I am Mr. Noatak! A long-time poster of timelines, scenarios, theories, and enhanced images on Websleuths.
My opinions only, no facts here:
At the request of another member, I have studied the ATM surveillance camera image of the POI in the Al Kite murder case (see the attached image with this post). I had not heard about this case until several days ago. This image of a person in a vehicle is very blurry, looks like a night-time snap, and the suspect is wearing a ski mask that covers about 75% of his face. Somehow, this statement sounds like the Blues Brothers movie: "we have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses".
The ATM image in the Al Kite case is not hopeless, in my reality. Even though only 25% of the face is exposed, the ski-mask hugs the head tightly. This allows one to estimate the topography of the face that is beneath the superficial mask, presented as darker and lighter pixels. He should have worn a cheap plastic Halloween face-mask instead; then I would not be presenting this post!
The general appearance and shape of the head and the exposed portion of the face is decidedly masculine, so I will assume that this is a man. He appears to be younger than 40 years (but AMWfans.com says he is in his forties at the time of the crime).
The head is slightly thinner horizontally than a “full face”.
The man is not large and might be between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10 inches, with a weight of 150 to 170 pounds (but AMWfans.com says 5 feet 10 inches and 180 pounds).
The skin-tones are light-complected, although not necessarily fair-enough to imply red or blonde hair. I suspect dark brown to black hair. I see wrinkles in the ski mask where it covers the forehead, suggesting coarseness of hair and implying that this man is not bald nor has a shaven head. I see no evidence for significant facial hair (whiskers). The POI is likely clean-shaven on the face and generally takes good care of his appearance. He combs his hair such that it is 'trained' to be near-horizontal at the top of his forehead, and may even anoint his hair with oil or hair cream. If so, he may be vain. He may have few or no tattoos.
The nose is straight and well-formed, but is not pointed at the tip, and not particularly convex or concave along the central ridge. It might be slightly snub (a tad short in total length). It may be somewhere between a non-hooked aquiline (i.e. Roman) and a Redknapp nose.
The cheekbones look modestly prominent. The mere fact that the ski-mask hugs the underside of his cheekbones, suggests their eminence. I tend to associate such cheekbones with vertically-thinner lips (70 to 90 percent of the vertical thickness of average lips). In the ATM pic, his mouth’s position under the ski-mask can be ascertained by a slight indentation/darkening in the image (this is VERY subtle and some of you may not see it). This is caused by his breathing-in and/or moisture on that part of the ski-mask.
The ears are well-placed (his left ear is crudely outlined under his ski-mask), high on the head and of proper proportions. This man is NOT ugly. He is probably slightly above-average in appearance and of above-average intelligence.
Based upon the ATM pic, his ski mask is not a color such as medium/dark blue, black, or brown. I would guess that it is tan or at least any color of light shade. He is wearing a white long-sleeved shirt. Almost like a dress-shirt with the cuffs rolled-back. The position of his left arm prevents me from seeing if he has a tie.
His attitude in the ATM pic is somewhat evident. He is staring straight ahead with a purposeful possessed-in-deep-thought look (a ‘steely’ gaze). He has the appearance of someone completing a pre-planned event. I suspect that he is obsessive-compulsive in his general life AND occasionally is manic. Yet, I doubt that he has a drug or alcohol problem and I doubt that he is schizophrenic. I would also guess that he lacks the typical child-history of torturing animals; rather, later disappointments in his life coupled with organic brain problems have pushed him to this behavior.
Let me point out something important that is easily overlooked. This man is alone at an ATM. He could easily cover his whole face (except the eyes). Instead, he provides 25% of his face to be seen. This is a taunt to authorities. He knew that he was on-camera and he loved it. Maybe he failed in the past at trying to become a law officer/FBI agent and is now trying to show that all law officers are inferior to him. He is superior to them because he committed murder and is dancing around and taunting them and they cannot identify him. I suggest that his obsessive-compulsive character has made him revengeful as well as possessive and jealous at times. Thus, he may have previously run afoul of stalking or harassment laws. I do not see him as a serial killer by rote; rather someone who is introverted and has unpredictable reactions to perceived insults.
UPDATE: Since I never heard about this case until several days ago, I did not realize that there were police composite sketches of the POI until after I finished my enhancement of the ATM image! So, I pasted the police composite sketches to my attached enhancement image, for all to see and compare. Particularly, look at the police composite sketch on the left. I do believe that the noses are a bit too long in both police composite sketches. Hopefully, some good will come of my effort in this important and fascinating mystery. I hope that more posters come here and contribute their knowledge and insight to this case.
Sleuth On!
