Cold Case JFK SCRIPT - Jackson...

Nova: “Cold Case JFK” -‐-‐ Fine Cut Script -‐-‐ 10/10/13 p. 1

Cold Case JFK -‐-‐ Fine Cut 1 2 3 Intro 4 5 Mike and Luke Haag drive into rifle range… 6 7 NARR: In the New Mexico desert, a homicide investigation begins. 8 9 Set up gear; lay out guns and bullets… 10 11 NARR: The crime is a fifty-‐year old case; the murder weapon, a rifle. 12 13 2161012 (00:01:00) Luke Haag: “…got another rifle yet that’s missing…” 14 15 #2161012, 00:02:01 -‐-‐ Mike: “I would say 8-‐12, maybe even 14 different 16 experiments that we’re working on…” 17 18 NARR: The homicide is a cold case that has never really gone cold: the 19 assassination (murder???) of John Kennedy. 20 21 Fast MONTAGE of assassination… 22 23 Jim Lehrer #2161022 (00:25:35) Oh my god, is he really dead? Oh my god, I mean 24 who did this? 25 26 NARR: Within hours, a suspect is arrested: Lee Harvey Oswald. 27 28 NARR: But two days later, he himself is murdered on national television. 29 30 John McAdams #2161026 (03:41:41) That was really the origin of a lot of 31 conspiracy thinking. 32 33 Jefferson Morley #2161029 (06:29:09) If the assassin has been killed, somebody’s 34 trying to silence him. 35 36 Warren Report: “…Oswald acted alone.” 37 38 NARR: In 1964, the Warren Commission’s report concludes that Lee Harvey 39 Oswald fired three shots… that he was the lone assassin… and there was no 40 conspiracy. 41 42 House Select Committee Report: “…probably as a result of a conspiracy.” 43 44


NARR: Yet fifteen years later, a second Congressional investigation finds there 45 were four shots and two shooters -‐-‐ there was a conspiracy. 46 47 Robert Blakey #2161021, (01:51:11) A fourth shot occurs from the grassy knoll. // 48 (02:00:46) If there's two shooters in the Plaza, there's probably a conspiracy. 49 50 NARR: No conspiracy has ever been proven. Yet today, millions of Americans 51 continue to believe there was one. 52 53 NARR: Now, Nova asks, could more sophisticated forensic science provide 54 new insights and uncover the truth about JFK’s murder? 55 56 57 Intro Luke & Mike Haag 58 59 TRANSITION to Haags… 60 61 NARR: These men believe it can. For two years, they’ve been working to 62 reconstruct the Kennedy shooting. They’re convinced that ballistics is the key 63 to cracking the case. 64 65 Luke: “Fifty-‐nine point five.” 66 67 Luke Haag #2161013, 05:24:24) the JFK case is // the classic shooting 68 reconstruction case // (05:25:20) It’s probably the most historic case in the last 69 century. 70 71 NARR: Luke Haag has been a forensic scientist for 47 years. His specialty is 72 firearms. 73 74 Luke & Mike go back and forth, setting the target to correct distance 75 76 Luke: “Fifty point five.” 77 78 NARR: Working with Luke Haag is another experienced ballistics expert, who 79 also happens to be Luke’s son – Michael Haag. 80 81

Mike teaching class in Ohio: “Let’s go ahead and do one of the vertical angle 82 shots. We’ve got a nice area of the barrel right here that’s cylindrical…” 83

84 Mike Haag [2161005, 09:44:10] My Dad is in this business and I grew up even in 85 grade school going out and helping him with case work and research involving 86 firearms. 87 88 NARR: Michael Haag is an investigator with the Albuquerque Crime Lab. He 89 also teaches shooting reconstruction all over the world. 90


91 Michael Haag (2161005, 09:44:25) I've done the classes in as far away as 92 Switzerland, in the U.K., all over Canada, the United States. 93 94 Michael Haag #2161005, (09:42:32.07) This part of the class // We're looking at 95 multiple different calibers of types of bullets going into, in this case, cars. 96 97 Michael Haag [2161005, 09:45:17] The Kennedy assassination is unfortunately not 98 as easy in a way. 99 100 101 JFK Controversies 102 103

MONTAGE: JFK assassination, investigation, physical evidence, & select lines of 104 text from Warren & HSCA Reports… 105

106 NARR: It might seem that reconstructing the Kennedy shooting, which 107 happened in broad daylight, should be straightforward. 108 109 Motorcade shots from Press Car – huge crowds… 110 111 Josiah Thompson Card 1 (14:21:21) There were hundreds of spectators there. 112 (14:21:23) some 30 people taking photographs. (14:21:28) over 50 law 113 enforcement people in Dealey Plaza. You would think it would be the easiest case in 114 the world. 115 116 117 Zapruder Film 118 119 NARR: Among the witnesses is a dressmaker with an 8mm movie camera: 120 Abraham Zapruder. Standing on a concrete pedestal, he shoots 26 seconds 121 that have become the most studied home movie in history. 122 123 Josiah Thompson Card 1 (14:52:03) Not only did he pick the perfect place, but // 124 He keeps the limo right in frame thru the whole thing, as shots are fired, bullets are 125 flying, people are hitting the ground all around him, doesn’t faze him. (14:52:33) He 126 // gets this unparalleled record of the shooting. 127 128 Stephen Fagin #2161010 (05:17:21) ultimately the film ends up in the hands of the 129 Secret Service and it becomes the crucial piece of visual evidence in the 130 assassination investigation. 131 132 NARR: Yet despite the evidence of the Zapruder film, and the hundreds of 133 eyewitnesses, the JFK case continues to fuel speculation and debate. 134 135


Robert Blakey (#2161021, 01:13:30) the Kennedy assassination is a lot like a 136 Rorschach test. If you look at the evidence, the test, and you give me a statement 137 about the assassination, it really tells me more about you than it does about // 138 (02:23:49) about what happened. 139 140 Stephen Fagin [2161010, (04:44:28) Everything // about the assassination which 141 points to Lee Harvey Oswald, I can share with you an alternative explanation which 142 speaks to the possibility of a conspiracy. 143 144

Sea of books and videos falling into frame… 145 146 Luke Haag #2161013 (05:26:34) the controversies that swirl and develop – I think 147 there’s over a thousand books and articles. // not a single one of them, to my 148 knowledge, is written by someone who deals with shooting and shooting 149 reconstructions. 150 151 Haag’s with gun & bullets… 152 AERIALS of Dealey Plaza… 153 MATCH AERIAL to Archival b&w Aerial… 154 155 NARR: So now Luke and Michael Haag are focusing on the gun, bullets, and 156 crime scene to try and reconstruct one of the most notorious crimes of the 20th 157 century. 158 159 NARR: It happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963 – a Friday. 160 161 162 Transition to History 163 164 Luke Haag #2161013 (05:26:06) I remember where I was, I was with my future 165 wife, coming out of a music class… 166 167 John McAdams (#2161026, 03:38:51) …in high school typing class. A fellow who 168 was on staff at the high school came in and said, ‘They’ve shot Kennedy…” 169 170 Jeff Morley (#2161028, 05:18:39) I was in kindergarten // and I remember my 171 teacher burst into the room crying… 172 173 Josiah Thompson #2161035 (14:39:15) A woman ran out of the record store near 174 the corner and said “The president’s been shot.” I didn’t believe it. 175 176 Robert Blakey [#2161021, 01:00:59) I was with Bobby Kennedy the day of the 177 assassination. In a meeting and we broke for lunch… 178 179


