November 11, 2005 5:27 PM PST
Google searches become evidence in murder case
Remember the e-mails that ended up being used in court as part of Microsoft's antitrust trial? Well, now Google search histories are making an appearance in court. According to a story on the Web site of television station WRAL, prosecutors in a North Carolina murder trial introduced searches allegedly made on Google from the computer of a man shortly before his wife's body was discovered floating in a lake. The keywords? "Neck," "snap" and "break," along with searches related to lake levels, water currents and boat ramps.
For the record, any odd or suspect Web searches I may conduct are purely related to research I'm doing on stories, present and future. Just so you know.
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service, and the Associated Press. E-mail Elinor. 
