Can you help me get into my Stepdad's phone? He took his own life and left no note.
I'm not going to go into the details, but my stepdad took his own life fairly suddenly, in a public place. We just got his phone back from the police station. He didn't leave a note behind, and we're all trying to find some answers.
I have no idea what kind of phone it is, just that it's a Pixel of some kind. He has it locked with a PIN. If any of you can help us, we'd be very grateful. Thank you.
I'm not sure why I can't post images, but Google Photos is a thing, so... https://photos.app.goo.gl/8qsTgH3fggy3z6iA7
EDIT 1: MORE INFO
He made literally everything dual authenticated with his phone and Google account. We can't get into anything, including the pharmacy or bank.
He was emotionally abusive, controlling, and cheated on my mother, so it's not like his texts could possibly ruin his reputation for me any more than he already had before he died.
Mom doesn't want to know, and I will respect that. But my brother (his son) and I want answers.
Thank you for the kind words. My feelings with him are complicated, and he's left a huge mess for us to figure out.
EDIT 2: After thinking on it more, and reading all the many different comments and opinions here, I've decided it's probably not worth the bother. I wanted answers because I was angry. But answers won't change what he did. I'm probably gonna mute or lock the post so it stops blowing up my phone, but a very heartfelt thank-you to everyone's suggestions and advice.
As far as getting Mom's medications goes, she did see the walk-in/urgent care folks for a minor but acute flare complication, explained our situation, and was able to get a few weeks worth of refills to tide her over until we get the death certificate.
Some people here have said I shouldn't speak so poorly about him. But the truth was it was a very abusive and complicated situation, I'm a very honest person, and this is how I feel. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just tired of being told to be silent about it to not rock the boat I guess; I did that for the past 23 years of my life, it didn't fix anything going on, and I finally feel like I can say what I need to and move forward. He made it very hard to say anything nice about him.
Thank you everyone for your kind words. I hope you have a peaceful 2025.
P.S. My dog says "Snoof"