Lies, Damned Lies And Facebook Evidence Get FBI Involved In Divorced Couple's Spat
from the sounds-like-a-movie dept
In a story that sounds like a movie plot with a few extra twists in it, last week a man, David Voelkert, was arrested for putting a GPS device on his ex-wife's car. The backstory behind this is that the ex-wife, Angela Voelkert, had created a fake Facebook profile of a 17-year-old girl, named Jessica Studebaker, and then befriended David to try to "get him to talk" in a way that would provide her ammo in their custody battle. We've been hearing how Facebook evidence has become pretty standard these days in divorce cases, so I guess creating a fake persona to try to dig out some extra info is the obvious next step. David Voelkert was apparently extremely forthcoming with the fake teen, telling her how he had put a GPS device on Angela's car, and said something about harming Angela. He also spoke of taking his kids and "disappearing." Angela reported this to the authorities, and the FBI stepped in and arrested David over the GPS tracking while investigating the rest.And that's where the case turned strange.
After holding him for four days, federal prosecutors have dropped all charges against David. Amazingly, he provided them with a sworn affidavit that he'd had notarized before all of the incriminating messages were sent to "Studebaker," a letter saying that he believed his wife was behind the account and was trying to "tamper" with his life:
I received a friend request from a one Jessica Studebaker. From the start of that friend request, I was under suspicion that it was not a real person, but my ex-wife or someone she knows. I am talking to this 'person' on Facebook via messages through the Facebook mail system. I am lying to this person in extent to gain positive proof that it is indeed my ex-wife trying to again tamper in my life. Anything said in the chat to her from me cannot be held as truth and I am chatting to this person in attempts to prove to my court that my ex-wife will not leave my personal life alone.... The lies that I am placing in this chat is for her to bring such up in court on the 8th day of June, 2011. I need proof what my ex-wife has been doing.... In no way do I have plans to leave with my children or do any harm to Angela Dawn Voelkert or anyone else....Federal officials checked with the person who notarized the letter, confirming that it was indeed written and signed prior to the messages actually being sent... and realized that they had no case at all.
So how long until the movie rights to this story are sold?
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Ha
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Way to go!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Way to go!
He still threatens his ex-wife and still put the GPS unit on her car.
No defense on the GPS in my opinion. As for the threats, just because he "thought" it was his ex-wife, doesn't mean he could break the law - affidavit or not. Child services may still get involved.
And what if the person was not his ex-wife?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Way to go!
True, but it did work.
Uhh - what? Did you and I read the same article? He *DIDN'T* threaten her, and he *DIDN'T* put a tracking device on her car.
So - lying about a GPS has "no defense"?
Lying is against the law? He didn't threaten her, he told a lie to a fabricated entity.
I think you might want to brush up on your reading comprehension.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Way to go!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Way to go!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Give this man an award!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Good Lord
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wow.
Just one thing I don't get. Why was he held for 4 days? If the GPS tracking was fake, that means that the FBI would not have been able to find the tracker on her car.
Did they not even look?
Or do they suspect themselves of incompetence?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Wow.
They didn't have to look, they just had to think it was there. That's because if you're an FBI agent, you're automatically right about everything.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Wow.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Owned
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Owned
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Owned
Its times like this I almost wish The Man Show were still on the air...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Owned
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
What were his (from the story here)?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I'm torn on this one, human nature being what it is and all... I mean, what he did was pretty good overall and one could kind of say it was "self defense" of a sort, but wouldn't it have been far better to ignore the fake profile and not engage in such hideous game playing? Look at the example he's set (especially for young people/kids). Now tons of people are going to try to play this kind of game on others. Let the games begin...
In other words, what can of worms did he open up? It may not all be "good".
On the other hand, if it would make silly women who play these silly games think twice it could serve a good purpose. Somehow though, I can't see it working that way.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I wonder...
