Unless it being cropped was intentional to give the perp a feeling of reassurance- like LE doesn't think his vehicle is important. I still say its highly unlikely a car was parked in that brightly lit area.
If I was the perp,knowing the police even had a picture of me near the victim would make me parenoid.Having my car cropped out wouldn't make me feel any more comfortabler cruising in the area with my car.