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RrN
sic SC
IEN
CE
S
•
ME
DIC
INE
1940-1970, Annotated B
ibliography. J.D
., M.D
. The O
hio State U
niversity Col-
icine, Legal M
edicine Information C
enter, 1970.
)0.
Idicates th
at this v
olu
me p
rovid
es a reference
,s to th
e wo
rld's literatu
re in th
e En
glish
lan-
:ents are arran
ged
listing
the jo
urn
als, ind
ex o
f In
d su
bject h
eadin
gs. T
his rep
resents a g
reat assem
ble referen
ces from
journ
als and b
ooks in
;u
age. T
his v
olu
me co
vers a p
eriod
of 3
0 y
ears the library and departm
ents of legal medicine.
July
1971
Photographic E
vidence and the A
ssassination of President
John F. K
ennedy *
Don O
lson, M.S.** and R
alph F. T
urner, M.S.***
Introd
uction
The assassin
ation o
f John F
. Ken
ned
y in
1963 an
d th
e pub-
lication o
f the W
arren C
om
missio
n R
eport in
1964 h
as under-
stand
ably
gen
erated a sizeab
le literature w
hich
deals w
ith
the ev
ents o
f the assassin
ation
and
th
e interp
retation o
f evi-
den
ce associated
with
the case.
Desp
ite the carefu
l attemp
ts on th
e part o
f those ch
arged
with
the resp
onsib
ility o
f pro
-vid
ing an
official d
ocu
men
tation o
f the trag
edy, a co
nsid
erable
num
ber o
f citizens an
d sch
olars co
ntin
ue to
raise questio
ns.
Ad
mitted
ly, a certain
po
rtion
of th
e pu
blish
ed literatu
re is of
a hig
hly
specu
lative an
d em
otio
nal n
ature, w
hile so
me is su
ffi-cien
tly w
ell balan
ced an
d sch
olarly
to m
erit seriou
s attentio
n.
The fact, n
everth
eless, remain
s that th
e Warren
Com
missio
n
Rep
ort, su
pp
lemen
ted b
y so
me o
fficial disclo
sures p
ertainin
g
to an
exam
inatio
n o
f the X
-rays o
f Presid
ent K
enn
edy
's bo
dy
, released
in 1
96
8, is th
e on
ly o
fficial d
ocum
ent
accessible to
scholars at this date.
Th
e senio
r auth
or h
as been
con
cerned
with
'the in
terpretatio
n
of so
me facets o
f the ev
iden
ce in th
e assassinatio
n o
f Presid
ent
Ken
ned
y as o
utlin
ed in
the W
arren C
om
missio
n R
epo
rt for
several y
ears. Th
e con
siderab
le stud
y an
d co
llection
of in
-fo
rmatio
n in
respect to
this ev
iden
ce has led
to th
e follo
win
g
• Presen
ted at th
e Tw
enty
-Th
ird A
nn
ual M
eeting o
f the A
merican
A
cadem
y o
f Fo
rensic S
ciences, P
ho
enix
, Arizo
na, F
ebru
ary 2
5, 1
97
1.
Received for publication M
ay 17, 1971. Accepted for publication S
eptember
28, 1971.
•• Dep
artmen
t of P
hysics. U
niv
ersity o
f Califo
rnia, B
erkeley
, Califo
rnia.
"'Sch
ool o
f Crim
inal Ju
stice, Mich
igan
State U
niv
ersity, E
ast Lan
sing,
Michigan.
Vo
l- 16
• No
. 4
399
JOU
RN
AL
OF
FO
RE
NS
IC S
CIE
NC
ES
simple h
ypoth
esis, nam
ely, th
at the first sh
ot to
strike th
e
Pre
sident w
as fire
d a
t a tim
e e
arlie
r than th
at re
porte
d b
y
the W
arren C
om
missio
n. T
his p
aper p
resents th
e info
rmatio
n
and evidence supporting the hypothesis.
The co
mm
on p
hoto
grap
hic tech
niq
ues o
f crimin
al Investig
a-
tion are g
enerally
called in
to u
se only
after a crime h
as been
com
mitted
. How
ever, it o
ccasionally
hap
pen
s that p
hoto
grap
hs
of ev
iden
tial valu
e are taken
by b
ystan
ders d
urin
g th
e crime
itself. One o
f the m
ost strik
ing ex
amples o
f this is in
con-
nectio
n w
ith th
e assassinatio
n o
f Presid
ent K
enned
y. S
trangely
enough, p
erhap
s the first reco
rded
case of th
is type o
f "acci-
den
tal" evid
ence w
as also in
a presid
ental assassin
ation—
that o
f Presid
ent M
cKin
ley in
1901. K
inem
atograp
hs fro
m th
e
orig
inal E
diso
n L
aborato
ry reco
rded
the ev
ents at th
e Buffalo
Exhib
ition. In
vestig
ators w
ho stu
died
the film
s of th
e Presi-
den
t's speech
easily id
entified
the assassin
Czo
lgosz, as h
e
mad
e his w
ay th
rough th
e large cro
wd to
ward
the P
residen
t.
Enlarg
emen
ts and d
rawin
gs o
f the fram
es were stu
died
in
unsu
ccessful attem
pts to
detect C
a , Igo:: ex
chan
gin
g g
lances
with
som
e confed
erates Ill. Anoth
er motio
n p
icture cam
era
was o
peratin
g in
side th
e Tem
ple o
f Music an
d w
as just a
few feet fro
m M
cKin
ley at th
e exact tim
e that C
zolg
osz cam
e
thro
ugh th
e receivin
g lin
e and fired
the tw
o assassin
ation
shots (2
). T
he assassin
ation o
f Presid
ent K
enned
y w
as a particu
larly
well-p
hoto
grap
hed
even
t. Over 2
5 p
hoto
grap
hers w
ere presen
t
on N
ovem
ber 2
2, 1
963, in
Dealey
Plaza o
f Dallas, T
exas.
Witn
ess Phil W
illis, for ex
ample, w
as able to
take six
importan
t
color slides of the presidential limousine.
Unlik
e the M
cKin
ley case, h
ow
ever, th
e Ken
ned
y assassin
a-
tion h
as raised w
ide co
ntro
versies w
hich
show
little signs
of easy
resolu
tion. S
om
e 70 b
ooks h
ave b
een w
ritten, d
efendin
g
the W
arren C
om
missio
n fin
din
gs, attack
ing th
em, o
r pro
posin
g
vario
us altern
atives to
the o
fficial lone-assassin
theo
ry. O
nly
the co
nduct an
d fin
din
gs o
f the P
residen
t's auto
psy
at Beth
esda,
Mary
land m
ay h
ave receiv
ed m
ore atten
tion th
an th
e dis-
cussio
ns an
d in
terpretatio
ns o
f the ab
undan
t photo
grap
hic ev
i-
den
ce—particu
larly th
e 8-m
m co
lor film
of A
brah
am Z
apiu
der,
■ vell k
now
n th
rough th
e publicatio
n o
f selected fram
es in L
ife
mag
azine (3
).
400 O
ctober 1
971
ER
RO
R IN
INT
ER
PR
ET
AT
ION
OF W
AR
E= C
OM
MIE
BIO
N
This p
aper w
ill show
how
the p
hoto
grap
hic ev
iden
ce was
used
to an
alyze th
e timin
g o
f assassinatio
n sh
ots an
d w
ill
examine som
e of the problems raised by the W
arren Com
mission
reconstru
ction o
f the ev
ent. S
pecific d
etails, will b
e dev
eloped
regard
ing th
e first shot to
strike P
residen
t Ken
ned
y.
Background Inform
ation
Som
e back
gro
und in
form
ation is n
ecessary p
rior to
the'p
ho-
tographic analysis of the gunfire which killed P
resident Kennedy
and serio
usly
wounded
Govern
or C
onnally
. The ev
ents o
f the
assassinatio
n are g
enerally
placed
in tim
e sequen
ce relative to
the Z
apru
der film
frames, w
hich
were seq
uen
tially n
um
bered
by th
e F
BI (se
e 1
8H
1-8
0) (4
). For e
xam
ple
, at a
fram
e
num
bered
313 a h
ead w
oundin
g o
f the P
residen
t is clearly
visib
le. Durin
g th
e frames 2
08-2
24 o
f this film
, the P
residen
t
was b
locked fro
m th
e v
iew
of th
e Z
apru
der c
am
era
by a
Ste
mm
ons F
reew
ay ro
ad sig
n a
t the c
urb
of E
lm S
treet
(R98) (5
). This left a certain
ambig
uity
, for m
any p
eople
believ
e that th
e Presid
ent w
as first wounded
durin
g th
is in-
ter\ al. A
lso, an VIZ
I gm e) en M
ay Ifit.;,t, d
etermin
ed th
at duriii.t
the in
terval o
f ....ap
rihker fram
es 166 '.!t)0
the
iea o
f the
Presid
ent fro
m th
e alleged
assassin's w
indow
in th
e Tex
as
Sch
ool B
ook D
eposito
ry w
as blo
cked
by a tall liv
e-oak
tree
along th
e north
side o
f Elm
Street. O
nly
for ab
out a ten
th
of a
second a
t fram
e n
um
ber 1
86 o
f this in
terv
al w
as th
e
Presid
ent v
isible th
rough a g
ap in
the fo
liage (R
98 1
81187,
1711883). T
hus, th
e perio
d o
f frames 2
10-2
24 rep
resents th
e
first interv
al durin
g w
hich
an assassin
in th
e south
east win
dow
of th
e 6th
floor co
uld
hav
e had
a shot at th
e Presid
ent clear
of the tree foliage.
