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.
You're right. FReepers are always one step ahead of the game.
I was surprised to learn a couple of years ago that the Toyota Camry has a trunk open switch on the inside of the trunk. I wonder how many other cars have one?
ladyjane
“Oh God”, why does that matter? She was murdered. She’s dead. I think she was murdered because she is white—unless the perps knew her, in which case she was murdered partly out of envy for her being so incredibly popular with students and staff alike. Also in part because she was white.
“Has anyone mentioned that the skank using the murdered beauty’s ATM card is black?”
We can’t say that.
In 2002 all vehicle makers began installing a glow-in-the-dark trunk release handle.
I thought the shape in the back seat was probably the young woman, too. I bet he had her under a blanket or something. Of course, we don’t know when this picture was taken (at what point in the crime), but that was the first thing that occurred to me.
It’s pretty clear to me that the po-lice and university want to keep a race riot from occuring. Nevertheless, when will someone in the MNM come out and say the skank driving her car and using her ATM? The tenth of never?
So true!
I'm sick of it, myself!
Is that you Mr.Obvious?
"...and if he did it's 'cause he is bipolar."
At least his posture seems okay. He's sitting up in the car. His head isn't where his back should be. That's gotta be worth something, right?
Shots were reported at about 5:00 a.m. The police obviously know what time the ATM stop happened but would likely not have any reason to release that information.
With a picture as clear as this, the tips should be just pouring in.
*cricket cricket*
“I was surprised to learn a couple of years ago that the Toyota Camry has a trunk open switch on the inside of the trunk. I wonder how many other cars have one?”
I think its federal law now that all cars (new manufacture) have this switch.
I read on another message board that his “girlfriend” told one of the Raleigh news stations who he is, so the police probably have ID’d him by now.
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