Alexa helps solve house break-in mystery

Alexa Helps Solve House Break-In Mystery

A 9-year-old boy from Massachusetts is in trouble with police after an Amazon Alexa, owned by the victim, apparently recorded his voice.

According to police, someone had entered a Gloucester home three times over the past week and took an iPhone, charger, cash and the Alexa Echo digital assistant, The Gloucester Times reported.

Police said the victim had evidence on her phone, pointing out who broke into her home -- a voice recording that sounded like her 9-year-old neighbor.

Police questioned the boy and his mother. At first he denied knowing what they were asking about, but police said he eventually confessed to breaking into his neighbor's house and taking the items on the list they were given by the victim, The Gloucester Times reported.

Police returned headphones, charger, iPhone and $46 in cash taken from the woman’s home. They kept the Alexa Echo and a smartphone projector that was damaged by being left outside.

Police said they do not have a motive from the child concerning break-ins. He will face charges in juvenile court, The Gloucester Times reported.

The Echo does record what it is asked to, according to Amazon, "improve the accuracy of the results provided to you and to improve our services."

To listen to the recordings, you need to use the Alexa companion app on your phone. Launch the app, open settings, then open history.

You can also do a bulk delete by going to "manage your content and devices" on Amazon via desktop. Find your Alexa, open Manage Voice Recordings, then click delete.