FB
I tests on the Mannlicher-C
arcano assassination rifle estab-
lished
a min
imum
time o
f about 2
.3 seco
nds fo
r the firin
g
of tw
o su
ccessiv
e sh
ots (R
97), a
lthough th
is time d
id n
ot
inclu
de allo
wan
ce for aim
ing at a m
ovin
g targ
et. Sin
ce the
FB
I had
determ
ined
that th
e Zap
ruder cam
era ran at 1
8.3
fram
es p
er se
cond (R
97), o
ne c
an c
alc
ula
te th
at a
t least
-12 fram
es of film
time m
ust elap
se betw
een an
y tw
o sh
ots.
under th
e lone-assassin
theo
ry. T
hus, if an
assassin fired
I of. I I; • N
a. 4
101
■-•,,r•V,V,
■:.1.11Mr{4,T
.707,1912.7-)r.1
1.,. ley
lrellpp
rio-ro
e
JOU
RN
AL
OF
FO
RE
NS
IC sorm
wE
EI
cle
ar sh
ot a
s early
as fra
me 2
10, h
is second sh
ot c
ould
not
follo
w u
ntil fram
e 252 o
r later.
Warren C
omm
ission Hypothesis
This sectio
n w
ill briefly
sum
marize th
e Warren
Com
missio
n
hy
po
thesis reg
ardin
g th
e first sho
t to strik
e the P
residen
t. An
FB
I report p
repared
for th
e com
missio
n in
cluded
:
Sh
ot o
ne w
as fired fro
m a g
un
pro
bab
ly b
raced fo
r a steady
shot sig
hted
-in o
n a p
redeterm
ined
poin
t on th
e park
way
just clear o
f tree foliag
e (6).
Acco
rdin
g to
the an
alysis o
f the W
arren C
om
missio
n :
Presid
ent K
enned
y w
as first struck
by a b
ullet w
hich
en-
tered at th
e back
of h
is neck
and ex
ited th
rough th
e low
er fro
nt p
ortio
n o
f his n
eck, cau
sing a w
ound w
hich
would
no
t necessarily
hav
e been
lethal. (R
-19
)
. . . the ev
iden
ce ind
icated th
at the P
residen
t was n
ot h
it until at least fram
e 210 an
d th
at he w
as pro
bab
ly h
it by
frame 2
25. T
he p
ossib
ility o
f variatio
ns in
reaction tim
e
in ad
ditio
n to
the o
bstru
ction
of Z
apru
der's v
iew b
y th
e sig
n p
recluded
a more sp
ecific determ
inatio
n. . . (R
105)
Th
e abo
ve co
mm
ission
statemen
ts do
no
t seem u
nreaso
nab
le,
since th
e F
BI p
hoto
gra
phic
analy
sts note
d n
oth
ing u
nusu
al
in th
e frames p
rior to
num
ber 2
10, an
d sin
ce Presid
ent K
enned
y
seems to
be in
strong reactio
n to
a wound in
frames 2
25-2
27,
as he co
mes fro
m b
ehin
d th
e sign
. Th
ese com
missio
n h
yp
oth
eses
are
no
t with
ou
t som
e d
ifficu
lty, h
ow
ev
er. It w
as th
e firm
belief o
f Go
vern
or C
on
nally
, as well as all th
e com
men
ting
witn
esses, that C
on
nally
was stru
ck w
ith th
e secon
d sh
ot fired
.
Yet, th
e Zap
rud
er film sh
ow
s the g
ov
erno
r reacting
sub
stan-
tially b
efore th
e frame 2
52 at w
hich
a second sh
ot co
uld
hav
e
been
fired, an
d sig
nifican
tly after th
e frame 2
25 in
which
the
Pre
sident is se
en re
actin
g. In
fact, th
e g
overn
or se
em
s to
un
derg
o n
o ch
ang
e un
til frame 2
34
, at wh
ich p
oin
t he slu
mp
s
suddenly
; he a
ppears to
be in
strong re
actio
n to
a
wound
by
frame 2
42
. On
these g
rou
nd
s, the co
mm
ission
was led
to
form
ula
te th
e "sin
gle
-bulle
t theory
," in o
rder to
avoid
the
con
clusio
n th
at a secon
d riflem
an w
as firing
at the m
oto
rcade:
ER
RO
R IN
INT
ER
PR
ET
AT
ION
OP
WA
RR
EN
OO
KK
ISB
ION
. . . there is v
ery p
ersuasiv
e evid
ence fro
m th
e experts
to in
dicate th
at the sam
e bu
llet wh
ich p
ierced th
e Presi-
den
t's thro
at also cau
sed G
overn
or C
onnally
's wounds.
(R19)
Thus o
ne b
ullet, C
om
missio
n E
xhib
it 399, w
as believ
ed to
hav
e c
au
sed
the w
ou
nd
s to th
e P
resid
en
t's neck
, an
d to
the
go
vern
or's c
hest, rig
ht w
rist, and le
ft thig
h. T
he g
overn
or
was th
eorized
to h
ave ex
perien
ced a d
elayed
reaction to
his
wounds in
believ
ing th
at he h
ad b
een stru
ck b
y a seco
nd sh
ot,
distinct from the one w
hich wounded the P
resident.
Alth
ough it w
as not p
ossib
le to ru
le out co
mpletely
that th
e assa
ssin h
ad ta
ken a
n e
arly
wild
shot th
rough th
e tre
e, th
e
co
mm
ission
stron
gly
hin
ted
that su
ch
was n
ot th
e c
ase
, on
the reaso
nab
le gro
unds th
at there w
as no m
otiv
ation fo
r such
a blind shot :
. . it is unlik
ely th
at the assassin
would
delib
erately h
ave
shot at h
im w
ith a v
iew o
bstru
cted b
y th
e oak
tree when
he w
as about to
hav
e a clear opportu
nity
. It is also d
oubt-
ful th
at even
the m
ost p
roficien
t mark
sman
would
hav
e hit
him
thro
ugh th
e oak
tree. (R98)
The co
mm
ission seem
s to b
e on so
lid g
round
in favorin
g th
at th
e first sh
ot to
strike th
e P
resid
ent w
as th
e first sh
ot
fired. V
irtually
all o
f the w
itnesse
s were
of th
is opin
ion.
Rep
resentativ
e testimo
ny
is that o
f Secret S
ervice A
gen
t Clin
t H
ill: (2H
13
8)
. . . I heard
a n
oise
from
my rig
ht re
ar, w
hic
h to
me
seemed
to b
e a firecracker. I im
med
iately lo
oked
to m
y
right . . . a
nd I sa
w P
resid
ent K
ennedy g
rab a
t him
self
and lu
rch fo
rward
and to
the le
ft. . . . This is th
e first
sound th
at I h
eard
; yes, sir.
I ju
mped fro
m th
e c
ar,
realizing th
at som
ethin
g w
as wro
ng, ran
to th
e presid
ential
limousine.
Altern
ate Hypothesis
Besid
es the statem
ents o
f Agen
t Hill, m
uch
related testi-
mo
ny
and
evid
ence w
ill be p
resented
in th
e follo
win
g sectio
ns.
In lig
ht o
f the p
revio
us d
iscussio
ns, th
e frames p
rior to
num
ber
210 m
ay b
e referred to
as the "early
frames." T
he fo
llow
ing
402 O
ctober 1971
Vol. 1
6 . N
o. 4
403
DE
AL
EY
PL
AZ
A
EL
M
-
SIGN
166
----- 210
166 ---------
1"1.
