Verifying Photo times from Shadows:

Kyle Thain and James Harris, both from Southend, were arrested in Spain and charged with attempted murder. Held in custody without charge, potentially for up to four years, repeated bail applications were refused and they were left in the discomfort of Fontcalent prison

An item that had been presented in evidence was a digital camera belonging to the friend who was on holiday with them. This contained some 254 photographs spanning the period of their visit and substantiating their movements. The photographs retained time and date properties, however the Police response was that the time and date of the machine could have been altered. Combining examination of the camera with visits to the locations we were able to produce calculations that substantiated the time and date properties and verified the times and dates on the pictures

Two specimen photographs, showing locations that could be identified, were selected and locations - one on the roof of the apartment building and one on a street in Pilar del Horadada - identified, including the GPS co-ordinates. Each photograph showed a distinctive shadow. The locations were physically visited and the actual shadow length measured, together with the object height (in one case a three storey building, in the other one of the accused); using this data and charts showing the shadow percentage / length we were able to prove that the times and dates on the photograph properties were true, to an accuracy of at least 99.2%. This showed that all 254 photographs carried the correct time and date, refuting the claims of the Spanish police that they could have been falsified

If you have experienced a similar problem abroad and need our help, please contact us. We have a number of clients based in Spain and have handled practical assignments in Alicante, Ibiza, Majorca, Madrid and Puerto Banus. Our investigators are equipped to deal with all aspects of private investigation regardless of the source or location

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