Jim Lehrer (#2161022, 00:08:50) I was at Love Field // (00:08:59) And I immed-‐-‐ 180 after I got to the City Desk, I called home to talk to my wife, and I said to her, “Let’s 181 get out of this place!” 182 183 Clint Hill #2161001 (01:49:32) I was on the left running board of the follow up car 184 immediately behind the presidential vehicle… 185 186 187 Scene: November 22, Recap the Shooting 188 189 Scene: the actual shooting 190 191 We break it down moment-‐by-‐moment, through Clint Hills’ perspective 192 193 Clint Hill #2161001 (01:49:05.14] We turn left on Elm, a very sharp turn. // 194 (01:48:07) and there was a sign that said Texas School Book Depository. (01:48:16) 195 // (01:49:46) All of a sudden I heard an explosive noise over my right shoulder. // 196 [01:50:09.04] And I saw the president // grabbed at his throat // And I knew 197 something was wrong. 198 199 Presidential limo emerges from sign – Kennedy is clutching his throat… 200 201 Clint Hill leaps off car and sprints for President… 202 203 Clint Hill #2161001 (01:51:26) I jumped off the running board of the follow up car. 204 And ran toward the presidential vehicle // (01:51:44) As I was running they tell me 205 there was another shot; I didn't hear it. 206 207 Clint Hill #2161001 (01:51:49) Just as I was approaching the President's car there 208 was a third shot. It hit the President in the head. And then it exploded out the right 209 side of his head. 210 211 Head shot… 212 213 Clint Hill #2161001 (01:52:09) blood and brain matter and bone fragments // 214 (01:56:21) sprayed out across the people in the car, myself, and uh, Mrs. Kennedy. 215 216 Clint Hill leaps onto limo; Jackie scrambles out onto trunk… 217 218 Clint Hill #2161001 (01:52:39) Pulled myself up on the rear of the car and // Mrs. 219 Kennedy came out on the trunk. (02:01:03) she didn't even know I was there. She 220 wasn't reaching for me. She was reaching for something that came off the 221 president's head. 222 223


Clint Hill #2161001 (01:52:57) I grabbed her and I put her in the back seat. // 224 (01:53:29) And I screamed at the driver to get us to a hospital. 225 226 Limo racing for hospital – Clint Hill sprawled across the trunk… 227 228 NARR: At eighty miles an hour, with Clint Hill sprawled across the trunk, they 229 head for Parkland Hospital. 230 231 Clint Hill #2161001 (02:04:22) the President's head was in Mrs. Kennedy's lap. 232 And she wouldn't let go. // she didn't want anybody to see the condition he was in 233 because it was horrible. And so I took off my suit coat. I covered up his head and his 234 upper back and when I did that she let go. // And we rushed him into the emergency 235 room. 236 237 John McAdams #2161026 (02:39:47) The Dallas doctors try to save him. But // 238 (03:10:12) it was a hopeless case, there was simply no possibility, he'd lost too 239 much brain matter. 240 241 NARR: Texas Governor John Connally is also wounded; he will recover. 242 243 STILL: Robert Kennedy on phone… 244 245 NARR: As doctors abandon hope for Kennedy, Clint Hill is on the phone with 246 Attorney General Robert Kennedy. 247 248 Clint Hill #2161001 (02:07:35) He said, "Well, how bad is it?" Apparently thinking 249 that it probably wasn't too bad. That really got me because I didn't want to tell him 250 that his brother was dead. So I thought a second and I said, "Well, it's as bad as it can 251 get." // And that's how he found out his brother had been killed. 252 253 254 Scene: Carcano Rifle & Guns 101 255 256 NARR: Back at the crime scene, witnesses point to a building on the corner of 257 Elm Street. 258 259 John McAdams #2161026 (02:45:30) Several witnesses actually saw a gun or a 260 shooter in the window of the Texas School Book depository. 261 262 NARR: As police search the building, a TV news cameraman shoots this 263 footage. 264 265 Tom Alyea footage of Dallas police searching Sixth Floor… 266 267


Stephen Fagin [2161010, 04:22:03) Deputy Sherriff Luke Mooney, within about 268 forty-‐five minutes of the shooting discovered uh, three empty rifle cartridges. 269 270 STILL of 3 cartridge cases on 6th floor 271 272 NARR: The fired cartridge cases are the first physical evidence. They can be 273 tested and linked to a specific gun. 274 275 ANIMATION: cartridge case, bullet, gunpowder, and primer 276 277 NARR: The cartridge case holds the bullet, gunpowder, and a primer. When 278 the firing pin strikes the primer, it acts like a spark plug, igniting the powder, 279 which accelerates the bullet through the barrel. 280 281 SLO-‐MO Go-‐Pro: Mike Haag fires & ejects used cartridge cases 282 283 NARR: After the bullet leaves, the empty cartridge case is ejected from the gun 284 so the next cartridge can be loaded. 285 286 ECUs of markings under microscope 287

SEE 1981 AFTE Report for examples (on pp 25, 29, 32) 288 289 NARR: The process of loading, firing, and ejecting marks the cartridge case 290 with tiny scratches and gouges that can be seen under a microscope. These 291 markings can match the empty cases to the gun that fired them. 292 293 Stephen Fagin [2161010, 04:22:33) And it was only about ten minutes later that // 294 the rifle location was found // (04:22:44) a Mannlicher-‐Carcano wedged between 295 two stacks of boxes. 296 297 Cops finding Carcano rifle, dusting it for prints, STILLS of rifle 298 299 NARR: The Mannlicher-‐Carcano, or Carcano, is an Italian rifle made during 300 World War II. The serial number shows this gun was purchased from Klein’s 301 Sporting Goods in Chicago by Lee Harvey Oswald. 302 303 NARR: The Carcano is a military gun that shoots military ammunition – 304 something that might be popular with gun collectors, but is almost never seen 305 by homicide detectives. 306 307 Luke Haag (#2161013, 05:42:37) In the United States, shootings then, shootings 308 now, don’t involve military, high velocity rifles with hard military bullets. // 309 (05:27:08) Robert Frazier, the FBI examiner, in his testimony said he’d never seen a 310 6.5 Carcano. They had no ammunition for this kind of gun in their reference 311 collection. This is the FBI! 312 313


NARR: Might this highly unusual rifle have characteristics that can shed light 314 on the Kennedy case? Luke and Michael Haag acquire one of these rifles for 315 testing. 316 317 Luke Haag (#2161012, 00:35:43) This is the 6.5 mm Carcano // (00:24:57) “Car-‐318 cano” is the proper pronunciation, though most Americans say “Car-‐cano.” 319 320 Luke Haag (#2161012, 00:35:50) It’s a mechanically operated bolt action rifle. It 321 has an offset inexpensive telescopic sight. 322 323 NARR: It’s clear that for anyone planning an assassination, the Klein’s ad 324 offered far better guns. A rifle with a much easier lever action… 325 326 Klein ad: Marlin rifle 327 Mike firing lever-‐action gun… 328 329 NARR: An American military gun that could shoot eight bullets without 330 stopping… 331 332 Klein ad: M-‐1 Garand 333

Mike firing Garand… 334 335 NARR: And a small, lightweight carbine that could fire 30 rounds as fast as the 336 shooter could pull the trigger. 337 338

Klein ad: M-‐1 Carbine 339 Mike firing carbine fast… 340

341 NARR: By comparison, the bolt-‐action Carcano is slow and clumsy. 342 343 Mike firing Carcano, bullet jams… 344 345 NARR: So why would any assassin choose the Carcano? 346 347 Klein’s ad prices 348 349 Luke Haag (#2161012, 00:33:10) It’s a matter of price. This was basically a little 350 less than 13 dollars for the rifle, and a little more than 7 dollars for the scope. // 351 (00:33:30) And as far as the awkwardness of it – practice. 352 353 Mike test fires Carcano; Luke & Mike check the target… 354 355 NARR: As they test the Carcano, Luke Haag quickly discovers the bullet may be 356 even more unusual than the rifle itself. 357 358 ANIMATION: anatomy of a bullet – lead core and copper cladding 359