Faw
n IN
INT
ER
PR
ET
AT
ION
OF
WA
RR
EN
CO
MM
EISIO
N
turn
sho
ws Z
apru
der, stan
din
g w
ith h
is mo
vie cam
era on
a pedesta
l of a
concre
te a
rcade. T
he v
iew
of th
e m
oto
rcade
captu
red b
y th
e Willis slid
e must co
rrespond to
only
one p
oin
t of th
e Zap
ruder film
. A
s a first step in
analy
sis, one m
ay co
nsid
er the d
irect line
join
ing th
e two
cameras o
f Willis an
d Z
apru
der. In
the W
illis slid
e, th
is line is se
en to
pass ju
st north
of th
e S
tem
mons
Freew
ay sign (F
igs. 1
and 2
). Directly
belo
w th
is two-cam
era lin
e Is the ed
ge o
f the left sh
ould
er of A
gen
t Clin
t Hill, sth
o
rides th
e left front ru
nnin
g b
oard
of th
e presid
ential fo
llow
-up
car. Thus, at th
e time o
f the W
illis pictu
re, Agen
t Hill w
as directly betw
een Zapruder and W
illis. T
he tim
ing
of th
e Willis slid
e can n
ow
be fo
un
d b
y w
atchin
g
the m
otio
n o
f the fo
llow
-up car in
the Z
apru
der film
. Stu
dy
of th
e frames rev
eals that th
e corresp
ondin
g v
iew o
ver H
ill's sh
ould
er is re
aliz
ed o
nly
at Z
apru
der fra
me 2
02. A
t this
fram
e, a
nd a
t no o
ther, A
gent H
ill is seen to
lie d
irectly
b
etween
Zap
rud
er and
Willis. C
orro
bo
ration
for th
is analy
sis
Fig
. 1—
Th
is map
of D
ealey P
laza locates m
ost o
f the relev
ant lan
dm
arks_
T
hen
um
bers in
Elm
Street sh
ow
the p
ositio
n o
f the P
residen
t at four im
-
portan
t frames o
f the Z
apru
der film
. Alsn
, the th
ree photo
grap
hers m
en-
tion
ed
in th
e te
xt a
re lo
cate
d. Ju
st two
of th
e m
an
y tre
es h
ave been
mark
ed
; the tre
e m
en
tion
ed
in th
e te
xt is th
e o
ne to
the e
ast. T
he sig
n
mark
ed in
the m
ap is th
e "Stem
mons F
reeway
Keep
Rig
ht" sig
n w
hich
ap-
pears in
the Z
apru
der film
.
Vol. 1
6 • N
o. 4
405
JOU
RN
AL
OF
FO
RE
NS
IC S
CIE
NC
ES
sectio
ns o
f this p
aper w
ill pre
sent e
vid
ence to
support th
e
follo
win
g h
ypoth
esis regard
ing th
is portio
n o
f the assassin
a-
tion: C
ontrary
to th
e theo
ry of th
e W
arren Com
mission, the
eviden
ce develo
ped
will sh
ow
that P
residen
t Ken
ned
y was first
wounded
in th
e early fra
mes o
f the Z
apru
der film
, prio
r both
to th
e time w
hen
he d
isap
pea
red b
ehin
d th
e Stem
mo
ns F
ree-
way sign an
d to the tim
e at which a clear shot w
as possible from
the a
lleged
po
sition
of th
e assa
ssin. S
pecifica
lly, du
ring
the
interva
l of fra
mes 1
86-1
90 in
the Z
apru
der film
, the first sh
ot
fired stru
ck Presid
ent K
enned
y and th
rew h
im fo
rward
and to
the left. N
ine p
oin
ts relative to
the p
hoto
grap
hic ev
iden
ce will b
e
developed. (1
) P
hil W
illis. Witn
ess Phil W
illis took h
is fifth co
lor slid
e fro
m a v
antag
e poin
t on th
e south
curb
of E
lm S
treet. Willis
can b
e seen in
the early
Zap
ruder fram
es; e. g., n
um
ber 1
83,
wh
ere he id
entified
him
self as,
"the in
div
idual w
ho stan
ds
almost d
irectly b
ehin
d th
e first moto
rcycle p
olicem
an in
that
pic
ture
. . . . With
my c
am
era
raise
d. . . ." (7
H493) W
illis
ind
icated th
at the first sh
ot cam
e just before th
is pic
ture
. He
testified ab
ou
t the fifth
slide:
. . . in fa
ct, th
e sh
ot c
ause
d m
e to
squeeze th
e c
am
era
sh
utte
r, and I g
ot a
pic
ture
of th
e P
resid
ent a
s he w
as
hit w
ith th
e first sho
t. So
instan
taneo
us, in
fact, that th
e
crow
d h
adn't h
ad tim
e to react. . . . (7
11493)
Mr. L
iebeler : D
o y
ou rem
ember h
earing th
e shot?
Mr. W
illis: Abso
lutely
. I, hav
ing, b
een in
World
War
II, and b
eing a d
eer hunter h
obbyist, I w
ould
recognize a
hig
h-p
ow
ered rifle im
med
iately.. . .
Mr. L
iebeler: A
nd
yo
u h
eard it ju
st abo
ut th
e time y
ou
took th
e pictu
re that h
as been
mark
ed?
Mr. W
illis: That's rig
ht.
Mr. L
iebele
r: Prio
r to th
e tim
e y
ou to
ok th
e p
ictu
re,
which
is mark
ed H
udso
n E
xhib
it No. 1
? [Willis slid
e 6]
Mr. W
illis : Abso
lutely
. (7H
495)
Fortu
nate
ly, th
ere
is a sim
ple
and a
ccura
te m
eth
od fo
r
the d
etermin
ation
of th
e time o
f exp
osu
re of th
e Willis slid
e.
Just as th
e Zap
ruder fram
es show
Willis, th
e Willis slid
e in
404 O
ctober 1971
JO A
L O
F. F
OR
EN
SIC
SC
LE
NC
ES
L
Fig
. 2—
Lin
es of V
iew fo
r the W
illis and B
etzner P
ictures. A
gain
, the fo
ur
num
bered
dots in
Elm
Street m
ark th
e locatio
n o
f the P
residen
t at Zap
ruder
frames 1
66, 1
86, 2
10, an
d 3
13. O
f more im
portan
ce here, h
ow
ever, are th
e
poin
ts mark
ed "A
" and "B
". Poin
t "A" m
ark
s the In
terse
ctio
n o
f the
Willis-Z
apru
der tw
o-c
am
era
line w
ith th
e p
ath
of th
e m
oto
rcade. T
he
Willis slid
e sh
ow
s Agent H
ill at p
oin
t "A", a
s does th
e Z
apru
der fra
me
num
ber 2
02. P
oin
t "B" m
arks th
e intersectio
n o
f the B
etzner-Z
apru
der tw
o-
camera lin
e with
the p
ath o
f the m
oto
rcade. T
he B
etzner p
hoto
grap
h sh
ow
s
Agen
t Hill at p
oin
t "B", as d
oes Z
apru
der fram
e num
ber 1
86.
7' is n
oted
, as Willis seem
s to b
e low
ering h
is camera fro
m h
is
eye in succeeding frames.
Stu
dy o
f the m
otio
n o
f the m
oto
rcade in
the Z
apru
der fram
es
will co
nfirm
the accu
racy o
f the ab
ove an
alysis. F
BI A
gen
t
Shan
eyfelt, an
alyzin
g th
is same p
icture fo
r the W
arren C
om
-
missio
n in
Shan
eyfelt E
xhib
it 25, u
sed a trian
gulatio
n o
f the
positio
ns o
n a m
ap o
f Dealey
Plaza. R
egard
ing th
e positio
n o
f
Willis fo
r the trian
gulatio
n, S
han
eyfelt testified
:
. . I first dete
rmin
ed fro
m c
orre
spondence, th
at M
r.
Willis w
as standin
g alo
ng th
e south
curb
of E
lm S
treet,
appro
xim
ately o
pposite th
e Tex
as Sch
ool B
ook D
eposito
ry
Building. (1511696)
After p
erform
ing th
e triangulatio
n, S
han
eyfelt co
nclu
ded
that th
e Willis p
icture:
. . . was tak
en in
the v
icinity
of th
e time th
at frame 2
10
of th
e Zap
ruder p
icture w
as taken
. This is n
ot an
accurate
determ
inatio
n b
ecause th
e exact lo
cation o
f Mr. W
illis is
unknow
n. T
his w
ould
allow
for so
me v
ariation, b
ut th
e
406 O
ctober 1
971
ER
RO
R IN
INT
ER
PR
ET
AT
ION
OF
WA
RR
EN
CO
MA
LIO
SIO
N
time o
f the p
hoto
gra
ph A
[the W
illis slide], a
s rela
ted
to th
e Zap
ruder p
icture, w
ould
be, g
enerally
, durin
g th
e
perio
d th
at the P
residen
t was b
ehin
d th
e signboard
in th
e
Zap
ruder film
s, which
covers a ran
ge fro
m aro
und fram
e
205 to frame 225. (1511697)
Alth
ough th
is testimony ag
rees perfectly
with
the W
arren
Com
missio
n h
ypoth
eses on th
e first shot, S
han
eyfelt m
ay h
ave
com
mitte
d a
n e
rror o
f som
e sig
nific
ance in
pla
cin
g W
illis'
positio
n ab
out sev
en o
r eight feet to
o far b
ack fro
m th
e Curb
(Fig
s. 1, 2
, and 3
). Thus h
is triangula
tion c
alc
ula
ted to
o
hig
h a
fram
e n
um
ber a
nd p
laced th
e c
ar to
o fa
r dow
n E
lm
Stre
et. In
fact, th
e re
levant Z
apru
der fra
mes sh
ow
Willis
standin
g ex
actly
on th
e c
urb
of E
lm S
treet, If S
haneyfe
lt's
triangulatio
n tech
niq
ue is carried
out ag
ain, u
sing th
e actual
positio
n o
f Willis, a v
alue o
f frame 2
02 is o
btain
ed, in
agreem
ent
with the previous analysis of this section.
