- Amber Heard's team said a forensic analysis questioned the authenticity of injury photos submitted by Johnny Depp.
- Heard was also accused of editing photos of alleged abuse during their defamation trial.
Amber Heard's lawyers accused Johnny Depp of editing photos of his scratches and bruises, as well as audio of Heard, that was submitted as part of their defamation trial earlier this year, according to newly revealed court documents.
Heard's team, including lawyers Benjamin Rotterborn and Elaine Bredehoft, claimed that metadata from photos submitted by Depp's team contained dates showing the photos were modified years after they were taken, according to a motion request from December 2021 that was unsealed over the weekend and reviewed by The Daily Beast.
Among the alleged discrepancies was one photo that had a creation date of 2019, even though the photo was supposedly taken in 2015, according to the motion. Another photo did not have a creation date but had a modified date of July 2020, Heard's team said.
The team also requested Depp produce "all recordings containing Ms. Heard's voice," the request shows, but alleged the audio files provided had been edited. Heard's team requested the full audio.
Forensic expert Julian Ackert, who was hired by Heard's team to review the photo and audio documents from Depp, questioned their authenticity, The Daily Beast reported.
"Missing creation dates and/or modification dates that post-date the facts can be a sign of digital evidence manipulation," Heard's team said of Ackert's analysis.
The court ruled to exclude Ackert's testimony during the trial, according to a motion filed by Depp's team.
Depp's team argued that the "modified" dates Ackert referred to signified when the image was last saved and said that Ackert's findings would create "unfair prejudice" that would "mislead the jury."
Heard came under scrutiny during the trial after two images of her bruises from May 2016 were shown side-by-side during the trial, with one image noticeably redder than the other.
Depp's team alleged Heard edited the photos in order to make her face "look more red," which Heard denied. Heard said the photos were different due to lighting.
Depp's lawyer then brought witnesses who said they had not noticed bruises on Heard's face at the time.
Ackert testified during the trial that Heard's photos were original. Depp's forensic witness, Bryan Neumeister, testified that he could not verify whether or not the photos were altered.
A lawyer for Depp did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.