360 NARR: Unlike civilian bullets, it’s made with a full metal jacket -‐-‐ a hard 361 copper shell that surrounds a soft lead core. 362 363 Luke Haag #2161013, (05:47:31) Here are four typical military bullets from the 364 first and second World War. // (05:47:45) They’re all full metal jacketed bullets. 365 366

ARCHIVAL: Dallas cops with Oswald rifle, STILLS of rifle, etc 367 368 NARR: They’re also tapered with a sharp point. The Carcano has no taper or 369 point – it’s a unique shape among military bullets. 370 371 Luke with various bullets 372 373 Luke Haag (#2161013, (05:47:55) Look at the Carcano; // (05:51:31) This bullet 374 is basically a cylinder. 375 376

ANIMATION: 377 -‐ pointed bullet showing NARROW AREA of CONTACT 378 -‐ bullet travels through barrel; rifling grooves cause it to spin, but it WOBBLES 379

380 NARR: The cylindrical shape, with straight sides and no taper or sharp point, 381 affects how the bullet interacts with the rifling -‐-‐ spiral ridges in the wall of the 382 barrel that spin the bullet for stability. Pointed bullets have much less surface 383 area contacting the barrel, so they tend to be less stable as they exit the gun. 384 385 Luke Haag (#2161013, (05:59:41) They’re // only // (05:50:36) gripped by the 386 gun barrel back at the very end of the bullet. This allows the rest of the bullet to do 387 just a little bit of wiggle as it’s going up the barrel and as it emerges from the barrel. 388 389

ANIMATION: 390 -‐ cylindrical Carcano bullet showing BROAD AREA of CONTACT (almost entire 391 length of bullet) 392 -‐ Carcano bullet travels through barrel; NO WOBBLE 393

394 Luke Haag (#2161013, (05:51:07) The Carcano bullet, // (05:51:36) the rifling 395 begins grabbing it clear up here at the nose. That’s, that’s uncommon. I’ve never 396 seen any other, even other 6.5 rifles that do this. 397 398 399 Scene: November 24, Oswald Murder 400 401 TRANSITION: rifle beauty shots… 402 403


NARR: Are the distinctive Carcano rifle and bullet key to understanding the 404 Kennedy case? In 1963, little was known about this gun and its unique 405 ammunition. 406 407 NARR: But within hours of Kennedy’s death, Dallas police have the rifle, and 408 they’ve arrested the man who owns it – Lee Harvey Oswald. 409 410 NARR: As word gets out that there’s been an arrest, reporters swarm in; 411 Dallas Police Headquarters quickly becomes a madhouse. 412 413 NARR: Now that they have a suspect, the cops have a new problem: public 414 relations. 415 416 Stephen Fagin [#2161010, (04:40:22) The Dallas leadership was very concerned 417 about the city's image in the immediate aftermath of the assassination. 418 419 John McAdams #2161026 (03:42:33) They were particularly concerned that 420 someone might believe that they were somehow abusing Oswald, and the way they 421 responded to that was to make Oswald visible. It was what today we'd call 422 transparency. 423 424 NARR: With the entire world watching, Dallas homicide cops keep working 425 the biggest case of their lives. 426 427 Luke Haag #2161013, (06:27:26) they had recovered the firearm, cartridge cases, 428 Oswald’s fingerprints // (06:28:13) They had the case sewed up in an excellent way 429 within two days of the incident // I give them high marks. 430 431 Dallas Cop #1 SYNC: “Physical evidence is the main thing we’re relying on…” 432 Dallas Cop #2 SYNC: “I figure we have sufficient evidence to convict him…” 433 434 John McAdams #2161026 (03:01:25) Mostly the police work was pretty good // 435 (03:03:25) The key evidence, essentially all of it would have been admissible at trial. 436 437 NARR: Police are also learning more about Lee Harvey Oswald. An ex-‐Marine 438 with a security clearance, he’s a Communist who lived more than two years in 439 the Soviet Union, raising the terrifying question of Russian involvement. 440 441 Jim Lehrer #2161022 (00:38:55) Was he put up to this by the Russians? // 442 (00:45:46) As a nation we would have to take retribution. We would have to fire 443 back if they killed our President. 444 445 446 Oswald Murder 447 448


NARR: Sunday morning, less than 48 hours since Kennedy’s death, Dallas 449 police start transferring Oswald to County jail – again, keeping him visible. 450 451 Basement of Dallas Police HQ: Oswald being led through hallway… 452 453

Oswald emerges – and suddenly is shot… 454 455 NARR: On live television, Oswald is shot and killed by Jack Ruby – a strip club 456 owner with a long arrest record. 457 458 Josiah Thompson #2161035 (14:44:17) an assassination that came out of nowhere, 459 that had no explanation, now gets weirder and weirder. 460 461 NARR: Now there will be no trial, no answers to the questions: did Oswald kill 462 Kennedy? Did he have help? Did Jack Ruby silence him to protect others? 463 464 Jefferson Morley #2161029 (06:27:15) Pollsters go into the field and, // 465 (06:27:21) And within a week… 60% of respondents are saying more than one 466 person was responsible. 467 468 Jim Lehrer #2161022 (00:52:52) There is no question that Ruby killing Oswald 469 raised big time the possibility of a conspiracy. 470 471 John McAdams #2161027 (03:47:45) Policy makers were very, very sensitive to 472 talk about a Communist conspiracy, because it had very important and very 473 dangerous foreign policy implications. 474 475

Katzenbach memo (Deputy Attorney General of the US, 1962-‐1965) 476 477 NARR: Concerned by talk of a Communist conspiracy, Deputy Attorney 478 General Nicholas Katzenbach wants the public satisfied that Oswald was the 479 lone assassin. 480 481

Line 33: “…a Communist conspiracy…” 482 483

Line 29: “Oswald was the assassin… did not have confederates…” 484 485 Jefferson Morley #2161028 (05:28:33) The president's been dead for two days, // 486 and the White House has already said "Here's what our conclusion is going to be. // 487 (05:29:03) It strains credulity that they could come up with the complete 488 explanation before there had been an investigation. 489 490 491 Warren Commission 492 493


NARR: Five days later, President Johnson announces a commission headed by 494 Chief Justice Earl Warren will investigate. 495 496 Robert Blakey #2161021, We’re looking at it now as if all they had to do was just 497 fact-‐finding – not true. (01:32:38) The need that led to the Warren Commission was 498 not to find out what happened, but to assure the American people what didn't 499 happen. 500 501 NARR: The Warren Commission will spend ten months investigating. But 502 before they even start, some of the most critical evidence in the crime of the 503 century has been lost forever. 504 505 506 Leaving Dallas and Autopsy Setup 507 508 NARR: The problem begins at Parkland Hospital when John Kennedy is 509 pronounced dead. Dr. Earl Rose, Dallas County Medical Examiner, is required 510 by law to perform an autopsy. 511 512 Clint Hill #2161001 (02:11:06) Well, that was not what we wanted to hear. // 513 (02:13:46) We were going to take the president's body back to Washington. 514 515 John McAdams #2161026 (03:20:42) it doesn't exactly come to blows, but there's 516 almost the implicit threat that the Secret Service people will pull their guns if they 517 have to. 518 519 Clint Hill #2161001 (02:13:46) In the end they accepted the fact that that's what 520 was going to happen and did happen. 521 522 NARR: They take the body to Air Force One. 523 524

