If the entire thing is true, then this is the most likely case.
People don't realize how basically everything on your phone is accessible by the company, and then the police, if need be. The physical device is only there for you to access it yourself.
Badly phrased, but they were "notes" on his phone. How that remained whole is still questionable, but at least more likely.
There's not enough extra believability from this change to move the needle a discernible amount.
Nokia 3310, obviously!
Damn, typing that on a numerical keyboard takes some serious dedication.
4-4-4-4
"shit, too many 4's"
delete
4-4-4
It was fireworks not thermite. It's very believeable that the internal components of the phone were recoverable.
If "letters" are now interchangeable with "notes" on a phone than that's another new low reached for the english language.
If this guy had his phone in his pocket like 99% of people and his body was burned beyond recognition?...
Yes. "Burned beyond recognition" is not an objective measure. And I don't trust a journalists description of it.
Probably backed up on the cloud and the company forked them over when the men in suits showed up at their door.
If the entire thing is true, then this is the most likely case.
People don't realize how basically everything on your phone is accessible by the company, and then the police, if need be. The physical device is only there for you to access it yourself.
We've circled right back around to terminal/mainframe setups and nobody noticed.