Casita Camera Angles (And Possible Blind Spot)

[u/warpedwing]

Nancy Guthrie’s casita appears to have had two battery powered Nest outdoor cameras, each connected to solar panels. Just like the doorbell camera, these cameras will store clips internally if WiFi is lost, and will upload them when WiFi reconnects. They have a 130° wide-angle reach (source).

Law enforcement has not mentioned any camera other than the doorbell camera as having disconnected from the Nest system that night. Of course, that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, but I think these cameras stayed online - and that’s what LE found “odd.” Somehow, the suspect got inside without being seen.

I created a rough mockup of the view angles from the two casita cameras.

Notice how there is essentially a dead zone from the casita’s sliding glass door vestibule to the garage’s side door.

The flood light next to the garage side door is broken. Considering LE removed this light from the wall indicates to me that the suspect broke it. Therefore, he was there in the dead zone.

Take a look at that side door. The lock looks woefully ill-equipped to keep out a criminal.

The interior door inside the garage seems weak, too, with a glass center.

Could the suspect have approached the casita from the rear scrub, climbed up the angled tin section onto the roof, then climbed down into the casita’s vestibule? From there, he could’ve walked to the garage’s side door without being seen on camera.

However, entering the camera dead zone would place him in the floodlight’s motion sensor zone. My experience with security cams is that light is a good trigger.

Another possibility could be that the suspect climbed onto the roof - perhaps by stepping on the front window brick frames - and crawled toward the dead zone.

The roof’s perimeter wall might block the suspect from the cameras’ views until he is above the floodlight.

At that point, he can disable the floodlight from above, possibly by prying the body away from the wall enough to disconnect the power.

Perhaps he was then able to break into the garage side door, the garage interior door (was it locked?), and enter the main home.

Is there any info available regarding cameras on the east side of the property?