Photos of loading casket at Love Field: 525 526 Clint Hill #2161001 (02:21:23] We, the agents who brought the president there to 527 Dallas, you know, alive, vital, energetic and now we're carrying his body in a casket 528 up there to the rear of Air Force One in the presence of his now widow uh, it was 529 very traumatic. Quite emotional. 530 531 Jim Lehrer #2161022 (00:32:22) those Secret Service guys were just beside 532 themselves. You know, trying their best to be cool and calm and professional // 533 (00:32:38) to lose a president, good god. There’s nothing worse for a Secret Service 534 agent. 535 536 NARR: Then, when it seems like nothing else could go wrong, something does. 537 538


Clint Hill #2161001 (02:19:20) With the handles on, the casket was too wide to go 539 through the doorway. 540 541 NARR: As Jacqueline Kennedy waits, they break off the handles. 542 543 NARR: Returning to Washington, again the subject of autopsy is raised. 544 545 Josiah Thompson #2161035 In a murder case there is no area of evidence more 546 important than the autopsy. // (15:14:32) In a bullet murder you can infer the 547 trajectory of the bullet, // So the autopsy in the Kennedy assassination is absolutely 548 critical. // (15:14:18) In a murder case there is no area of evidence more important 549 than the autopsy. // (15:14:32) In a bullet murder you can infer the trajectory of the 550 bullet, // So the autopsy in the Kennedy assassination is absolutely critical. 551 552 NARR: But the autopsy decision is made by the wrong people for the wrong 553 reasons. 554 555 John McAdams #2161026 (03:22:52) the whole Kennedy entourage does not 556 understand the distinction between just an autopsy and a forensic autopsy. // 557 (03:23:25) Kennedy was a navy man, so the autopsy's gonna be done at Bethesda 558 Naval Hospital, // (03:23:42) A couple of ordinary hospital pathologists // are 559 assigned to do the autopsy. 560 561

CU ON NAMES AT BOTTOM: “J. J. HUMES…” “’J’ THORNTON BOSWELL…” 562 563 Josiah Thompson #2161035 (15:16:45) Meanwhile nobody asks whether James 564 Humes and J Thornton Boswell, the two hospital pathologists, are in any way 565 qualified to do this autopsy. They weren’t. They were completely over their heads. 566 567 NARR: Friday evening, roughly six hours after his death, Kennedy’s autopsy 568 begins. FBI agents are present, taking notes. 569 570

FBI Autopsy Report by Agents Sibert & O’Neill: 571 Cover page (11/26/63): 572

573 NARR: They begin with X-‐rays, which reveal a bullet path through the brain. 574 Numerous metal particles indicate that the bullet fragmented inside Kennedy’s head. 575 576

p.5, next-‐to-‐last para, line 2: “X-‐Rays of the brain” 577 578 Line 3-‐4: “…path of a missile…” 579 580 Line 5: “…disintegrated fragments…” 581

582 Last para: “…40 particles…” and “…fragmented while passing through the 583 skull…” 584


585 p. 6, para 1, line 2: “two fragments of metal were removed…” 586 587 NARR: It’s also clear that Kennedy had a tracheostomy in the ER to insert a breathing 588 tube. 589 590 Photo: throat incision… 591 592

p. 5, paragraph 5: “tracheotomy had been performed…” 593 594 NARR: But the doctors don’t realize there was a wound there as well. 595 596 John McAdams #2161026 (03:27:34) They did not know that the tracheostomy, which 597 they saw, had obscured a wound in the throat. 598 599 NARR: Then they find a bullet hole in his back – which quickly becomes a problem. 600 601

p. 6, 2nd paragraph: “…appeared to be a bullet hole.” 602 603 p. 6, 4th paragraph: “…at a loss to explain” 604

605 John McAdams #2161026 (03:28:09) they had what was clearly an entrance wound in the 606 back. // and they couldn't account for the bullet. 607 608 Josiah Thompson #2161035 (15:21:11) The doctors are in a quandary because they got a 609 bullet hole in Kennedy’s back, they did total body x-‐rays, there’s no bullet in the body. 610 611 John McAdams #2161026 (03:29:25) so if a bullet hit Kennedy in the back, where did it 612 go? 613 614

p. 6, 4th paragraph: “they could find no bullets.” 615 616 NARR: Then, a phone call reveals a bullet has been found on a stretcher at Parkland 617 Hospital. 618 619

p. 6, paragraph 5: “…found on a stretcher…” 620 621

p. 6, last paragraph: “…accounted for no bullet being located…” 622 623 Josiah Thompson #2161035 (15:21:41) at which the doctors rejoice. (15:21:43) 624 Now we have a solution to the problem of the missing bullet. It undoubtedly fell out 625 of the back wound during closed chest cardiac massage. 626 627

p. 7, 3rd paragraph: “…worked its way out of the body…” 628 629

“…during external cardiac massage…” 630


631 NARR: With that, they conclude the autopsy and the body is taken to lie in state. But 632 overnight, reporters learn more about what happened in the ER at Parkland Hospital. 633 634 Josiah Thompson #2161035 (15:18:10) The next morning they opened their 635 Washington Post and learned that the tracheostomy incision they had observed 636 actually covered up an existing bullet wound. It’s the first time they learned that, at 637 that point the body’s gone. 638 639

Autopsy Report 640 641

Para 2: “According to newspaper reports” 642 643 para 2: “…two perforating gunshot wounds…” 644 645 para 2: “…from a point behind and somewhat above…” 646

647 NARR: With the body gone, now realizing JFK had a wound they never even 648 saw, they write their official report. Kennedy was hit by two shots, fired from 649 behind and above. 650 651 Josiah Thompson #2161035 (15:18:40) the Washington Post gave them the 652 skeletal official story. // (15:18:53) And basically they formed their autopsy to 653 match that narrative. 654 655 John McAdams #2161026 (03:24:17) the bottom line is, Kennedy did not have the 656 kind of autopsy he should have had. 657 658 TV MONTAGE: mourners paying respects… JFK funeral… 659 660 NARR: The autopsy is a missed opportunity that will haunt this case forever. 661 662 NARR: But there is another body of evidence still to be dissected – one that 663 allows the murder to be analyzed a fraction of a second at a time – Abraham 664 Zapruder’s home movie. 665 666 667 668 Zapruder Analysis 669 670 NARR: By Saturday morning, Zapruder has sold the film to Time-‐Life. The Secret 671 Service, FBI, and Warren Commission will also get copies. 672 673 NARR: Testing Zapruder’s camera, the FBI learns it runs at about 18 frames per 674 second. 675 676


Josiah Thompson #2161035 (15:41:38) the Zapruder film chops time up into 18ths 677 of a second. So you have snapshots every 18th of a second. 678 679 NARR: Consistent with the three found cartridge cases, the majority of witnesses 680 heard three shots. Now, investigators hope to use the film to establish a timeline. 681 682 NARR: Most agree the fatal head wound was the third and final shot – Zapruder 683 frame #313. The earliest sign of trouble is at frame 225, when the car emerges from 684 behind the sign. 685 686 John McAdams #2161027 (04:00:44) Kennedy has clearly been hit when he exits 687 from behind the Stemmons Freeway sign, at Zapruder frame 225. (04:00:52) 688 Connally's not showing obvious pain until the 235, six, seven range. 689 690 NARR: Rewinding to before the sign, at frame 210, neither man appears hit. So 691 clearly both are shot somewhere between 210 and 240 – a timespan of 30 frames or 692 less. 693 694 Josiah Thompson #2161035 (15:42:40) So you got 30 Zapruder frames, that’s all you’ve 695 got. // (15:43:15) And you’ve got two, two guys to wound. (15:43:18) 696 697 NARR: 30 frames is 1.6 seconds. 698 699 Josiah Thompson #2161035 (15:42:46) But now, whoops, the FBI tested the rifle, it can’t 700 be fired that fast. It can only, you need 2.3 seconds to fire it twice. 701 702 John McAdams #2161027 (04:01:34) There's not enough time for a single gunman to fire 703 two shots during that timeframe. (04:01:42) 704 705 NARR: So, if a single gunman could not wound both men during that 30-‐frame 706 interval, there must have been two shooters – a conspiracy. 707 708 Jefferson Morley #2161028 (05:26:37) then if that were true, you had a hell of a problem. 709 // (05:27:25) it was much more convenient to have one man, one lone nut, was 710 responsible. 711 712 NARR: To explain how one shooter could wound both men in 1.6 seconds, Arlen 713 Spector, a lawyer for the Warren Commission, concludes Kennedy and Connally were 714 shot by the same bullet. 715 716 Josiah Thompson #2161035 (15:37:28) the Single Bullet Theory – an enormous Achilles’ 717 heel in the whole Warren Commission reconstruction. 718 719 720 Background: Single Bullet Theory 721 722


