Posted on 03/09/2008 4:35:40 PM PDT by abb
A photography expert with over 30 years of experience says that a second person can be seen in the back seat of the SUV in a photo provided by police regarding the murder of UNC student Eve Carson.
William Mathis of Mathis & Jones Communications near St. Louis, Missouri initially contacted the Raleigh Chronicle newspaper to provide a color enhanced version of the ATM surveillance photos that were provided by Chapel Hill Police.
UNC student body president Eve Carson, age 22, was found murdered on Wednesday morning in Chapel Hill and police are looking for the man whose photo was taken while using her ATM card.
According to his bio, Mathis is an award-winning expert in photography with over 30 years of experience and works to enhance digital photographs for a living. He uses large format cameras, printers, and other specialized equipment to do his work which has included architectural photography for large architectural firms such as HOK, worked as an official photographer for historic site renovations, and has performed graphic arts design in the sports industry.
Mathis saw an interview with the editor of the Raleigh Chronicle about the case on MSNBC on Sunday morning and decided to help out, especially since he is originally from North Carolina.
"I have daughters at Vanderbilt and University of Maryland and this type of heinous crime has to be stopped," said Mathis. "It is the least I could do."
Mathis provided the Raleigh Chronicle two colorized versions of the original grainy black and white photos that Chapel Hill Police provided to the media on Saturday. He also improved upon the color of the "retro" Houston Astros baseball cap that the suspect appears to be wearing.
However, while working on the photos, Mathis noticed something else in the background, which he did not notice until he started examining the photos closely.
"It also looks like there is a very large person in the backseat," said Mathis, who said he noticed the figure when he printed out a very large copy of the photo.
Mathis has large format printers that can print copies of pictures several feet across, to the point of being life-sized.
"When I blew them up, I noticed...hey, there's another person back there," said Mathis.
Mathis said an outline of a shoulder can be seen in the back seat and although no face can be seen, he feels that after reviewing the photo that another person is in the vehicle.
"[The figure] is a very big man," said Mathis.
Mathis said he believes the second person in the back seat is also wearing a baseball cap.
Indeed, looking at the original black and white photographs provided by police (see below), a very dark outline against the light-colored leather seats of the SUV in the back can be seen. The outline blocks all light and does not seem to be a shadow.
The outline seems to be in the shape of a person, although that is certainly not confirmed by Chapel Hill Police at this time. It could be something else that simply appears to be a person in the photographs.
Mathis said it would be better to work with a higher resolution version of the photo than the one handed out to the media.
Chapel Hill Police have not mentioned a second person in their discussions of the case, but the Raleigh Chronicle will notify police of the photo expert's opinion.
The official spokesman for the Chapel Hill Police Department, Lt. Kevin Gunter, was not immediately available for comment in the case. Two messages were left with the police department on Sunday afternoon including one with the staff duty officer at the front desk.
Yes...how horrific...her poor parents and loved ones! Prayers for them. God be with them.
I’m not challenging any of the pictures. The perp is going to be sent on a gurney ride based on a whole lot more compelling evidence than mere possession of an ATM card. Once he’s in custody that evidence will be developed to the fullest extent possible.
I've been on FR for years (had to change my name, changed computers, and can't get my old password). I'm really disappointed to read the posts in this thread. My great-neice was brutally murdered by a white man. Ted Bundy was white.
This young woman was so amazing, it makes me sick what happened to her. However, it is a race thing? Do we hate all blacks because she was murdered by a black man?
I hate to say it, but I don't like the tone that this thread is taking, relating to race. I think it's more about good and evil, whether it comes to murders, or even politics. I would vote for Condessa Rice for President, but think Obama has terrorist ties.
At the end of the day, it's the person, not the color of their skin.
On the other hand, perhaps I am a bit prejudiced myself, because when I see someone in Muslim garb, I cringe. I guess because 9-11 is still fresh in my mind.
Really? Got a link?
The cops have the original ATM photos which clearly show his face.
Then he shouldn't need to embed an "H" to assist the investigation.
Then you are making it rather poorly. You have referred to evidence that will be thrown out, etc. The enhanced photo is an investigory tool only and will never see a courtroom. There is nothing about this version of the photo that will assist the perp with his defense case.
I meant to ping you on my post 132 but neglected to do so ... I apologize.
“I hate to say it, but I don’t like the tone that this thread is taking, relating to race. I think it’s more about good and evil, whether it comes to murders, or even politics.”
I think many are upset with the propensity of Black males between 18-35 being involved in violent crimes, whether it be black on white or black on black. A third of this age group is or has been incarcerated at some point. There are understandable feelings of frustration with some Americans that seem to want to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that no problem exists and that this is normal for all groups of males. That is simply false and naive or ignorant.
I guess you’ll have to give me lessons on devloping a point, sorry to have invaded YOUR space.
What are you meaning by 'embed'? Perhaps this argument is me just misunderstanding your terminology.
Are you saying that the "H" is not on the hat in the B&W?
“Maybe. Maybe not. That may be face paint. Who wears a batting helmet under a hood? He’s hiding.”
I guess my post was unclear. What I meant was that we’re not ALLOWED to state that the perp is black. That’s RACIST!!
Facial features leave no doubt that he is.
I hope he spends the rest of his sorry life in solitary in a 5x7 cell. Worthless vermin that took the life of a beautiful, talented young lady.
Your 150: My use of “embed” means inserting something into the “color enhanced” image that does not exist. The B/W image has what appears to be an “H”, but the colorized image has had the “H” artificially inserted into the cap/star and that should be thrown out of the evidence if it makes it to trial. Nothing more, nothing less.
It's not evidence, any more than an artists conception of the suspect is considered evidence, since they don't even have a suspect yet!
I do agree with this, yet can't figure out why. I've seen first hand in the workplace how a young black man has so many opportunities afforded to them these days.
I think they are buying into the rhetoric of the ones who want to "keep them down", such as Farrakhan, they are disgusting to me. It seems all they want to do is make them hate us whites. I don't know about you, but I've never had a slave in my lifetime.
My sympathies go out to Eve's family and friends. Such a waste of a life that had so much promise.
Guys this thuggish and cold have to be disposed of ~ they fail to make the grade to be treated as humans.
You still haven’t answered my question to you (see #139). For what possible reason would someone embed an H onto the hat in the colorized version?
Sorry, I missed your post. I have no idea why someone would do that, do you have any ideas why they did?
No...I’m not the one that thinks they did...you are.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.