A development straight out of McCann case....
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/timestamp-doubts-over-william-photo/news-story/cf0accb8b602bde307146268bfad49c4EXCLUSIVE
CAROLINE OVERINGTON
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
@overingtonc
12:00AM SEPTEMBER 2, 2019
The NSW Coroner has ordered an urgent forensic examination of the last known photograph of William Tyrrell, dressed in his Spider-Man suit.
The Australian understands an expert in photographic metadata has been called in after NSW police admitted to confusion as to when the widely circulated image was taken. The photograph is a crucial piece of evidence, because it provides what is known as “proof of life” for William on the day of his disappearance on the NSW mid-north coast.
The inquest into his likely death has been told the image was taken on the verandah of the house at Benaroon Drive, Kendall, where he was staying when he went missing, on the morning of September 12, 2014. Counsel assisting the Coroner, Gerard Craddock SC, said in his opening statement the photograph was taken at 9.37am, adding: “That is a time of which we can be certain.”
But a new document from the 2000-page brief of evidence reveals a “created time” for the image of 7.39am, and a “corrected time” of 9.37am, and police have been unable to explain the confusion.
The report, obtained by The Australian, was generated by X-Ways forensic software. It reveals the image is a .jpg created on a digital camera, and it says: “Created: 12/09/2014 07:39:54. Corrected time: 12/09/2014 09:37:44.”
It is considered elemental in a police investigation to get timings right. The “proof of life” evidence in a missing person case is also vital because it helps establish a window in which the person disappeared.
In William’s case, the window has been set between 9.37am, when the last photograph was taken, and 10.57am, when his foster mother called triple-0.
The confusion has prompted deputy state coroner Harriet Grahame, to tell the court it “needs to be investigated”. As it stands, the inquest has been told that William, his older sister and his foster parents arrived in Kendall at 9pm on the evening before William disappeared.
No one other than the immediate family — foster mother, foster father, and the foster mother’s mother — saw the children arrive, so the photograph provides the essential “proof of life” for William on the morning of September 12.
The inquest has been told that the foster father left the house about 9am to travel to a nearby town to make a Skype call, and pick up a script. The foster mother and her mother stayed at the house with the children, making cups of tea, rolling dice, and playing with crayons. The foster mother has said she took the photograph of William in his Spider-Man suit on the verandah.
Mr Craddock, not the foster mother, put the time stamp on it, in his opening address to the inquest. “Whilst the female foster carer, Nana, (William’s sister) and William were on the patio, the female foster carer took some photographs of the children,” he said. “The last of them was taken at 9.37am. That is a time of which we can be certain.
“There we see him in his Spider-Man suit … while he was dressed as Spider-Man, he was actually a tiger at that time. You can see him roaring.”
The Australian understands Ms Grahame last week agreed to an application by Michelle Swift, counsel for William’s biological father, for further forensic testing of the image.
Ms Swift’s application was made in open court shortly before the inquest was suddenly adjourned for seven months. The subject matter wasn’t revealed, and Ms Swift refused to comment. However, Ms Grahame responded to the application by saying the matter needed investigation, and Mr Craddock agreed it was important. Police have been unable to provide the court with an explanation for this terminology, which has in turn created uncertainty.
It is not uncommon for there to be confusion about metadata terminology. Phrases such as “date created”, “date modified”, “date digitised” and “date captured” are all commonly used.
As a general rule, a digital camera will record the date and time information in the actual image as EXIF (or “exchangeable image file format”) metadata.
EXIF data mostly travels with the photo when it is exported from camera to computer, printer or USB, and it’s therefore considered the most reliable guide to the time of creation. Accuracy depends, however, on the date and time settings of the camera. A modified or created date will normally refer to the time the image arrived on a computer, or else was edited, or otherwise accessed.
There are several explanations for the different time stamp on the photograph of William: the earlier time may be the right one; the camera may not have been adjusted for local time; the computer may have incorrect settings; or else the mistake may be in the report itself (a product of input error, for example).
William’s foster mother has told the inquiry that William was out of sight for just a few moments, some time around 10.15am. She called triple-0 at 10.57am, after spending some time searching for the boy, with help from neighbours.
She searched the house, the garden, and at one point got in her mother’s car and drove up as far as the disabled riding school about a kilometre away from the house, before turning back.
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It's almost unbelievable that the Australian police had not previously checked out the data on the last photo taken of William.
William's 85yr old foster grandmother, whom the family were visiting at the time of his disappearance, will not be testifying during the ongoing coronial inquest.