John McAdams (#2161027, 03:59:30) The theory says a bullet hit Kennedy in the 723 back, exited his throat, went on to hit Connally, exited the chest, hit Connally in the 724 wrist breaking the radius bone, and then buried itself very shallowly in his left thigh. 725 726 John McAdams (#2161027, 04:00:09) The single bullet theory has traditionally 727 been the single most controversial thing that the Warren Commission came up with. 728 It’s widely ridiculed by conspiracists. 729 730 Jefferson Morley #2161028 (06:05:54) One of the most important people who didn’t 731 believe the single bullet theory was Governor Connally. 732 733 NARR: Connally and his wife Nellie disagree with the theory’s timing. 734 735 Jefferson Morley #2161028 (06:06:11) Connally said // (06:06:42) “The first bullet hit 736 Kennedy and the second bullet hit me.” // (06:06:56) And his wife Nellie // said the same 737 thing. 738 739 Zapruder 235-‐240 for Connally’s reaction 740 741 NARR: In the film, Connally does appear to react later than Kennedy, as if they 742 were not hit by the same shot. 743 744 Jefferson Morley #2161028 (06:06:33) for the single bullet theory to be true, 745 Governor Connally had to be wrong. (06:06:39) And Connally was completely 746 unequivocal. // (06:06:51) “That is not what happened.” And Connally was an 747 experienced hunter. He was a man who knew his way around a gun. 748 749 NARR: Skeptics also point to the condition of the bullet found on Connally’s 750 stretcher. 751 752 Jefferson Morley (#2161028, 06:04:52) That bullet was almost pristine. And that’s 753 what’s called the magic bullet. 754 755 Warren Exhibit #399: the stretcher bullet 756 757 NARR: This is the Carcano bullet the Warren Commission said caused seven 758 separate wounds in Kennedy and Connally. 759 760 John McAdams #2161027 (04:08:25) people who see the supposed single bullet // 761 will look at it and say, it couldn't possibly have inflicted seven wounds, because it 762 ought to be more damaged than that. 763 764 Jefferson Morley (#2161028, 06:04:57) So the bullet that was not deformed in 765 anyway or very little, had, had lost very little of its mass, had caused seven wounds. 766 // (06:05:10) It was just kind of hard to figure, like how did that happen? 767 768


Luke Haag (#2161013, 05:41:47) How on earth can a rifle bullet, one of these 769 bullets go through two people? And, more than that, how can it go through two 770 people and look essentially undamaged? 771 772 773 Pine Board Test 774 775 NARR: Now Luke and Michael Haag are conducting experiments, using the 776 Carcano rifle, to evaluate the single bullet theory. 777 778 NARR: The first experiment is a test of the Carcano bullet’s stability and 779 penetrating power. Could it pass through Kennedy, Connally’s torso, then 780 Connally’s wrist without being deflected? And if so, what condition would it be 781 in? 782 783 NARR: Michael Haag will test fire one round into one of the oldest ballistic test 784 materials. 785 786 Luke Haag (#2161013, 05:53:25) Pine boards. // (2013-‐08-‐06 Haags Card 1) 787 (13:28:50) By setting up a group of boards // you can learn a number of things: 788 does the bullet // deflect, is it going to deviate? And once it deviates, is it now going 789 to snap, or break, or deform? And then of course, how deep does it go? 790 791 NARR: Just in case the bullet makes it all the way through the wood, a Kevlar 792 vest will catch it. 793 794 NARR: They’ll use a chronograph and Doppler radar to measure the bullet’s 795 speed. And high-‐speed video to capture its stability. 796 797 Countdown and firing sequence 798 799 Luke: Velocity 2,089 -‐-‐ ten feet beyond the muzzle. 800 801 NARR: The instruments show the bullet is traveling just under 2100 feet per 802 second as it leaves the gun – almost twice the speed of sound. (1126 fps) 803 804 NARR: High-‐speed video, recording 20,000 frames per second, shows the 805 Carcano bullet is perfectly straight and stable as it hits the target. 806 807

Peel away boards until they reveal the bullet 808 809 NARR: The bullet has penetrated 36 inches. But what condition is it in? 810 811 Luke Haag: The nose of this bullet is undeformed; it’s still perfectly round. This sort 812 of simple demonstration or experiment shows us a number of things. That this 813 bullet is a very hard, very stable bullet; it’s just plowed through three feet of pine 814


boards. It’s undeformed, it’s still nose-‐forward. These bullets are capable of passing 815 through two human beings. 816 817 818 Tissue Simulant Test 819 820 NARR: But this test only shows the bullet in one medium – wood. 821 822 ANIMATION: single bullet theory 823 824 NARR: In the single bullet theory, it passes through multiple materials: 825 Kennedy’s neck, then air, then Connally. 826 827 NARR: So the next step is to recreate what happens when a Carcano bullet hits 828 human tissue. 829 830 Luke Haag (2013-‐08-‐06 Haags Card 1) (13:35:45) It’s basically a splash, we’re 831 basically a bag of water… (13:35:56) If you throw a rock into the water -‐-‐ the water 832 parts. So does muscle tissue to high-‐velocity bullets. 833 834

SLO-‐MO of water splashes 835 836 NARR: To learn how muscle tissue parts when penetrated by a Carcano bullet, 837 they’ll use two different tissue simulants: ballistic gelatin, and ballistic soap. 838 839 NARR: Both have the same density and resistance to penetration as human 840 muscle, but they behave differently when struck by a bullet. In gelatin – like 841 muscle – a wound cavity opens, then closes. 842 843 Luke Haag (2013-‐08-‐06 Haags Card 1) (13:36:02) We’re looking at a temporary 844 cavity in gelatin that opens up (claps hands), and collapses. 845 846 NARR: But ballistic soap freezes the moment in time, preserving the wound 847 cavity. 848 849 Luke Haag (2013-‐08-‐06 Haags Card 1) (13:36:48) That temporary cavity is formed 850 by the splash, by the plow of the bullet through, but it stays there. 851 852 Recap Pine Boards Test… 853 854 NARR: The pine boards have already shown that a Carcano bullet can easily go 855 straight through two people. 856 857 NARR: But the single bullet theory is all about what it does after it emerges 858 from Kennedy’s neck. Does it remain intact? Is it deflected? What happens to 859 its velocity? 860


861 Luke Haag (2013-‐08-‐06 Haags Card 1) (13:34:35) Where did it go after that, and 862 how fast was it going? That’s important to know what kind of damage can we 863 expect it to do to another gunshot victim – such as Connally – or to the car? 864 865 NARR: In these three feet – the space between Kennedy and Connally – lie the 866 answers that prove or disprove the single bullet theory. 867 868 NARR: They’ll start with the soap. 869 870 Luke Haag #2161012 (01:58:10) It’s very similar to Neutrogena, that clear amber 871 soap that you can see through. This // (01:58:45) has the same density and same 872 resistivity to penetration as muscle tissue. 873 874 Luke Haag #2161012 (01:59:04) I’ve also put this cloth on here, with a little 875 simulated skin underneath so we can see a phenomenon called bullet wipe. 876 877