Thus, th
e te
stimony o
f Phil W
illie a
nd a
ccura
te a
naly
sis
of h
is photo
grap
h actu
ally g
ive stro
ng ev
iden
ce that th
e first
shot m
ay h
ave b
een fired
in th
e early fram
es prio
r to n
um
ber
202.
Fig
. 3—
"W" m
ark
s the a
ctu
al p
ositio
n o
f Phil W
illis as sh
ow
n
in th
e relev
ant Z
apru
der fram
es. "9" m
arks th
e positio
n g
iven
Willis b
y A
gen
t
Shan
eyfelt. H
ad A
gen
t Shan
eyfelt p
laced W
illis forw
ard n
earerl the cu
rb,
his trian
gulatio
n w
ould
hav
e been
shifted
upw
ard an
d w
ould
hav
e passed
thro
ugh th
e moto
rcade cu
rve at th
e correct fig
ure o
f frame 2
02.
Vol. 1
6 • N
o. 4
407
tl IPP
I.••••■■■■•■•••■•••••■•.......
JOU
RN
AL
OF
FO
RE
NS
IC S
CIE
NC
ES
(2)
Mrs. K
enned
y. M
rs. Ken
ned
y w
as seated to
the left o
f
the p
resid
ent in
the re
ar se
at o
f the lim
ousin
e. R
egard
ing
the first sh
ot, sh
e testified:
. . . I was lo
okin
g th
is way
, to th
e left, and I h
eard th
ese
terrible n
oises. Y
ou k
now
. And m
y h
usb
and n
ever m
ade
any so
und. S
o I tu
rned
to th
e right. A
nd all I rem
ember
is seeing m
y h
usb
and, h
e had
this so
rt of q
uizzical lo
ok
on h
is face, a
nd h
is hand w
as u
p. . . . I u
sed to
thin
k if
I only
had
been
lookin
g to
the rig
ht I w
ould
hav
e seen th
e
first shot h
it him
. (5H
180)
Three w
itnesses m
entio
n M
rs. Ken
ned
y's actio
ns at th
e time
of th
e first shot. P
hil W
illis, very
near th
e car, testified:
Mrs. K
enned
y w
as likew
ise smilin
g an
d facin
g m
ore to
• m
y sid
e of th
e street. When
the first sh
ot w
as fired, h
er
head
seemed
to ju
st snap
in th
at directio
n, an
d h
e more
or less faced
the o
ther sid
e of th
e street and lean
ed fo
r-
ward
, which
caused
me to
wonder. . . (7
H496)
S. M
. Hollan
d v
iewed
the m
oto
rcade fro
m th
e Trip
le Under-
pass d
irectly ah
ead o
f the car o
n E
lm S
treet. He testified
that
prio
r to th
e shots M
rs. Ken
ned
y h
ad b
een lo
okin
g o
ff :
. . . in th
e south
ern d
irection . . ab
out th
at time h
e wen
t
over lik
e th
at a
nd p
ut h
is hand u
p, a
nd sh
e w
as still
lookin
g o
ff, as well as I co
uld
tell . . . that w
as the first
report th
at I h
eard
. . . she tu
rned a
round fa
cin
g th
e
Pre
sident a
nd G
overn
or C
onnally
. In o
ther w
ord
s, she
realized w
hat w
as hap
pen
ing. . . . (6
H243)
Ken
neth
O'D
onnell, rid
ing in
the fo
llow
-up car, co
mm
ented
similarly
:
She ap
peared
to b
e imm
ediately
aware th
at som
ethin
g h
ad
hap
pen
ed. S
he tu
rned
tow
ard h
im. (7
H449)
The Z
apru
der film
lends ev
iden
tial valu
e to th
e above o
b-
servatio
ns. In
the b
egin
nin
g fram
es of th
e film M
rs. Ken
ned
y
is indeed lo
okin
g o
ff into
the c
row
d o
n th
e le
ft side o
f the
street. The p
oin
t at which
she su
dden
ly sn
aps h
er head
around
to th
e rig
ht is e
xtre
mely
strikin
g in
the film
. Stu
dy o
f the
indiv
idual fram
es show
that th
is turn
occu
rs at frames 1
95-1
97.
408 O
ctober 1971
ER
RO
R IN
INT
ER
PR
ET
AT
ION
OF
WA
RR
EN
CO
MM
ISS
ION
After th
at poin
t Mrs. K
enned
y seem
s to b
e lookin
g d
irectly in
to
the P
residen
t's face.
Mrs. K
enned
y's actio
ns, co
rroborated
by sev
eral witn
esses
and th
e film, are a stro
ng in
dicatio
n th
at the P
residen
t may
have been struck by an early shot. (8
) A
gen
t Geo
rge H
ickey
. Secret S
ervice A
gen
t Hick
ey w
as
seated in
the left rear seat o
f the fo
llow
-up car. H
e is easily
located
in th
e still photo
grap
hs o
f Phil W
illis and H
ugh B
etz.per,
as well as th
e Zap
ruder fram
e, where h
is head
and sh
ould
ers
are visib
le above th
e win
dsh
ield o
f the fo
llow
-up car. A
gen
t
Hick
ey is th
e man
who h
andled
the A
R-1
5 rifle ju
st after the
assassinatio
n sh
ots w
ere fired.
Discu
ssing h
is reaction to
the first sh
ot, H
ickey
stated :
. . . I heard
a loud rep
ort w
hich
sounded
like a firecrack
er.
It appeared
to co
me fro
m th
e right an
d rear an
d seem
ed to
me to
be at g
round lev
el. I stood u
p an
d lo
oked
to m
y rig
ht
in an
attempt to
iden
tify it. . . . (1
8H
762)
The b
egin
nin
g Z
apru
der fram
es show
Agen
t Hick
ey w
atchin
g
the cro
wd o
n th
e left side o
f the street, u
p u
ntil fram
e 194. A
t
frame 1
95, h
ow
ever, h
e can b
e seen to
beg
in tu
rnin
g ab
out to
the rig
ht. H
alf-sta
ndin
g in
the re
ar se
at, H
ickey c
ontin
ues
turn
ing to
the rig
ht fo
r as long as h
e can b
e seen in
the fram
es ;
i. e., up to
frame 2
07, at w
hich
poin
t he is lo
okin
g o
ff to th
e
right o
f the m
oto
rcade. A
still photo
grap
h, tak
en b
y Jam
es
Altg
ens an
d id
entified
by th
e com
missio
n as h
avin
g b
een tak
en
at frame 2
55 (R
112), sh
ow
s Hick
ey an
d sev
eral oth
er agen
ts
twisted
around an
d lo
okin
g b
ack in
the d
irection o
f the d
e-
pository building.
Agen
t Hick
ey seem
s to b
e a good w
itness an
d h
is actions
are anoth
er indicatio
n th
at an early
shot w
as fired.
(4) P
residen
t Ken
ned
y. It is clear th
at the actio
ns o
f Presi-
dent K
ennedy in
the e
arly
Zapru
der fra
mes a
re o
f inte
rest.
FB
I Agen
t Shan
eyfelt testified
befo
re the W
arren C
om
missio
n
about these frames :
. . . in so
me fra
mes it is o
bvio
us th
at h
e is sm
iling. . . .
His arm
is up o
n th
e side o
f the car an
d h
is han
d is in
a
wav
e. . . . I see noth
ing in
the fram
es to aro
use m
y su
s-
picio
n ab
out h
is movem
ents . . . as h
e disap
pears b
ehin
d
the sig
nboard
. . . (5H
151)
Vol. 1
6 • N
o. 1
409
-
- .
