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Retired agent Bill Shute reviews the investigation of the murder of LaToyia Figueroa, a high-profile crime case where Figueroa, five-months pregnant, was killed by her boyfriend and her body disposed of in Chester, PA, in July 2005.
Bill had spent the previous two years helping the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) find fugitives using his Project Pin-Point data to conduct cellular analysis, but this was the first time that police asked Bill to historically track where a suspect was throughout the day to determine his level of culpability. Bill worked with detectives from the PPD’s homicide unit and helped them understand the whereabouts of LaToyia Figueroa’s boyfriend throughout the day as well as his journey that evening to Chester, PA. Bill Shute’s expert witness testimony during the bench trial was one of the first times the FBI presented historical cellular data as evidence in court.
In the second part of the episode, Bill reviews the development of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST).
Special Agent (Retired)
William “Bill” Shute
5/2000 – 12/2023
Bill Shute served in the FBI for over 28 years, four as an investigative surveillance specialist and nearly 24 as a special agent. He was assigned to the Philadelphia Division, where he primarily worked Violent Crime matters.
Bill developed a program known as Project Pin-Point, a geo-spatial program used to map crime data for actively targeting street criminals. The program became a nationwide initiative for the FBI and for his efforts, he was honored with the FBI’s Director’s Award in 2006.
Bill was one of the first federal expert witnesses providing testimony regarding historical cell site analysis. For the next five years after the LaToyia Figueroa investigation, he split his time between working violent crime and fugitive cases in Philadelphia and traveling the country, teaching and testifying about historical cell site analysis.
In 2010, he was tasked with creating the curriculum for a 4-week training course and certification. This was the foundation of what would eventually become the Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST).
As part of the unit’s evolution, Bill was assigned to FBI Headquarters as the first “National Asset” to work CAST matters as a HQ initiative.
The unit’s unofficial motto is, “We know where you are and we know where you’ve been.”
As the creator and co-founder of the FBI’s CAST program and the lead instructor, he has trained over 10,000 law enforcement officers in 43 different states and internationally. He was also working homicide investigations in the Philadelphia area, assisting with cases around the country requiring historical cellular analysis, and testifying as an expert witness. Bill has presented internationally in Canada, Germany, and testified in Malta regarding a cellular device used to detonate a bomb during the assassination of a Maltese journalist.
Bill also served as a member of the FBI’s elite Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD), providing training to law enforcement agencies on investigative strategies for conducting child abduction cases.
At the time of his retirement, he was the most senior member of CAST and had worked on hundreds of cases involving cellular evidence. Bill currently operates Apex Cellular Experts, LLC, a company dedicated to assisting state and local prosecutors as well as private attorneys with historical cell site analysis, cellular forensic review, and expert witness testimony.
The following are links to articles and video about the LaToyia Figueroa murder investigation, the evolution of historical cellular analysis, and FBI CAST:
Philadelphia Daily News – 7/28/2005: What Happened to LaToyia
Philadelphia Daily News – 8/3/2005: LaToyia – The Men in her life
NBC News – 8/20/2005: Police: Remains of LaToyia Figueroa found
New York Times – 8/21/2005: Missing Philadelphia Woman Is Found Dead
A&E True Crime Blog – 1/28/2021: Why the Media Ignored the Disappearance and Murder of LaToyia Figueroa
Philadelphia Inquirer – 8/6/2007: A Nifty Little Crimebuster
FBI Website – 10/05/07: A Fine Point Mapping Intel Sources
Philly.com: Wash Out These Dirty Shirts (Stop Snitching)
CNN – Anderson Cooper: Philadelphia The Violent Truth – Project PinPoint
FBI Website Vault: Cellular Analysis Survey Team Directive and Policy Guide
Listen to another tragic FBI Retired Case File Review episode where a pregnant woman murdered by her boyfriend where historical cellular analysis was utilized:
309: Richard Denholm – Murder of Jessie Davis and Unborn Child
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