#2161012 – setting up soap test, Luke counts down, Mike fires 878 879 Luke: Let me store this shot before I forget it. Oh good, we got a good trace 880 881 Luke Haag #2161012 (02:04:40) First thing to notice is this cloth with the bullet 882 hole in it. The dark ring you see around there is a phenomenon known to forensic 883 scientists as bullet wipe. It’s the smudgy material on the surface of a bullet that 884 literally wipes off as it pushes through the first surface it encounters. This is 885 important because it tells you direction: this is an in-‐shoot, this is an entry. There is 886 bullet wipe around the small round hole in JFK’s coat. 887 888

Luke removes cloth, etc 889 890 Luke Haag #2161012 (02:07:16) Okay, I’ve removed the cloth and the skin 891 simulant which has a nice round hole, that’s what a medical examiner would find in 892 skin. (02:07:28) But here we have something different, we have a representative of 893 the temporary cavity, that the tissue would have been hurled out, propelled out, but 894 in a real person, or in tissue or in gelatin, it’d collapse back (02:07:40) 895 896 Luke #2161012 (02:08:48) This is the exit, and we can see it’s very little different in 897 size than the entry. 898 899 Luke cuts open block… 900 901 Luke Haag #2161012 (02:11:12) Okay, I’ve sectioned this length-‐wise along the 902 wound track. And the noticeable things are that it’s perfectly straight – it does not 903 divert up, down, right, or left. 904 905


NARR: But near the exit, the wound path gets wider – something’s happening 906 to the bullet. 907 908 Luke Haag #2161012 (02:11:49) this is the entrance; the bullet stays stable, stable, 909 stable, nose forward. Over here’s the exit, and it’s just starting to yaw. 910 911

ANIMATION: Yaw 912 913 NARR: Yaw means the bullet is changing its orientation in flight. It’s still 914 moving in a straight line – but it’s starting to tumble. 915 916

High-‐Speed Shot HERE 917 918 NARR: High-‐speed video shows the bullet beginning to yaw after it emerges 919 from the soap. 920 921 NARR: Now they try a shot through gelatin. 922 923 NARR: The wound path opens up… 924 925 NARR: …then collapses. 926 927 NARR: And – just like firing through soap – the bullet goes into yaw. 928 929

Luke SYNC: Oh, another yawing, tumbling bullet. It’s almost in perfect yaw – 930 maybe an eighty instead of a ninety? 931

932 NARR: Behind the target is a witness panel, a piece of quarter-‐inch sheetrock. 933 It’s three feet beyond the soap, the same position Connally was in, three feet 934 beyond Kennedy. The witness panel records the bullet’s orientation after 935 exiting Kennedy’s neck. 936 937 Luke Haag #2161012, (02:13:03) “We’ve got an intact bullet. It’s not deformed; we 938 can see the profile of it – there’s the nose, there’s the heel or the base. But it’s going 939 sideways. 940 941 Luke Haag #2161012, 02:22:23 – Luke: Here’s an actual fired Carcano bullet, and 942 we can see it’s almost perfectly in profile. 943 944 Luke Haag #2161012, (02:13:24) Connally’s coat has this kind of a hole in it. (Note: 945 Exhibit 679 = Connally’s coat) 946 947

“…a small wound…” 948 “…roughly elliptical…” 949

950 Surgeon’s diagram: 951


952 NARR: And so does Connally’s back, according to his surgeon. 953 954 MONTAGE of Haag’s testing, high-‐speed video, etc 955 956 NARR: In test after test, the Carcano bullet plows straight through tissue simulant, 957 but tumbles when it reenters the air. 958 959 Luke Haag #2161030 (13:48:26) time after time, // (13:48:34) the instant this 960 bullet is back out into the atmosphere, it goes into yaw. // (13:48:30) That was a 961 real surprise. // (13:48:39) I can't explain it, // (13:49:09) but from a science 962 standpoint, it's repeatable. 963 964 Shots of YAW… Witness panel holes... Stretcher bullet (NOT seen from end-‐on yet) 965 966 NARR: A bullet hitting sideways has much more resistance, which helps explain 967 Connally’s wounds. 968 969 Luke Haag #2161012 (01:47:33) Just like holding your hand out the window of a car going 970 90 miles an hour so you feel a lot of resistance; if you put your hand like that you feel very 971 little. (01:47:40) So when the bullet hits Connally, it’s now going sideways and it does a lot 972 of damage. (01:47:44) 973 974 NARR: Going sideways also slows the bullet down, and even a small reduction in 975 speed means a big loss of kinetic energy. 976 977 John McAdams #2161027 (04:11:01) Kinetic energy is defined as the ability to do work, 978 work like smash a radius bone, or deform a bullet. 979 980 NARR: Because the bullet’s moving slowly when it hits Connally’s wrist, it’s easy for 981 it to break the bone without damaging itself. 982 983 NARR: And in fact, the stretcher bullet is damaged. 984 985 John McAdams #2161027 (04:09:41) If you look at it from certain angles, you'll say, gosh, 986 this isn't deformed at all. If you look at it end-‐on, it's mashed very considerably, it's 987 actually in an oval shape, not round. (04:09:53) So, it has suffered some damage. 988 989 NARR: And it’s exactly the type of damage a bullet would get from hitting sideways. 990 991 NARR: Operating on Connally’s wrist, doctors found bits of lead. Luke Haag thinks 992 the soft lead was squeezed out of the bullet’s hard copper jacket like toothpaste from 993 a tube – because it was going sideways. A soda can filled with soft plastic illustrates. 994 995 NOTE CU CAs at 14:17:06 – 14:19:14 996 997


Luke Haag #2161030 (14:02:37) if I put forces on this this way, and keep it straight, it's 998 strong. (14:02:42) If I put force on it like this, (14:02:47) now this bullet's going sideways, a 999 moment ago it was going straight through Kennedy, now it's going sideways, some of the 1000 lead gets squeezed out. (14:02:56) // (14:03:06) Cause now the bullet’s sideways when it 1001 hits hard bone, some of this breaks off. (14:03:11) 1002 1003 MONTAGE… 1004 1005 NARR: A straight line through JFK’s neck… elliptical holes in Connally’s back and 1006 coat, with no bullet wipe… bits of lead in the wrist… a bullet noticeably flattened, 1007 with lead bulging out the bottom… and tests that show the Carcano bullet 1008 consistently turns sideways. To Luke Haag, it all adds up. 1009 1010 Luke Haag #2161013 (05:55:36) it’s clearly possible. There’s no reason not to 1011 conclude that the single bullet theory as proposed by Arlen Specter is the correct 1012 one. 1013 1014 1015 Transition 1016 1017 NARR: But the single bullet theory is not the only Warren conclusion that some find 1018 hard to accept. There’s also the fatal head shot. But it takes twelve years for that 1019 controversy to erupt – because the public has never seen the Zapruder film in motion, 1020 until March 1975. 1021 1022 1023 Zapruder Showing and HSCA 1024 1025 NARR: Other than still frames, the public never sees the film in motion – until March 1026 1975. 1027 1028

Geraldo Rivera “Good Night America” SYNC: 1029 “…and now, at the bottom of the screen, the head shot. That’s the shot that blew off 1030 his head. And as you can see, clearly, the head is thrown violently backwards.” 1031