JOU
RN
AL
OF
FO
RE
NS
IC S
CIE
NC
ES
Fram
e 183 sh
ow
s the essen
tial features d
escribed
by S
han
ey-
felt. T
he P
resid
ent is sittin
g o
n th
e e
xtre
me rig
ht sid
e o
f
the c
ar a
nd is le
anin
g b
ack a
gain
st the re
ar se
at. H
is head
is turn
ed alm
ost d
irectly to
the rig
ht as h
e wav
es to th
e crow
d.
His rig
ht a
rm e
xte
nds o
ut o
ver th
e sid
e o
f the c
ar, a
nd h
is
right elb
ow
can b
e seen w
ell belo
w a ch
rom
e strip v
isible o
n
the outside of the car. A
very
mark
ed ch
ange is ap
paren
t by fram
es 225-2
30, as
the P
resid
ent e
merg
es fro
m b
ehin
d th
e sig
nboard
. As h
as
been
men
tioned
prev
iously
, the P
residen
t seems to
be in
strong
reactio
n to
a w
ound a
t this p
oin
t. For e
xam
ple
, in fra
me
230 th
e P
resid
ent is le
anin
g fo
rward
, aw
ay fro
m th
e se
at,
back a
nd a
way fro
m th
e rig
ht e
dge o
f the c
ar. H
is head
has tu
rned
back
from
the cro
wd, an
d h
e faces almost d
irectly
forw
ard. M
ore im
portan
tly, th
ese frames sh
ow
that th
e Presi-
den
t's han
ds h
ave b
een raised
to th
e area of h
is chin
and n
eck.
Also
, his arm
s are in an
extrem
ely u
nusu
al positio
n, w
ith b
oth
elbows raised very high, alm
ost to the level of his chin. T
he W
arren C
om
missio
n b
elieved
that fram
es 22
5-2
30
rep-
resented
the P
residen
t's reactions to
a shot fired
som
ewhere
in th
e interv
al of Z
apru
der fram
es 210-2
24, w
hile th
e Presi-
den
t was b
ehin
d th
e road
sign. H
ow
ever, certain
observ
ations
in th
e Z
apru
der film
will b
e n
ote
d h
ere
to in
dic
ate
that th
e
first woundin
g o
f the P
residen
t may
not h
ave b
een b
lock
ed
from
the reco
rd b
y th
e road
sign. T
he tran
sition in
the P
resi-
den
t's appearan
ce betw
een fram
es 18
3 an
d 2
30 (d
escribed
abo
ve) in
fact seems to
beg
in w
ith certain
reaction
s in th
e in-
terval of frames 194-206.
First. a g
eneral tren
d in
the fram
es 194-2
06 m
ay b
e noted
.
Beg
innin
g as early
as frame 1
94, th
e Presid
ent's b
ody seem
s
to u
nderg
o a m
otio
n fo
rward
and to
the left. T
his m
otio
n, w
hich
can b
e visu
ally ap
pro
xim
ated to
be o
n th
e ord
er of six
or sev
en
inch
es, seems to
beg
in in
frame 1
94 an
d co
ntin
ues th
rough
about fram
e 200. T
he P
residen
t seems to
move aw
ay fro
m th
e
seat back
and to
tilt to th
e left, away
from
the w
indow
ledge.
The w
itness statem
ent o
f Ken
neth
O'D
onnell m
ay b
e noted
:
He w
as leanin
g o
ut w
avin
g. H
e may
hav
e just b
een w
ith-
draw
ing h
is han
d. A
nd th
e shot h
it him
, and th
rew h
im
to th
e le
ft . . . lookin
g a
t the m
anner o
f the P
resid
ent's
ER
RO
R IN
INT
ER
PR
ET
AT
ION
OF
WA
RR
EN
CO
MM
ISS
ION
movem
ent, I w
ould
thin
k y
ou w
ould
have to
feel th
e
thru
st of th
e shot w
as from
the rig
ht rear. (7
H449)
Stu
dy o
f the fram
es reveals fu
rther in
form
ation. R
ecalling
the d
escriptio
ns ab
ove, it is clear th
at betw
een fram
es 183 an
d
230, tw
o sp
ecific chan
ges o
ccurred
in th
e Presid
ent's p
ositio
n.
First, th
e Presid
ent tu
rned
his h
ead an
d sh
ould
ers back
from
th
e crow
d u
ntil
he was facin
g fo
rward
. Also
, the P
residen
t's
right a
rm m
oved fro
m a
positio
n w
ith th
e e
lbow
belo
w a
chro
me strip
on th
e outsid
e of th
e car, into
a positio
n w
ith
the arm
and elb
ow
well in
side th
e car and raised
almost to
chin
level. T
hese fram
es and m
otio
ns h
ave b
een d
escribed
in
such
great d
etail becau
se both
of th
ese specific ch
anges in
Kennedy c
an b
e o
bse
rved to
occur in
the "e
arly
Zapru
der
frames," 1. e., those b
efore th
e Presid
ent d
isappears fro
m v
iew
beh
ind th
e road
sign. In
this co
ntex
t, It hap
pen
s that fram
e 204 is very im
portant.
On th
e interv
al 194-2
00 th
e Presid
ent's b
ody is seen
to n
arrow
som
ewhat to
the v
iew, in
dicatin
g th
at he n
ot o
nly
leans to
the L
eft front, b
ut also
is rotated
to th
e left. The ro
tation o
f the
should
ers beg
ins as early
as frame 1
95. H
is head
com
es around
at 200-2
02. B
y fram
e 204 th
e Presid
ent is facin
g alm
ost d
irect-ly forw
ard. A
s the P
residen
t moves an
d ro
tates to th
e left, his rig
ht arm
is pulled
back
into
the car. W
hile h
is elbow
has b
een restin
g
outsid
e th
e c
ar, it c
om
es u
p n
otic
eably
at fra
me 1
95. T
he
Presid
ent's elb
ow
can b
e seen to
cross th
e chro
me strip
on th
e
side o
f the car at fram
es 198-1
99. A
s Presid
ent K
enned
y d
is-ap
pears fro
m v
iew b
ehin
d th
e sign,
his rig
ht a
rm se
em
s to
he in
a particu
larly u
nusu
al positio
n—
the clearly
visib
le gray
of h
is suit co
at indicatin
g th
at his rig
ht arm
and elb
ow
hav
e
been raised at least to the level of his chin.
At th
is poin
t, three o
f the m
ost d
etailed w
itness d
escriptio
ns
may be quoted:
Dav
id P
ow
ers: Presid
ent K
enned
y w
as sitting o
n th
e ex-
treme rig
ht-h
and sid
e of h
is auto
mobile, w
ith h
is arm ex
-ten
din
g as m
uch
as two feet b
eyond th
e rights
edge o
f the
car . . . th
e first sh
ot w
ent o
ff and it so
unded to
me a
s
if it were a firecrack
er. I noticed
then
that th
e Presid
ent
410 ()c
oie
r 19
71
V
ol. 1
6 • N
o. 4
411
--......,—„,,.,„
,„„„sern
otig
reimim
plereep
uteree, • •
JOU
RN
AL
OF
FO
RE
N8/0 SC
IEN
CE
S E
RR
OR
IN IN
TE
RP
RE
TA
TIO
N O
F WA
RR
EN C
lOK
bEtE19TO/7
moved
quite far to
his left after th
e shot fro
m th
e extrem
e
right-h
and aid
e where h
e had
been
sitting. (7
H473)
Mr. H
ollan
d: A
nd th
e moto
rcade w
as com
ing d
ow
n in
this
fashio
n, an
d th
e Presid
ent w
as wav
ing to
the p
eople o
n th
is
side (in
dic
atin
g). . .
Mr. H
ollan
d: A
nd ab
out th
at time h
e wen
t over lik
e that
(indicatin
g), an
d p
ut h
is han
d u
p, an
d sh
e was still lo
okin
g
off. as well as I could tell.
Mr. S
tern : N
ow
, when
you say
, "he w
ent lik
e that," y
ou
leaned
forw
ard an
d raised
your rig
ht h
and?
Mr. H
ollan
d : P
ulled
forw
ard an
d h
and ju
st stood lik
e that
mom
entarily
.
Stern
: With
his rig
ht h
and ?
Mr. H
ollan
d: H
is right h
and; an
d th
at was th
e first report
that I h
eard. (6
H243)
William
New
man
: We w
ere lookin
g b
ack u
p th
e street to
see if the m
oto
rcade w
as com
ing an
d th
e first two sh
ots
were fired
, and o
f course th
e first shot, b
oom
, the P
residen
t
threw
his arm
s up lik
e that, sp
un aro
und so
rt of . . . (7
).
