AI Use as Evidence · November 2026
Robertson v. Commonwealth
No. 1674-25-3 (Va. Ct. App. Sept. 22, 2026) (unpublished)
Virginia Court of Appeals relies on a defendant's Snapchat chatbot messages as evidence of premeditation in affirming a murder conviction.
Hours before a fatal shooting, the defendant messaged Snapchat's AI chatbot that he was “about to fight,” called it “just business,” and asked, “What if I shot them if they step on my property with hostile intent[?]” The chatbot said it could not condone violence and that deadly force to protect property is generally not legal, and asked the defendant if there was anything he wanted to talk about, to which he replied, “No, I'm just waiting.”
Affirming the first-degree murder conviction, the court held that this exchange supported a finding that the defendant “considered the use of deadly force … well before [the victim] arrived at the scene, not just in the midst of the affray,” undermining his claim that he acted impulsively.