A local “photo doctor” on Tuesday delivered a fatal diagnosis to key evidence in the case against a man accused of vandalism and harassing his ex-wife’s family.
PDF: Defendant’s Photoshopped images
Hamilton County Assistant District Attorney Steve Smith asked Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman to dismiss charges against Murad “Marc” Abdelnour after a defense expert convinced him that someone doctored photographs showing Mr. Abdelnour breaking into a men’s clothing store owned by his ex-wife’s family.
Sana Dabit’s family owns Giorgio’s Mens Warehouse on Market Street and a convenience store on the 800 block of Broad Street, according to Ms. Dabit and Mr. Abdelnour’s attorneys, Donna Miller and Hank Hill.
Mr. Abdelnour moved back to Chattanooga from Florida, which upset Ms. Dabit’s family, his defense attorneys said. He was arrested and charged with multiple misdemeanor charges of vandalism and one misdemeanor charge of harassment in 2009.
Ms. Dabit’s family claimed the photos, taken from security camera footage, show Mr. Abdelnour breaking into their store. The family alleged he put welder’s glue in the locks at both Giorgio’s and the convenience store.
Not so, said defense expert Tracy Knauss, who calls himself “The Photo Doctor” and runs an image enhancement business on Bailey Avenue.
Mr. Knauss testified that the photo actually shows Mr. Abdelnour’s head placed on the head of an unidentified man. The head appears to have been cropped from a glossy photograph of Mr. Abdelnour posing with former Sheriff John Cupp, Mr. Knauss said.
“Every face on earth has a human fingerprint,” he said.
It was enough to convince Mr. Smith, who told the judge he could not prosecute Mr. Abdelnour in light of Mr. Knauss’ testimony.
“We have to put competent evidence on,” Mr. Smith said as he left the courtroom.
But Ms. Dabit is convinced the man in the photo is her ex-husband and said claims they were doctored are “nonsense.”
Complicating matters, the surveillance tapes, a compact disc containing the images and the computer used to download the images are missing, according to Ms. Dabit and her ex-husband’s defense attorneys. The defense claims they were in the possession of Ms. Dabit’s family, but she said they were turned over to another assistant district attorney.
Ms. Dabit said she’s fine to let the incident rest as long as she never has to see her ex-husband again.
“We’re just glad it’s over,” she said.