These w
itness statem
ents co
mpare fav
orab
ly w
ith th
e actions
of P
residen
t Ken
ned
y n
oted
in th
e frames 1
94-2
06. T
he fo
l-
low
ing seem
s clear: the actio
ns o
f Presid
ent K
enned
y in
the
early
Zapru
der fra
mes a
re n
ot a
t all in
consiste
nt w
ith th
e
hypoth
esis th
at th
e P
resid
ent w
as first stru
ck in
these
early
frames. p
rior to
frame n
um
ber 1
95.
(5) L
inda W
illis. Witn
ess Lin
da W
illis, a dau
ghter o
f the
witness w
hose photographs were m
entioned above, can be located
in Z
apru
der fram
e 183. in
which
she is d
ressed in
a red d
ress
unit w
hite scarf an
d is at th
e extrem
e right o
f the fram
e. She
describ
ed fo
r the W
arren C
om
missio
n:
. w
ell, I fo
llow
ed a
long th
e stre
et w
ith th
e c
ar . . .
was d
irectly acro
ss when
the first sh
ot h
it hin
t . . . I was
right in
line w
ith th
e sign and th
e car, and I w
asn't v
ery
far away
from
him
. . . When
the first o
ne h
it, well, th
e
Presid
ent tu
rned
from
wav
ing to
the p
eople, an
d h
e grab
bed
his th
roat, an
d h
e kin
d o
f slum
ped
forw
ard . . . I stay
ed
there
. where th
e Stem
mons sig
n is. . . . (7
H498)
In all th
e Zap
ruder fram
es up to
199 L
inda W
illis can be
obse
rved a
s she ru
ns a
long th
e g
rass o
n th
e so
uth
side o
f
Elm
Street, fo
llow
ing th
e presid
ential lim
ousin
e. At fram
e
200, h
ow
ever, sh
e abru
ptly
stops ru
nnin
g. In
succeed
ing fram
es
(200-2
04) sh
e turn
s sharp
ly an
d lo
oks b
ack to
the rig
ht an
d
rear of th
e moto
rcade. A
t this p
oin
t the car is in
deed
directly
betw
een h
er and th
e Stem
mons F
reeway
sign.
Lin
da W
illis
then
remain
s fixed
in th
e same sp
ot fo
r as long as sh
e is visib
le;
i. e., up to frame 222.
•
It is reasonab
le to su
ggest th
at these fram
es are show
ing
Lin
da W
illis reacting to
the so
und o
f an early
first shot.
(6)
Govern
or C
onnally
. It is well k
now
n th
at the g
overn
or
and h
is wife
belie
ve th
at th
e P
resid
ent w
as stru
ck w
ith th
e
first shot an
d th
at the g
overn
or w
as hit b
y th
e second sh
ot.
The g
overn
or h
as stated:
My reco
llection o
f that tim
e gap
, the d
istinct sep
aration
betw
een th
e sh
ot th
at h
it the P
resid
ent a
nd th
e im
pact
of th
e o
ne th
at h
it me, is a
s cle
ar to
day a
s it was th
en.
They
talk ab
out th
e "one-b
ullet" o
r "two-b
ullet th
eory
," but
as far as I'm co
ncern
ed, th
ere is no "th
eory
." There is m
y
abso
lute k
now
ledge, an
d N
ellie's too, th
at one b
ullet cau
sed
the P
residen
t's first wound, an
d th
at an en
tirely sep
arate
shot stru
ck m
e (8).
After h
ours o
f study o
f the clear L
ife mag
azine en
largem
ents,
Connally
chose fram
e 234 as th
e poin
t where h
e was h
it by
the se
cond sh
ot. N
o re
cord
is found in
dic
atin
g th
at h
e w
as
asked
when
he th
ought th
e first shot h
ad co
me, ev
en th
ough
he claim
ed a clear reco
llection o
f the tim
e gap
. Fortu
nately
,
he h
ad v
olu
nteered
his o
pin
ion o
n th
is poin
t durin
g an
earlier
session w
ith th
e Zap
ruder p
ictures, o
n A
pril 2
1, 1
964. A
t this
comm
ission screening of 35-mm
slides prepared from the fram
es,
Govern
or C
onnally
's opin
ion w
as record
ed in
a mem
oran
dum
for th
e record
:
. . . He felt th
e Presid
ent m
ight h
ave b
een h
it by fram
e
190. H
e heard
only
two sh
ots an
d felt su
re that th
e shots
he h
eard
were
the first a
nd th
ird sh
ots. H
e is p
ositiv
(
that h
e w
as h
it afte
r he h
eard
the first sh
ot; i. e
.,
the seco
nd sh
ot, an
d b
y th
at shot o
nly
(9).
412 O
ctober 1971 V
ol. 16 • No. 4
41:
JOU
RN
AL
OF
FO
RE
NS
IC S
CIE
NC
ES
Govern
or C
onnally
's estimate fo
r the tim
e of th
e Presid
ent's
reactio
n to
the first sh
ot is strik
ing c
orro
bora
tion fo
r the
prev
ious an
alysis o
f this rep
ort. T
he ab
ove m
emoran
dum
was
not in
troduced
into
evid
ence an
d th
us d
id n
ot b
ecom
e a part
of the comm
ission's published record. (7
) Blu
rred fra
mes. S
tudy o
f the Z
apru
der fra
mes im
-m
edia
tely
reveals th
at so
me o
f the fra
mes a
re m
uch m
ore
blu
rred th
an o
thers. F
or e
xam
ple
, hig
hlig
hts in
the w
ind-
shield
and ch
rom
e of th
e presid
ential lim
ousin
e appear as d
ots
in fram
e 193, w
hile th
ey b
ecom
e horizo
ntal streak
s in fram
e 197. T
he p
hen
om
enon o
f blu
rred fram
es has b
een stu
died
in
som
e detail b
y D
r. Luis A
lvarez o
f the U
niv
ersity o
f Califo
rnia,
Berk
eley. It is h
is hypoth
esis that th
e blu
rred fram
es do n
ot
just a
ppear ra
ndom
ly in
the Z
apru
der film
, but ra
ther th
ey
seem to
occu
r in d
istinct ch
ains o
f blu
rs. His an
alysis in
dicates
that th
e chain
s of b
lurs are attrib
utab
le to h
orizo
ntal o
scilla-tio
ns o
f Zap
ruder's cam
era, possib
ly as a n
euro
muscu
lar re-sp
onse to
the so
unds o
f shots fired
. W
ithout g
oin
g in
to th
e details w
e can see h
ow
this can
be
rela
ted to
the a
naly
sis of th
e first sh
ot (1
0). A
very
pro
-nounced c
hain
of b
lurs o
ccurs o
ver th
e e
ntire
inte
rval o
f fram
es 190-2
07. T
his can
be in
terpreted
as a possib
le reaction
of Z
apru
der to
the so
und o
f an early
first shot.
(R)
Hugh B
etzner, Jr. W
itness H
ugh B
etzner, Jr., to
ok th
e la
st of a
serie
s of th
ree b
lack a
nd w
hite
still photo
gra
phs
from
a v
anta
ge p
oin
t on th
e so
uth
curb
of E
lm S
treet. H
is lo
cation can
be estab
lished
from
his p
hoto
grap
h an
d th
e Zap
-ru
der fram
es; frame 1
83 sh
ow
s Betzn
er at the cu
rb, w
ith h
is cam
era raised to
his ey
e. He is d
ressed in
white an
d is lo
cated
almost d
irectly ab
ove th
e red search
light o
n th
e left front o
f the S
ecret Service follow
-up car. In
an a
ffidavit o
f Novem
ber 2
2, 1
963, B
etz
ner re
porte
d
that th
e first sh
ot c
am
e ju
st afte
r he to
ok h
is last p
ictu
re:
I took a
noth
er p
ictu
re a
s the P
resid
ent's c
ar w
as g
oin
g
dow
n th
e h
ill on E
lm S
treet. I sta
rted to
win
d m
y film
ag
ain an
d I h
eard a lo
ud n
oise. I th
ought th
at this n
oise
was eith
er a firecracker o
r a car had
back
fired. (1
9H
467)
To c
alc
ula
te th
e tim
e o
f exposu
re o
f the B
etz
ner p
ictu
re,
one can
use th
e same m
ethod th
at was d
escribed
in d
etail for
414 O
ctober 1971
ER
RO
R IN
INT
ER
PR
ET
AT
ION
OF
WA
RR
EN
CO
MM
ISS
ION
the W
illis slide in
part I.
In B
etzner's case th
e two-cam
era line
passes o
ver th
e fifth lad
y stan
din
g east o
f the S
temm
ons F
ree-w
ay sig
n an
d b
y a cu
rious co
incid
ence w
ith th
e Willis p
ic-tu
re a
lso p
asse
s over th
e le
ft should
er o
f Agent C
lint H
ill (F
igs. 1
and 2
). Com
pariso
n sh
ow
s that th
e c
orre
spondin
g
Zapruder fram
e can only be number 186.