The guy in this case had the forethought to make sure he could prove his innocence. Still, he was jailed for 4 days. I can't help but think that if he hadn't thought to purposely create evidence for himself beforehand, he would have likely been falsely convicted. Innocent until *proved* guilty? Obviously not. More like the other way around.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
True Lies
That's ballsy. Stupid, but ballsy."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The FBI can arrest you for putting a GPS on someone's car, but when they do it they consider it legal surveilance. How is that ok?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Honestly, sometimes the only difference between a cop and a crook is the badge.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
And sometimes the crook has a badge.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/10/fbi-tracking-device/
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
In case you hadn't noticed, cops rarely arrest themselves when they break the law.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bullying? Hacking?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Divorced Couple's Spat
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
warrant
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Divorce disputes are always funny
The only thing I question is the GPS, and not that he did or didn't do it, but that the car would have been community property at the time, so what would be illegal about the GPS????
I have GPS Trackers in all of my vehicles, and regularly let my girlfriend drive them. They are part of the anti-theft/recovery system, and just happen to let me look up where my car is anytime I want.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Divorce disputes are always funny
It depends on the state. Not all of them recognize the concept of "community property" in a marriage.
Nonetheless, I also thought that it was ruled OK to put a GPS tracker on other people's cars.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Divorce disputes are always funny
I had a car stolen in the late 70's. LEO found it by the end of the day. In other words, they did their job instead of letting a GPS tracker do it all for them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
But the judge in the existing divorce (civil) suit can certainly hold the wife's tricks against her, especially if it's part of a larger pattern of evil. Dirty nasty behavior (even if legal) on the part of a parent is a common reason for judges to reduce that parent's custody rights. The idea is that it's not in a child's best interest to be primarily raised by the more ethically-challenged parent.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
I know that's how it should work, but that's certainly not what they tell you at workplace sexual harassment training.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
David's sister here
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: David's sister here
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Strange?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
This should tell you something of the nature of my family.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Interesting idea....
Seriously, while this was certainly sorta clever, he took a big risk. He intended to put his (ex?) wife in fear for her life. Whether he was lying about his intentions or not, there may be consequences for his threats against her. And the issue is not whether he meant it or really intended to follow through on the threat, but whether it was reasonable for her to believe it.
In any case, it sounds like they're both pretty wacked-out folks.
HM
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Interesting idea....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Interesting idea....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Interesting idea....
So yes. Yes she does know it all.
Reading: It's a Good Thing.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Interesting idea....
"Jessica Studebaker" states:
"Why don't you just kill all of them and make it look like an accident. That way you don't have to leave. Lol."
BTW, it was also this same post where she asked David to take her with him.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Interesting idea....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Interesting idea....
I think they've brought their craziness here!
Oooh oooh oooh there is a silver box hidden in the engine compartment of your car... have your buddy rip that one out to... to prove its a device that allows the aliens to teleport you away.
While I am sorry that your getting divorced and stuff, do you think you could behave like grown ups?
You don't have to like each other, but going out of your way to "win" is going to fuck over your kids.
I wonder if the 2 of you had put as much effort into working out how to handle parenting your kids as you did in trying to screw each other on FB how amazing your kids lives would be.
When your kids are older, please work out what your going to say to them about how mommy and daddy lost their damn minds... and work on your apology.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Interesting idea....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
There was no listening device.
He did not put anything in her vehicle.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Funny but strange precedent
For example, conspiracy to commit a crime is a punishable offense, and agreeing to and planning a crime is conspiracy, but what if all parties have pre-signed affidavits saying that their planning to blow up a building is just a twisted game they enjoy playing and never actually intend to do it?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Funny but strange precedent
And there was no bomb, they had no bomb-making materials, and never approached the building? I would say no crime was committed, what do you think?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
but
Also if the wife tried to get the husband (via the fake profile) to kill her, thats the (admittedly stupid) wife trying to coerce someone into helping her commit suicide.
(suicide still sort of being illegal in the US), this means she could face prison time (where she'll create a fake persona and pretend she's in for murder so the other big butch prisoners don't shower-rape her!)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Also
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Also
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Divorce
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Classic.
Now if it's her car, owned entirely by her then that's a different matter.
Interesting though the affidavit pretty much covers any matter of sins. It basically says anything I say is likely untrue, but doesn't mention the GPS issue at all.
It really was a brilliant plan, akin to entrapment on her part really but he turned it around. Pretty sweet.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]