Police Spot Evidence in Facebook Selfie That Solves Murder Case
A Facebook selfie posted by a Canadian woman gave police officers the missing piece to a murder case.
Cheyenne Rose Antoine posted a picture with the murder victim, and in it Antoine was wearing the belt that was found near the dead woman’s body, Fox News reported.
The 21-year-old pleaded guilty on Monday to killing Brittney Gargol in March 2015. Antoine has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
The photo appeared on Facebook after Gargol was found dead on the side of a road in Saskatoon, according to Fox.
The two friends had gotten into an argument after a night of drinking before Antoine used her belt to strangle Gargol.
Antoine posted on Gargol’s personal Facebook page the next morning: “Where are you? Haven’t heard from you. Hope you made it home safe,” BBC reported.
Police later discovered that this post was a diversion attempt to add to her original story.
Initially, Antoine told the police that the two friends had gone to some bars after a house party from which Gargol left with an unidentified man and Antoine went to visit her uncle.
After security footage from the bar failed to verify her story, police used Antoine’s social media to try to piece together the real story, according to CBC. There, they found the picture with the murder weapon worn by Antoine.
A witness ultimately told the police that Antoine had confessed to her that she killed Gargol.
Antoine told the courtroom that she did not remember strangling her friend, but admitted that they were both drunk and high on marijuana before their argument.
“I will never forgive myself. Nothing I say or do will ever bring her back,” she said in a statement, according to Fox News. “I am very, very sorry. … It shouldn’t have ever happened.”
According to Antoine’s lawyer, she told the police a month before the murder that she was being abused by her foster parents.
BBC reported that because Antoine showed remorse, the judge agreed to a seven year sentence after a guilty plea to manslaughter and not the second-degree murder Antoine was originally charged with.
“Honor your friend by becoming a positive member of the community,” Judge Marilyn Gray told Antoine. “You owe it to her.”
Gargol’s family expressed anger and sadness over her death, and her uncle said that she was “a wonderful person that didn’t deserve this and we truly miss her every day,” according to the Saskatoon Star Phoenix.
“Most days we can’t stop thinking about Brittney, what happened that night, what she must have felt fighting for her life,” Jennifer Gargol, the victim’s aunt, told the court.
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