This resu
lt is of so
me in
terest, for it is in
perfect ag
reemen
t w
ith th
e p
revio
us a
naly
sis that th
e first sh
ot c
am
e in
the
early fram
es, prio
r to fram
e 195 (an
d p
ossib
ly p
rior to
frame
190), a
nd ju
st afte
r the tim
e o
f the B
etz
ner p
ictu
re. T
his
result fu
rther serv
es as a strong in
dicatio
n th
at the first sh
ot
did
not co
me b
efore th
e presid
ential car w
ent u
nder th
e tree at fram
e 166; n
o w
itness p
laces a shot th
at early, m
oreo
ver.
The ex
posu
re times o
f both
the B
etzner an
d W
illis pictu
res are n
ow
know
n to
be fram
es 186 an
d 2
02, resp
ectively
. Giv
en
the av
erage sp
eeds o
f the p
residen
tial limousin
e as 11.2
miles
per h
our (R
49) an
d o
f the Z
apru
der cam
era as 18.3
frames
per seco
nd (R
97), it is p
ossib
le to estim
ate the d
istance trav
-elled
by th
e car betw
een th
e two p
ictures. T
wo altern
ate meth
ods
of th
is calculatio
n are b
ased o
n th
e FB
I surv
ey m
easurem
ents o
f D
ealey P
laza (17H
902) an
d th
e know
n d
imen
sions o
f the car
(17H
867). T
he th
ree figures d
erived
are 14, 1
5, an
d 1
4 feet,
respectively, according to the analysis of this report. W
hile th
e Betzn
er photo
grap
h w
as not u
sed b
y th
e Warren
C
om
missio
n, it w
as prin
ted in
Life m
agazin
e. Part o
f the tex
t th
ere men
tioned
an an
alysis b
y Itek
Corp
oratio
n, a co
mpan
y
which is a recognized expert in photoanalysis :
Itek, u
sing a tech
niq
ue called
resectionin
g to
determ
ine
the tim
e of ex
posu
res, com
puted
the P
residen
t's car to b
e fiv
e feet farther alo
ng E
lm S
treet in W
illis' pictu
re than
in
Betzn
er's. Sim
ilar analy
sis places th
e time o
f the W
illis pictu
re as just b
efore th
e first shot (1
1).
Both
of th
ese statemen
ts are contrad
icted b
y th
e analy
sis of th
e p
rese
nt re
port. In
fact, H
ow
ard
Spra
gue, ,Jr., V
ice
Presid
ent o
f Itek, h
as acknow
ledged
by letter th
e erior in
the
first statemen
t, for reaso
ns sim
ilar to A
gen
t Shan
eyfelt's er-
roneous triangulation :
We h
ave an
alyzed
the d
istance q
uestio
n sin
ce Novem
ber
of 1
967 . . . an
d h
ave fo
und th
e distan
ce to b
e 13.5
feet
Vol. 1
6 • N
o.
415
JOU
RN
AL
OF
FO
RE
NS
IC S
CIE
NC
ES
with
one m
ethod u
sing sin
gle fram
e resections, an
d 1
5$
feet with
a second m
ethod in
which
the tw
o p
hoto
grap
hs
were
positio
ned b
y sy
nchro
niz
atio
n w
ith a
Zapru
der
frame. . . O
ur d
iscrepan
cy o
ccurred
becau
se we lack
ed
relia
ble
info
rmatio
n c
oncern
ing th
e e
xact lo
catio
ns o
f B
etznet an
d W
illis (12).
Reg
ardin
g th
e second ltek
statemen
t above, M
r. Sprag
ue
said
that th
e lte
k re
port c
onta
ined "n
o in
sinuate
d re
latio
n-
ship
with
the seq
uen
ce of g
unsh
ots" (1
3). T
hus, th
e second
senten
ce quoted
above is ex
clusiv
ely a L
ife conclu
sion an
d h
as no scien
tific support fro
m Itek
. In
sum
mary
, the B
etzner an
d W
illis pictu
res, while sim
i-lar in
view
, pro
vid
e an in
teresting co
ntrast o
f the b
egin
nin
g
and th
e end o
f a perio
d o
f particu
lar interest in
the Z
apru
der
film.
(9) S
ecret Serv
ice reconstru
ction. T
his fin
al poin
t consists
more in
corro
boratio
n o
f the ab
ove p
oin
ts than
in fu
rther ev
i-den
ce. Surp
risingly
, a docu
men
t in th
e Natio
nal A
rchiv
es show
s th
at an ag
ent o
f the S
ecret Serv
ice mad
e observ
ations o
f Presi-
den
t Ken
ned
y in
the Z
apru
der film
very
similar to
those o
f sectio
n 4
above. A
n F
BI d
ocu
men
t, filed o
n N
ovem
ber 2
9,
1963, includes :
SA
John Jo
e How
lett, United
States S
ecret Serv
ice, Dallas,
advised
that w
ith th
e aid o
f a surv
eyor an
d th
rough th
e use
of 8
-mm
movie
films d
epic
ting P
resid
ent Jo
hn F
. K
enned
y b
eing stru
ck b
y assassin
's bullets o
n N
ovem
ber
22, 1
963, H
ow
lett was ab
le to ascertain
that th
e distan
ce fro
m th
e w
indow
ledge o
f the fa
rthest w
indow
to th
e
east in th
e sixth
floor o
f the T
exas S
chool B
ook D
eposito
ry
Build
ing, 4
11 E
lm S
treet, to
where
the P
resid
ent w
as
struck
the first tim
e in th
e neck
was ap
pro
xim
ately 1
70
feet. He stated
this d
istance w
ould
be accu
rate with
in tw
o
or th
ree fe
et. . . . S
A H
ow
lett a
dvise
d th
at it h
ad b
een
ascertained
from
the m
ovies th
at Presid
ent K
enned
y w
as stru
ck w
ith th
e first and th
ird sh
ots fired
by th
e assassin,
while
Govern
or C
onnally
was stru
ck w
ith th
e se
cond
shot (1
4).
ER
RO
R IN
INT
ER
PR
ET
AT
ION
OF
WA
RR
EN
CO
MM
ISS
ION
A m
ap w
as inclu
ded
, which
show
ed a p
oin
t "A" at 1
70 feet
from
the w
indow
, with
the n
otatio
n : "P
residen
t struck
with
first b
ullet."
The re
fere
nce to
dista
nce o
f firing c
learly
indic
ate
s that
Agen
t How
lett mean
t neith
er the "b
lind" p
eriod b
ehin
d th
e sign (in
determ
inate to
about 1
2 feet) n
or th
e frames o
f obvio
us
reaction after 2
25 (all fu
rther th
an 1
91 feet fro
m th
e win
dow
). (1
8H
90) In
deed
, How
lett's figure o
f 170 feet co
rresponds to
about fra
me 1
99 o
r 200. It c
an b
e re
calle
d fro
m se
ctio
n 4
ab
ove, th
at at this p
oin
t of th
e film th
e reaction o
f Presid
ent
Ken
ned
y first b
ecom
es particu
larly n
oticeab
le. T
he ab
ove d
ocu
men
t, filed w
ithin
a week
after the assassin
a-tio
n (o
n th
e sa
me d
ay th
at th
e W
arre
n C
om
missio
n w
as
form
ed), clearly
represen
ts the o
rigin
al Secret S
ervice an
alysis
of th
e assassinatio
n, b
efore th
e perm
utatio
ns o
f rifle speed
and
the sin
gle-b
ullet th
eory
had
been
added
. One o
ther relev
ant
archiv
es docu
men
t concern
s a screenin
g o
f the 3
5-m
m slid
es fo
r which
How
lett was p
resent in
Wash
ingto
n o
n A
pril 1
4,
1964. A
mem
oran
dum
for th
e record
contain
s remark
s which
m
ay b
e attributab
le to A
gen
t How
lett:
(b) T
he re
actio
n sh
ow
n in
fram
es 2
24-2
25 m
ay h
ave
starte
d a
t an e
arlie
r poin
t--possib
ly a
s early
as fra
me
199 (w
hen
there ap
pears to
be so
me jerk
iness in
his m
ove-
men
t) or, w
ith a h
igher d
egree o
f possib
ility, at fram
es 204-0
6 (w
here
his rig
ht e
lbow
appears to
be ra
ised to
an
artificially h
igh p
ositio
n) (1
5).
Again
, this a
gre
es w
ith th
e a
naly
sis in se
ctio
n .4
of th
e
presen
t report.
