Virginia Beach police thought they were done with the case of Lakeira Calahan. The baby girl's uncle pleaded guilty to neglect in Lakeira's May 2009 death and served a yearlong jail sentence. The girl's mother, stepfather and older brother moved to Arkansas. More than two years passed.
A Facebook conversation changed everything.
In messages between a friend and a Facebook user appearing to be Lakeira's mother, Julie Calahan, the 23-year-old mother talks about hurting Lakeira the morning before her death, causing the baby girl's fatal injuries, a detective testified in court. The friend turned over the messages to Child Protective Services, which sent them to a Virginia Beach police detective, who reopened the investigation, questioned Calahan and charged her in Lakeira's death. Calahan now awaits trial on charges of second-degree murder and felony child neglect. If convicted, she faces up to 60 years in prison.
Cases like Calahan's are becoming increasingly common as people communicate more and more via social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, leaving behind a record that can end up in the hands of police, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Local attorneys said evidence from social media factors into almost every case they handle now, although it's less common for that evidence to form the backbone of a case, as it did with Julie Calahan. More often, photos, status updates and exchanges on social media sites help guide police investigations and contribute to a larger pool of more traditional evidence sources.
The result can be damning.
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