YouTube catalyst in finding murder suspect

Canadian Press

Hamilton police said Thursday they have little doubt that a clip posted on video-sharing website YouTube was the catalyst in finding a murder suspect, and credited Internet-savvy investigators for quickly cracking the case.

When Ryan Milner, 22, was stabbed to death after attending a hip-hop concert in the city last month, police decided their best lead was a 72-second clip of surveillance video showing a possible suspect.

The video was released to the media and then to YouTube because investigators knew they had to “think outside the box” to appeal to young witnesses in their late teens and early 20s, Hamilton police Staff Sgt. Jorge Lasso said at a news conference Thursday.

“My own children are in that age category and they spend all their time on the Internet; they do not watch mainstream media,” Mr. Lasso said.

“The investigators talked about how they could get the video viewed by the people who attended the performance, and we decided that it was quite likely they would view it online. And the best way to upload it online was the use of YouTube.”

After the clip had been on YouTube for about two weeks and viewed some 17,000 times, George Gallo, 24, turned himself in to police Tuesday, accompanied by a lawyer. He has been charged with second-degree murder.

Mr. Lasso said people who viewed the clip didn’t specifically identify Mr. Gallo, but YouTube was undoubtedly a factor in his arrest.

“I am certain that the fact the video was posted on YouTube caused people to call us with some information,” Mr. Lasso said. “It was not information that directly identified the culprit, but it was information that advanced the investigation.”

“The use of YouTube was simply a way of gathering more information and getting witnesses, and we believe that it was successful, if not directly so, certainly indirectly.”

Hamilton police believe they are the first police force in the world to use YouTube or online video as “a direct investigative tool” in a case that led to charges.

Investigators also searched for leads by scouring postings on the forums of hip-hop websites.

“Within 48 hours of the homicide there were a lot of people discussing the homicide because they had attended the concert, and that was very valuable,” Mr. Lasso said.

“We were also able to contact some additional witnesses as a result of the postings on the Internet.”

Mr. Lasso said all of Hamilton police’s major crime investigators will be sent to the Canadian Police College for a course on Internet investigation because such skills have proven “invaluable.” He said other suspects have been arrested after web searches turned up personal blogs that revealed incriminating information and photos.

“The biggest lesson to be learned here is that the Internet is a great source of information,” Mr. Lasso said. “It’s a fantastic investigative tool and we’re just beginning to scratch the surface when it comes to its use.”

“We’re only limited by our imagination in terms of how we can use the Internet.”

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said the use of technology in fighting crime is evolving, and it’s difficult to know how the trend will continue.

“People with their own video cameras are sending information in to help on areas of crime reduction — YouTube is being used in this also,” he told CJNL Radio in Merritt, B.C.

“Some people are concerned about where that might go — people’s privacy has to be respected. There’s also the concern about keeping crime down, so I can understand how a policing organization would want to use some of that widely used video material.”

Hamilton police have taken down the YouTube clip, which was viewed almost 40,000 times.