Prosecutors want Amazon to let 'Alexa' talk after Echo is found at Arkansas murder scene

MIAMI – Amazon's connected personal assistant Alexa may have witnessed a murder. Investigators in Arkansas recovered the Amazon Echo speaker infused with artificial intelligence from a murder scene, and want to know what Alexa heard, according to lawyers on both sides. The case centers around Victor Collins, 47, who was found strangled in November 2015 in a bathtub of the Bentonville home of James Bates, who is accused of the crime. In the investigation, an officer found an Amazon Echo device at Bates's house -- the small cylinder-shaped speaker that responds to voice commands under the name "Alexa." Prosecutors have obtained a search warrant that would require Amazon to release any relevant data from the device, according to a statement from Benton County prosecutor Nathan Smith.