1032 NARR: When they’re shown the film in motion, viewers are stunned to see the 1033 direction Kennedy moves when he’s hit in the head. 1034 1035 Jefferson Morley #2161028 (05:24:01) Kennedy goes backwards like this 1036 1037 John McAdams #2161027 (04:32:37) back and to the left 1038 1039 Josiah Thompson #2161035 (15:38:39) he’s thrown backwards and to the left. 1040 1041 Jefferson Morley #2161028 (05:24:20) if he's hit by a bullet from behind, why would his 1042 head go in the direction of that the shot came from? It seems more likely that he was driven 1043


backwards by a bullet from the front. 1044 1045 Josiah Thompson #2161034 (16:07:46) But the Warren Commission had been telling us 1046 all along he got hit in the back of the head. 1047 1048 John McAdams #2161027 (04:32:39) that convinced a lot of people there had to be a 1049 conspiracy, because they assumed he was thrown back and to the left by a shot from the 1050 right front. 1051 1052 Josiah Thompson #2161034 (16:08:17) the American public said to themselves, what the 1053 hell is going on here? We've been told for a decade or so that he got shot in the back of the 1054 head, looks to us like he got shot in the front of the head. 1055 1056 Jefferson Morley #2161028 (05:26:17) if there was a shot from the front, then there was 1057 clearly two gunmen, and there was some kind of conspiracy. 1058 1059 Josiah Thompson #2161034 (16:05:26) And that tidal wave of public concern and anger 1060 really eventuated in the formation of the House Select Committee. 1061 1062 1063 HSCA Findings 1064 1065 NARR: In 1976, the House Select Committee on Assassinations begins investigating 1066 the murders of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King. 1067 1068 HSCA Report Summary of Findings: 1069 1070 Suggested KEY phrases: 1071 “…Oswald fired three shots…” 1072 “…sixth floor window…” 1073 “third shot he fired killed the President.” 1074 1075 NARR: Three years later, many of their conclusions agree with the Warren 1076 Commission: Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots from the sixth floor of the School 1077 Book Depository… the second hit Kennedy, and the third killed him. 1078 1079 1080 Acoustics 1081 1082 NARR: Although the report agrees with most of the Warren conclusions, there is one 1083 major difference – and it’s a bombshell. 1084 1085 HSCA Report Summary of Findings: 1086 1087 Suggested KEY phrases: 1088 “…two gunmen fired…” 1089


“…a result of a conspiracy…” 1090 1091 NARR: The Committee finds there were two gunmen; there was a conspiracy. 1092 1093 p. 81, next-‐to-‐last para: 1094 “…shot from the grassy knoll missed…” 1095 1096 NARR: A fourth shot from the grassy knoll missed. 1097 1098 HSCA, p84: 1099 “second gunman was established only by the acoustical study” 1100 1101 NARR: The evidence for this startling conclusion is audio recordings from a Dallas 1102 police motorcycle. And they’ve been controversial from the beginning. 1103 1104 NARR: No shots are heard in the recordings. But in the static, there are 1105 patterns of impulses. 1106 1107 Newspaper article re: 1978 test firings: 1108 1109 Photos of HSCA acoustic tests: 1110 1111 NARR: In 1978, experts recorded gunshots in Dealey Plaza – and found 1112 patterns that seemed to match the police tapes. 1113 1114 John McAdams #2161027 (04:46:47) the match was not exact, // and none of the 1115 correlation coefficients were anywhere near perfect correlations. (04:46:59) But // 1116 that was their basis for concluding that there were four shots. 1117 1118 NARR: Some think the police tapes aren’t even from the right time or place. 1119 1120 Jefferson Morley #2161028 (06:19:58) there’s audio evidence on that tape that suggests 1121 that those impulses might have been recorded about a minute after the assassination. 1122 1123 John McAdams #2161027 (04:43:37) Dallas officials have basically said, no, this isn't 1124 really in Dealey Plaza. 1125 1126 1982 NAS Study: 1127 1128 NARR: In 1982, the National Academy of Science examined the acoustic 1129 evidence. 1130 1131 John McAdams #2161027 (04:50:44) they concluded, no, these conclusions are 1132 simply invalid. 1133 1134 NARR: To this day, experts continue to disagree about the acoustic evidence. 1135


1136 Jefferson Morley #2161028 (06:20:12) And this is where I think you reach the 1137 limits of science. (06:20:15) // (06:20:34) And so, (06:20:36) the acoustic evidence, 1138 while I find it very interesting, I would say, it’s not decisive. (06:20:40) 1139 1140 NARR: With no consensus on the acoustics, that leaves only eyewitness 1141 testimony. 1142 1143 “…statistics are an unreliable foundation…” 1144 1145 NARR: And the House Committee knew that was unreliable. 1146 1147 Michael Haag #2161012, (02:26:17) these events typically are um, uh, chaotic for 1148 the individuals that are participating in them. And eyewitnesses are notoriously 1149 poor recollectors. 1150 1151

Moment of intense NOISY urban combat from Iraq… 1152 1153 NARR: The Kennedy assassination is just one example of the difficulty of 1154 pinpointing gunshots. Locating where shots are coming from is hard for 1155 anyone – even trained soldiers. Especially in a complicated urban 1156 environment. 1157 1158 Michael Hargather #2161015 (07:04:59) It’s a major problem // (07:05:14) for 1159 our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan // (07:05:05) to be able to understand where 1160 shooters are in these urban environments. (07:04:53) Multiple buildings, multiple 1161 locations that the shock waves reverberate off of, can give us multiple sound 1162 signatures. 1163 1164 NARR: At New Mexico Tech, Professor Michael Hargather studies shock waves 1165 caused by explosions. Using a special high-‐speed camera, extremely bright 1166 focused light, and a reflective screen, his team takes pictures of sound. 1167 1168 Michael Hargather #2161015 (00:07:19) We can literally photograph the invisible. 1169 small density differences within the air. 1170 1171 Michael Hargather #2161015 (06:55:25) what we’re going to see here with the 1172 shadowgraph system is, we’re going to see a line that is the shadow cast by that 1173 shockwave. That line represents the interface between the unshocked ambient air, 1174 and then what we call the shocked air behind that shock wave. 1175 1176 Firing sequence: 1177 Michael Hargather: John, you ready? 1178 John: Ready! 1179 1180


NARR: Photographing a high-‐speed rifle bullet reveals two different shock 1181 waves, one produced by the bullet, the other by the gases that propel it. 1182 1183 playback of high-‐speed footage… 1184 1185 Michael Hargather #2161015 (00:10:59) there's really multiple pieces to this 1186 event. // (00:12:03) the bullet we can talk about it being super sonic as it exits the 1187 gun, because it's travelling faster than the speed of sound. And // (00:12:19) the 1188 burning of the gunpowder, that produces what we call a muzzle blast. 1189 1190 playback of high-‐speed footage with FREEZES and HIGHLIGHTS??? 1191 1192 NARR: So, with a supersonic rifle bullet – like the Carcano – an observer can 1193 hear two sounds: the crack of the bullet passing, followed by the blast of the 1194 gun that fired it. Like so. All bouncing and echoing between the buildings in 1195 Dealey Plaza. 1196 1197 Michael Hargather #2161015, (07:02:26) In a complicated geometry, like Dealey 1198 Plaza in Dallas, you could get multiple shock reflections in that geometry. And so 1199 someone could hear multiple sounds from a single shot. 1200 1201 Zapruder film – fatal head shot (FC at 01:41:32 and 01:07:30) 1202 1203 NARR: But acoustics aside, skeptics (continue to) cite Kennedy’s movement 1204 back and to the left, suggesting he’s hit from the right front – the grassy knoll. 1205 1206 1207 TRANSITION to Laser Scanning 1208 1209 Aerials of Dealey Plaza 1210 1211 NARR: But was a shot from the grassy knoll even possible? To hit Kennedy, what 1212 trajectory would the bullet have had to take? 1213 1214 Warren Commission at work 1215

