared the remarkable story of a three-year missing person investigation that was ultimately solved with a subpoena to Google. A murder victim appeared to have sent an email at a time which would exonerate the chief suspect. But a closer inspection of that email's IP addresses revealed it was actually sent from a hotel where the suspect was staying. ("Although Google does not include the originating IP address in the email headers, it turns out that they retain the IP address for some unknown length of time...")
Today wattersa brings this update: The case finally went to trial in July 2025, where I testified about the investigation along with an expert witness on computer networking. The jury took three hours to return a verdict against the victim's husband for wrongful death in the amount of $23.2 million, with a special finding that he caused the death of his wife.
The defendant is a successful mechanical engineer at an energy company, but is walking as a free man because he is Canadian and no one can prosecute him in the U.S., since Taiwan and the U.S. don't have extradition with each other.
It was an interesting case and I look forward to using it as a model in other missing person cases.
Today wattersa brings this update: The case finally went to trial in July 2025, where I testified about the investigation along with an expert witness on computer networking. The jury took three hours to return a verdict against the victim's husband for wrongful death in the amount of $23.2 million, with a special finding that he caused the death of his wife.
The defendant is a successful mechanical engineer at an energy company, but is walking as a free man because he is Canadian and no one can prosecute him in the U.S., since Taiwan and the U.S. don't have extradition with each other.
It was an interesting case and I look forward to using it as a model in other missing person cases.
Taiwan is Part of Canada? (Score:3)
"because he is Canadian and no one can prosecute him in the U.S., since Taiwan and the U.S. don't have extradition with each other."
If he's Canadian, what does Taiwan have to do with it? Did someone leave out the part where he fled to Taiwan?
Re:Taiwan is Part of Canada? (Score:5, Informative)
I was referring to the overseas murder statute in the U.S., 18 U.S.C. sec 1119. It prohibits murder of a U.S. citizen overseas, but only applies to U.S. nationals, i.e., citizens. Because the defendant is Canadian, he cannot be prosecuted in the U.S. for killing a U.S. citizen overseas. He is a free man unless and until they can prove he planned or covered up the crime in the U.S.
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This is a rare case in which the family can afford an expensive, lengthy, attorney-led private investigation.
Taiwan trip in November 2019 started on November 23, 2019. The parties landed on November 24, 2019 around 8 p.m.
If so, why isn't Taiwan prosecuting him for murder?
But Taiwanese officials can’t extradite him because the U.S. doesn’t have formal diplomatic relations with the country, and therefore has no extradition treaty. Herchen remains free and lives in Los Altos.
There is no international Dog, the bounty hunter?
I assume that the civil penalty is unenforceable also?
his second wife, Melissa Yu. She died from cardiac arrest due to obstructive sleep apnea in June 2017, according to a Santa Clara County Medical Examiner report. The medical examiner noted multiple bruises on Yu’s body but didn’t conclude what their cause was.
Another one of his wives died somewhat mysteriously. I'd recommend you tell his current girlfriend in Taiwan that dating Dr. Herchen usually leads to unexpected death.
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It succinctly shows what is wrong with America and its justice system.
Not this time. Unfortunate, but nothing wrong on the USA this time. This is the way extraterritoriality is applied, e.g. to punish sex tourism / abuses against children in remote countries. Say A citizen of country A travelling to X to commit something, can be judged upon return to A, if for whatever reason X could not prosecute (e.g. absence of laws against the acts in question, apparently happened a lot in the past in sex abuse cases). This exists because many countries will not want to extradite their ci
Re: Taiwan is Part of Canada? (Score:2)
Re: Taiwan is Part of Canada? (Score:2)
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The post by "wattersa" is exclusively about the fact that he can't be prosecuted by the State. Answer by "ihavesaxwithcollies", starting with the words, "It succinctly shows what is wrong...", is I assumed about this specific point. I could be wrong, but anyway my answer "Not this time" refers only to that.
I agree with you there could be more things wrong (in general, or about the USA justice system) but I did not try analyse them.
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this is a rare case in which the family can afford an expensive, lengthy, attorney-led private investigation.
Again, this is unfortunate, but not specifically a wrong of USA. "Attorney-led private investigation" exist in numerous places (including in civil law systems, very different than the USA). This procedure is understood as a citizen backup, for the case one believes the State is not conducting the investigation or prosecuting the way they should. It is seldom used anywhere, because it is usually expensive if you need to collect evidence, and also considered legally risky (if you privately prosecute and lose,
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Private kidnapper services are pretty much a strictly US thing. And its insane that its legal over there.
And international bounty hunters will never be a thing because there are *serious* problems with juristiction.
If Dog turned up here in australia to grab someone, you could bet your bottom dollar the cops would be intercepting him hard and charging him with a conspiracy to kidnap someone.
Actual legal processes dont always succeed but they are *far* better t
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The Slashdot story from 2022 linked in the summary has more info.
https://yro.slashdot.org/story... [slashdot.org]
He killed his wife. (Score:2)
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In my opinion of what is moral, yes, murderers can not be successful at anything.
your opinion of what is moral is admirable, but that is not the way "success" is defined.
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I guess I am Christian. I think that means "Christ like".
"Christ like" and "successful" are different things.
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For me, helping somebody does it.
Are you talking about the faith healing? Because I'm a little skeptical about the long-term efficacy of those treatments.
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Alice Ku was murdered in Taiwan. Lawsuit in US. (Score:4, Informative)
She disappeared after sightseeing with Herchen at Taroko National Park on Nov. 29, 2019.
Wurds are hard (Score:2)
'Exonate'?
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Re: Wurds are hard (Score:2)
WTF?!
Well ... (Score:2)
Although Google does not include the originating IP address in the email headers, it turns out that they retain the IP address for some unknown length of time...
Undisclosed anyway. I imagine Google knows. Then again... :-)
Subpoena (Score:2)
It seems they obtained this digital evidence in an altogether legal and appropriate way: using a court order. There's no hint that this is some kind of invasion of privacy.