Afte
r the d
eta
iled F
BI re
constru
ctio
n o
f May 2
4, 1
964,
whic
h e
stablish
ed th
e o
bstru
ctio
n b
y th
e o
ak tre
e p
rior to
fra
me 2
10, th
ere
is no in
dic
atio
n th
at th
e c
om
missio
n in
-vestig
ators g
ave fu
rther co
nsid
eration to
the clu
es giv
en b
y
How
lett's report an
d later co
mm
ents.
Neith
er of th
e two d
ocu
men
ts men
tioned
was in
troduced
into
evidence or the published record.
Co
nclu
sion
s
The W
arren C
om
missio
n co
nclu
sion o
f a first woundin
g
of b
oth
Presid
ent K
enned
y an
d G
overn
or C
onnally
(the "sin
gle-
Vol. 1
6 • N
o. 4
417
416 O
ctober 1971
JO
UR
NA
L O
F F
OR
EN
SIC
SCIE
NC
ES
bu
llet th
eo
ry") o
ccurrin
g d
urin
g th
e fra
mes 2
10
-22
4 u
sed
to
som
e exten
t the p
rocess o
f elimin
ation, b
ased o
n th
e blo
ck-
ing
by
the ro
ad
sign
, the c
on
vic
tion
that th
e first sh
ot w
as
fired clear o
f the tree fo
liage, an
d th
e ignoran
ce of ev
iden
ce in
the early
Zap
ruder fram
es. The ev
iden
ce dev
eloped
in th
is rep
ort su
pp
orts • th
e con
clusio
n th
at Presid
ent K
enn
edy
was
first wo
un
ded
du
ring
the in
terv
al o
f fram
es 1
86
-19
0 in
the
Zap
rud
er film.
Su
ch to
pics as th
e med
ical evid
ence o
r the d
etailed b
allistic ev
iden
ce clearly g
o b
eyond th
e photo
grap
hic an
alysis o
f this
report. F
or th
e presen
t, how
ever, o
ne th
ing can
be co
nclu
ded
w
ith so
me certain
ty : th
e exact ev
ents o
f Presid
ent K
enned
y's
assassinatio
n d
id n
ot h
appen
as describ
ed in
the W
arren R
e-
po
rt.
Ackn
ow
ted
gm
ests: M
an
y ind
ividu
als h
ave
be
en
of a
ssistan
ce in
ga
the
ring
info
rmatio
n fo
r this
paper. M
any o
f the p
oin
ts n
ote
d h
ere
were
first o
b-
se
rve
d b
y R
ay M
arc
us, L
illian
Ca
ste
llano
, and
Ha
rold
We
isb
erg
. Ga
ry
Schoener a
nd P
aul H
och h
ave b
een p
artic
ula
rly h
elp
ful in
their d
iscussio
ns.
as h
as P
rofe
sso
r Ja
me
s H
arrin
gto
n a
t Mic
hig
an
Sta
te U
niv
ers
ity. S
en
ato
r
John S
herm
an C
ooper w
as k
ind e
nough to
dis
cuss th
e fu
nctio
nin
g o
f the
com
mis
sio
n a
nd its
hearin
gs. F
inally
, at th
e N
atio
nal A
rchiv
es, M
ario
n
Johnson, J
oe F
ern
andez, a
nd J
ohn S
wanson m
ade p
ossib
le s
tudy o
f the
vo
lum
ino
us W
arre
n C
om
mis
sio
n file
s, a
s w
ell a
s h
ours
of s
tud
y o
f the
exce
llen
t 35
-mm
colo
r slide
s pre
pa
red
from
the
Za
pru
de
r fram
es.
To a
nyone fa
milia
r with
the w
ritings o
n th
e a
ssassin
atio
n, it is
un-
necessary
to a
dd th
at th
e c
onclu
sio
ns o
f this
report a
re n
ot to
be ta
ken a
s
ne
ce
ssa
rily re
pre
se
ntin
g th
e v
iew
s o
f the
pe
rso
ns m
en
tion
ed
he
re o
r tho
se
me
ntio
ne
d in
the
text o
f the
rep
ort.
RE
FE
RE
NC
ES
1. G
ross, H
an
s. C
rimin
al In
ve
stig
atio
n, 1
46
. Ric
ha
rd J
ackso
n (E
d.).
Carsw
ell C
om
pany, L
td., T
oro
nto
, Canada (1
962).
2.
Sm
ith, A
lbert. T
wo R
eels
and a
Cra
nk, 1
32. D
ouble
day, G
ard
en C
ity,
Ne
w Y
ork
(19
52
). 3
. L
ife, T
ime
, Inc., C
hic
ag
o, Illin
ois
. No
ve
mb
er 2
9, 1
96
3, p
p. 2
2-3
9:
Octo
ber 2
, 1964. p
p. 4
0-5
0B
; Nove
mber 2
5, 1
966, p
p. 3
8-5
3.
4, 5
. Shorth
and n
ota
tions su
ch a
s these
will b
e u
sed to
refe
r to th
e vo
lum
es
publis
hed b
y th
e W
arre
n C
om
mis
sio
n. F
or e
xam
ple
, R98 in
dic
ate
s th
e
Re
po
rt of th
e P
resid
en
t's C
om
mis
sio
n o
n th
e A
ssa
ssin
atio
n o
f Pre
si-
dent J
ohn F
. Kennedy, 9
8. U
nite
d S
tate
s G
overn
ment P
rintin
g O
ffice,
Washin
gto
n, D
. C. (1
964); 1
811140 in
dic
ate
s th
e H
earin
gs B
efo
re th
e
ER
RO
R IN
INT
ER
PR
ET
AT
ION
OF
WA
RR
EN
CO
MM
ISS
ION
Pre
side
nt's C
om
missio
n o
n th
e A
ssassin
atio
n o
f Pre
sident K
ennedy, 1
- 80. U
nite
d S
tate
s G
overn
ment P
rintin
g O
ffice, W
ashin
gto
n, D
. C.
(1964).
6.
Na
tion
al A
rchive
s, Wa
rren
Co
mm
ission
File
29
8, 1
4. W
ash
ing
ton
, D. C
. 7.
Priv
ate
inte
rvie
w b
y J
osia
h T
ho
mp
so
n, S
ix S
eco
nd
s in
Da
llas, 8
7.
Bern
ard
Geis A
ssocia
tes, N
ew
York, N
ew
York (1
967).
8.
Life
, 48
. T
ime, In
c„ Chica
go, Illin
ois. N
ove
mber 2
6, 1
966.
9.
Natio
nal A
rchiv
es, W
arre
n C
om
mis
sio
n A
dm
inis
trativ
e F
ile (u
n-
num
bere
d). W
ash
ingto
n, D
. C.
10
. W
hite
, Ste
ph
en
. Sh
ou
ld W
e N
ow
Be
lieve
the
Wa
rren
Re
po
rt?, f3
-77
,
226-2
29. T
he M
acM
illan C
om
pany, N
ew
York
, New
York
(1968).
11
. Life
, 93. T
ime, In
c., C
hic
ago, Illin
ois
. Novem
ber 2
4, 1
967.
12
. A
uth
or's co
rresp
ondence
from
How
ard
Spra
gue, Jr. F
ebru
ary 1
2, 1
969.
13
. T
he fu
ll report m
entio
ned is
the L
ife-Ite
k K
ennedy A
ssassin
atio
n F
ilm
Analysis, lic
k C
orp
ora
tion, L
exin
gto
n, M
assa
chuse
tts 02173.
14
. Natio
nal A
rchive
s, Warre
n C
om
missio
n F
ile 5
, 117. W
ash
ingto
n, D
. C.
15
, Na
tion
al A
rch
ive
s, W
arre
n C
om
mis
sio
n A
dm
inis
trativ
e F
ile (u
nn
um
-bere
d). W
ash
ingto
n, D
. C.
Sch
oo
l of C
rimin
al Ju
stice
Co
lleg
e o
f So
cial S
cien
ce
Mich
iga
n S
tate
Un
iversity
Ea
st La
nsin
g, M
ichig
an
48
82
3
INF
EC
TIO
US
DIS
EA
SE
S 197
2-T
RE
AT
ME
NT
AN
D
PR
EV
EN
TIO
N
January 10,11,1972. Eden R
oc Hotel, M
iami B
each, Florida
Leg
al aspects o
f ho
spital in
fection
will b
e discu
ssed b
y at-
torn
eys an
d p
hysician
s. For in
form
ation, w
rite, Mrs. G
wen
H
end
el, Office o
f Po
stgrad
uate M
edical E
du
cation
, Mo
un
t S
inai Hospital, M
iami B
each, Florida 33140.
418 O
ctober 1
971
Vol. 1
6 • N
o. 4
419
