Not only did gap-toothed snoop Michael Strahan buy a tracking device to tail his unsuspecting girlfriend, he upgraded to a system that let him disable her ignition and lock her out of the car if he didn’t like what she was doing, sources told The Post yesterday.
Strahan bought a Livewire by Lightning GPS system, which he had secretly hardwired to Nicole Murphy’s Range Rover earlier this year, sources said. He then made a couple of monthly access payments so he could monitor her every move on the Internet.
Strahan made the investment after learning that longtime girlfriend Murphy was stepping out on him with Universal Records exec Demetrius Spencer.
Murphy, a former model and the ex-wife of actor Eddie Murphy, has been dating Strahan since 2007. But for the past year, she’d also been seeing Spencer on the side and exchanged intimate e-mails with him in which she promised to come clean to Strahan about the relationship.
Strahan grew suspicious, and had the high-tech spyware installed in his girlfriend’s car – shunning a portable magnetic version of the device in favor of one that is hardwired into the battery and extremely difficult to detect, sources said.
The system sent Strahan real-time text messages – with about a 10-second delay – on his straying squeeze’s whereabouts.
He could have even specified addresses or areas that Murphy couldn’t travel to without him knowing. The system also keeps a 90-day record of all vehicle travel.
What’s more, the system would let Strahan lock the car doors, honk the horn, roll down the windows and disable the Range Rover’s starter at his whim.
The device is about the size of a pager, and costs $440 with a $30-a-month access fee. It’s unclear where Strahan, who lives in California, bought his device.
“It’s extremely hard to find, unless it’s installed incorrectly and causes a side effect, like poor speaker sound,” said Jason Lazarus, director of marketing for New York-based BrickHouse Security, the leading supplier of the Livewire system.
As The Post reported yesterday, Murphy grew worried when Strahan suddenly seemed to know everything she was doing. She took her car to a California dealership, where the tracker was found hidden in the dash.
Livewire use has recently exploded, especially among parents of teenagers – and with spouses who suspect their significant other is cheating.
“The Livewire by Lightning has been extremely popular with parents, because once it’s installed you don’t have to worry – and even a soccer mom can track her kids or husband without any training,” said BrickHouse CEO Todd Morris.
A less expensive version – which isn’t hardwired but attaches to the car by magnet – can be had for about $399.
“It can be covertly hidden virtually anywhere – a car, a backpack, briefcase, purse, even a teddy bear,” Lazarus said. “It’ll work anywhere in the world, even on a plane in Australia.”
In most states, using a tracking device is not illegal as long as it’s placed there by the legal owner of the car.