Jury sees Life360 data showing truck circling after collision
Prosecutors argue app tracking proves Cooper Ouellette drove Sophie Ringquist home after an alleged strike, while defense expert cites prior errors.
By Mia Bennett ·
The trial of Cooper Ouellette in New Britain, Connecticut, centers on the reliability of digital location data from the Life360 app. Prosecutors presented a data animation to the jury on Wednesday, alleging the app tracked the movements of the defendant and the deceased, Sophie Ringquist, in the minutes surrounding her death in 2023.
Defense attorney Jeff Martin, a digital forensic expert, testified that the Life360 application can produce inaccurate location reports. He described a personal instance where the app placed his son on Lake Superior. Martin called that a false location determined by the application.
Prosecutors claim the data shows Ouellette and Ringquist traveling at approximately 25 mph along Fieldview Drive in Burlington around 11:41 p.m. on May 20, 2023. The animation indicates their speed dropped to 18 or 20 mph near a cross-transfer mark in the 30-40 block of the road, the spot where investigators say Ringquist hit the pavement.
The Life360 data recorded a speed of 0 mph near the end of that mark. It then showed movement along Fieldview Drive at up to 23 mph, followed by a drive up Polly Dan Road where speeds reached nearly 51 mph. The tracking shows the vehicle returned down Fieldview Drive before pulling into Ringquist’s driveway around 11:50 p.m.
Ringquist’s mother texted her at 11:44 p.m., asking where she was. Investigators recovered a cowboy boot and a hair clip at the scene, along with biological material. The boot matched the one Ringquist was wearing when she arrived at the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Ouellette, a Harwinton resident, faces charges of manslaughter and delivery of alcohol to a minor. The warrant states the pair drove home from an underage drinking party in Terryville when the accident occurred. His legal team had attempted to block the data from being introduced as evidence.
Home surveillance footage purportedly captured Ouellette’s truck driving past the scene before he arrived at Ringquist’s home. The jury will weigh this visual evidence against the defense’s arguments regarding the app's potential for error.
