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.
vs
The judge will throw that out immediately.
here’s hoping that in a few months he is Bubba’s (6’6” 300#) “girlfriend”
Numerous studies link low IQ to violent behavior, delinquency, and adult crime. I wonder if this youth is a “victim” of an usually low IQ? No, that wouldn’t be PC, as violent crime amongst young Black men is strictly a function of social deprivation, White racism and inequities in educational opportunities.
Our 2000 Ford Focus has an inside remote trunk release knob that glows in the dark. They’re not uncommon.
}:-)4
it’s ok a duke lacrosse team probably raped him and jesse is on his way
Me too. And yes, the "person of interest" in this photo looks exactly like I expected he would look, after I heard about this crime.
I think it was pointed out by maggief.
An Astro's fan? :)
The girlfriend said he had already done time. No surprise!
i think I read the people heard her screaming and gunshots before the atm. There is a report somewhere of the time of the 911 calls and gun shots. I wonder if the atm id number she gave him worked.
I wonder if the back seat thing could be a very large black dog.
Yes they should.
Something is wrong.
That's one advantage of an SUV - criminals can't stuff you into the trunk, because there isn't one.
Yeah , you do know.
“Stop snitching” is a fashion campaign that is against the goals of society. They protect the guilty because, well just like OJ walked, “it’s owed” them.
The AP article in the San Jose Mercury News certainly didn’t notice it. It did notice the suspect was wearing an Astros baseball cap, but that was the ENTIRE description! Can’t be too PC these days.
I can see the same H in the black and white photos.
They colorized the different contrast layers.
It makes the H artificially stand out, but it is the same shape as in the originals.
“I think she was murdered because she is white..”
And you think this why?
“Has anyone mentioned that the skank using the murdered beautys ATM card is black?”
Since the perp’s race is obvious in the photo, exactly what would be the purpose in mentioning it in the article?
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