The Idaho Murders: From Behavioural Clues To AI’s Role In Digital Forensics

Heather and Jared Barnhart return to the Forensic Focus Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation covering Cellebrite’s growing Case-to-Closure Summit, behind-the-scenes insights from building one of the industry’s toughest CTFs, and their digital forensic work on one of the most high-profile US murder cases in recent years. They share why the C2C Summit focuses on practitioner-led talks rather than product pitches, what made the first event such a success, and what’s planned for the next gathering — including expanded training and a keynote from Terry Crews.

The discussion also dives into how they design complex CTFs, why intentionally frustrating questions teach critical thinking, and how their mobile forensics analysis helped reveal behavioural patterns, intent, and attempts to hide activity in the Idaho murders investigation. They finish by exploring the future of investigations and AI — from cautious, evidence-bounded implementations to the importance of validation and avoiding confirmation bias.

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#DigitalForensics #DFIR #MobileForensics #Cellebrite #CTF #incidentresponse #ForensicFocus #AIForensics

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introductions
01:33 C2C Summit Overview
03:35 C2C Summit Success and Highlights
09:45 Challenges and Insights from CTF
19:56 Introduction to the Idaho Murders Case
25:10 The Slow Process of Justice
25:53 Key Evidence: The Knife Sheath and the Car
27:46 Digital Footprint and Intent
28:58 Challenges in Mobile Forensics
31:49 Behavioral Patterns and Digital Evidence
42:30 AI in Forensics
43:17 Future of Digital Investigations
44:00 The Role of AI in Investigations
50:52 Validation and Confirmation Bias
54:24 Closing Remarks and Future Plans

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🎧 Episode Page & Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast...

📝 Show Notes
Cellebrite – https://www.cellebrite.com
Cellebrite C2C User Summit 2026 – https://events.cellebritec2c.com/even...
CFReDS – https://cfreds.nist.gov/
SANS DFIR Summit & Training 2026 – https://www.sans.org/cyber-security-t...

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