How was the Amber Hess murder solved using digital evidence? Details explored ahead of Grave Mysteries on ID

Two of murdered Queen Creek teenager Amber Hess' friends, Todd Hoke and Nicolas Castillo, were charged and convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the June 2007 case. The duo were charged a few days after the 17-year-old went missing and her burned body was found in a desert. She was stabbed to death.

Investigators reportedly used digital evidence - Hess' phone records - to determine who the killers were. Tracing the call records, they found that multiple calls were made from her phone after she was killed. The calls were linked to Hoke's sister. Eventually, authorities tricked Castillo into confessing to the murder.

ID's Grave Mysteries chronicles Amber Hess' 2007 killing in an episode titled Ultimate Betrayal on March 17, at 7.00 pm ET. Its synopsis reads as:

"A couple returns home from a trip to find blood everywhere, signs of struggle and their teenage daughter missing; police stumble across her charred remains in the desert; digital clues soon lead police to a shocking secret and a deadly betrayal."

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Todd Hoke and Nicolas Castillo were connected to Amber Hess' killing using phone records, DNA evidence, and a staggering confession

Todd Hoke and Nicolas Castillo, two teenage boys, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 17-year-old Amber Hess, whose burned body was found in the desert in June 2007.

NBC News reported that according to Pinal County Sheriff Chris Vasquez, both 16-year-old boys made certain comments, which, combined with digital and DNA evidence, were used by investigators to implicate them in Hess' murder. The victim's mother claimed that Hoke was her daughter's close friend and spent a significant amount of time at their house and often stayed back for dinner.

Detectives tracked down Amber Hess' phone records and discovered that several calls had been made from her phone following her death. They went to Todd Hoke's sister, who later acknowledged that he had called from a blocked number and was also looking around the residence for cleaning products.

Moreover, DNA evidence and bloody handprints discovered in Hess' car, which was used to transfer her body from the house to the desert where it was burned, were a match for both the accused.

Reports state that afterwards, both Hoke and Castillo were interrogated, given that they were each other's alibi, when authorities told him that the former was trying to pin the murder on him.

Castillo then confessed to the crime, claiming that it was all Hoke's idea and that he helped his friend who had been planning the murder for a while and allegedly planned to do it on a night when her parents were out of town.

In 2010, both Todd Hoke and Nicolas Castillo pleaded guilty to the murder, with the former receiving a life sentence on the first-degree murder charge and the latter being handed a 24-year sentence for a lesser charge of second-degree murder. Reports state that Hoke committed suicide in 2013 while in prison.

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Amber Hess' parents found a bloody crime scene inside the house after returning from a weekend trip

Amber Hess' parents reportedly returned home on June 24 from a weekend trip to Mexico and found the front door unlocked and blood in the kitchen. They soon realized that their daughter and her car were missing and that there were clear signs of a struggle that took place within the four walls of their house.

Authorities were investigating Hess' case as a missing person's until three days later, her badly burned body wrapped in bedding was found in the desert. Along with the body, there were some pictures with her name written on the back. Dental records were used to confirm the identification and an autopsy proved that she was stabbed multiple times and was likely dead when burned.

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Grave Mysteries on ID airs wil Amber Hess' murder case this Friday at 7 pm ET.