#2161009: FBI model of Dealey Plaza with string trajectories 1216 1217 NARR: In 1963, the Warren Commission had to calculate trajectories manually. 1218 Today, investigators have a different tool: 3D laser scanning. 1219 1220 Michael Haag & Tony Grissim doing laser scanning: 1221 1222

#2161008 (01:00:00 – 01:58:50) – inside TSBD on 6th floor 1223 #2161009 – inside and outside 1224

1225 Tony Grissim #2161008 (01:59:03) What the laser scanner does when you introduce it 1226


into a scene is it spins around and it makes millions and millions of laser measurements 1227 that are very, very accurate, (01:59:14) // (01:59:39) The result // (02:00:52) is, it greatly 1228 enhances the data collection process at a crime scene. 1229 1230 NARR: Laser scan expert Tony Grissim is working with Michael Haag to create 1231 a 3d virtual model of Dealey Plaza. 1232 1233 Tony Grissim #2161011, (05:44:04) the laser system is going to put a laser up into 1234 the mirror system which directs it at a ninety degree angle over to this enclosed 1235 cube. (44:12) // (44:20) And then when the laser rotates around the scene // You're 1236 able to come away with three hundred and sixty degrees of data. 1237 1238 NARR: The first step is gathering data – scanning from multiple points in the Plaza, 1239 and on the sixth floor of the book depository. 1240 1241 Michael Haag #2161044 (03:00:50) When I first started in this business, if you 1242 went into a typical crime scene, you might walk out having used your tape measure, 1243 your roller wheel, // And // it was inevitable that you would realize later that you 1244 missed a measurement. 1245 1246 Luke Haag #2161013 (06:18:55) Oh, Do we know the camber of the road? Do we 1247 know how high the curb was? Did you take it? I didn’t take it. Did you? It’s all in 1248 the computer. (06:19:09) 1249 1250 Tony Grissim #2161009 (03:04:10) This is a pretty important position, // because 1251 it’s right in front of the Texas School Book Depository and the Sixth Floor window. 1252 We’ve done a panoramic scan already; now we’re going to do what’s called a 1253 detailed scan just of the actual window. 1254 1255 NARR: Processing such a huge amount of data will take weeks. 1256 1257 MATCH-‐DISSOLVE from aerial footage to laser scan fly-‐through… 1258 1259 1260 Laser Scan Analysis Scene 1261 1262 Mike Haag arrives at Scientific Analysis 1263 1264 NARR: When it’s done, all of Dealey Plaza – every building, window, 1265 streetlamp and tree – exists in a computer, accurate to an eighth of an inch. 1266 1267 Michael Haag #2161042 (02:03:00) Mike, can we go and take a vantage point 1268 looking at the grassy knoll and pick some points and look at distances and trajectory 1269 from there to the limousine location when the headshot actually occurred? 1270 1271


Michael Haag #2161044 (03:05:19) The 3D laser scan data allows me to look at 1272 any shot I want to, including the grassy knoll shot, the shots from the 6th floor, 1273 missed shots, anything. 1274 1275 NARR: It’s all about angles and distances. 1276 1277 Michael Haag #2161042 (01:45:11) I'm interested in the distance from the knoll to 1278 say the headshot and the knoll to the neck shot. 1279 1280 NARR: Michael Haag wants to evaluate a grassy knoll trajectory. 1281 1282 Mike McCormick #2161042 (02:04:27) Here’s the corner of the stockade fence // 1283 Michael Haag: (02:03:31) maybe right about behind that tree around in there // 1284 Could we also see what the vertical angle would be, the downward angle? So, from 1285 the top of the stockade fence, for example, to the president’s head? 1286 Mike McCormick: Sure. 1287 1288 Michael Haag #2161042 (02:08:31) If it came from the knoll, we’re looking at 1289 about 105 feet. Mike McCormick: That’s correct. 1290 1291 NARR: When the angles and distances are all calculated, the answer is clear. 1292 1293 Michael Haag: So 105 feet, -‐4 degrees downward if we define horizontal as zero. 1294 1295 NARR: In the 3D virtual Dealey Plaza, a shot from the grassy knoll is possible. 1296 1297 Michael Haag #2161044 (03:10:07) the distances are certainly within realm of a 1298 typical firearm, but (03:10:12) // (03:13:32) you would have to have had an 1299 entrance wound in the front right area of the President's head. 1300 1301 Zapruder film – fatal head shot (FC at 01:41:32 and 01:07:30) 1302 1303 NARR: Clearly the right side of Kennedy’s head is terribly injured. But is it an 1304 entrance wound? The only way to know is the controversial autopsy. 1305 1306 1307 Intro Pete Cummings 1308 1309

#2161038 – Pete Cummings enters National Archives 1310 (01:08:52 – footsteps) 1311

1312 NARR: The original autopsy photos, X-‐rays, and Kennedy’s clothing, are kept 1313 in the National Archives. 1314 1315 NARR: Working with Nova, forensic pathologist Dr. Peter Cummings has been 1316 granted access by the Kennedy family. No cameras are allowed in the building. 1317


1318 Emotional JFK MONTAGE… 1319

(include JFK clothing, X-‐rays???) 1320 1321 Peter Cummings #2161038 (01:11:17) it was a real honor and a privilege // 1322 (01:11:41) It's something that I -‐-‐ I grew up with, I was -‐-‐ as a boy seeing the 1323 Zapruder film was one of the things that really fueled my interest in doing forensics. 1324 // #2161045 (11:06:17) This was the President of the United States. This was John 1325 F. Kennedy and I was handling his clothing. // (11:06:40) It was a very moving 1326 experience. // (11:06:43) Much more so than I had anticipated. It was very sad. It 1327 was very sad. 1328 1329

BU sign… 3-‐shot… 1330 1331 NARR: Now, Cummings has assembled a team at the Boston University School 1332 of Medicine to conduct a unique experiment. 1333 1334 Pete Cummings 2161046 (15:57:55) What I do in a gunshot wound case is I try to 1335 reconstruct the skull, because there are features of the bone that may be really 1336 helpful to me in determining entry and exit points. 1337 1338 NARR: The first step is to create a virtual Kennedy skull. 1339 1340 NARR: Forensic artist Greg Mahoney is an expert at facial reconstruction: 1341 trying to put a face on the bones of unidentified remains. 1342 1343 Greg Mahoney #2161046 (15:27:53) when // DNA or dental records have not 1344 turned up an identification, now, we’re going to try to predict a face on that hard 1345 tissue, the skull, and see if we can’t get a face. 1346 1347 NARR: Using a computer program, Mahoney normally starts with a skull and 1348 adds soft tissue, sculpting it like virtual clay to build a face. 1349 1350 Greg Mahoney: With this haptic device, I’m sculpting virtually. I can feel what’s 1351 inside the screen here. 1352 1353 NARR: In this case, he’ll reverse the process, starting with John Kennedy’s face 1354 – a life-‐size bust – and subtracting soft tissue to end up with a skull. 1355 1356 Greg Mahoney #2161046 (15:40:27) what this allows me to do is, (15:40:32) // 1357 (15:41:18) push portions of this hard tissue something that I can’t deform in the 1358 physical world I can actually deform here and reshape so that I can get this to fit 1359 within JFK’s bust. (15:41:28) 1360 1361 Greg Mahoney: What we’re looking for is a skull that could be a reasonable proxy 1362 skull for JFK. 1363


1364 NARR: Once they’ve built a proxy skull, the next step is to take bone fragments 1365 recovered from the limousine and Dealey Plaza and try to puzzle out their 1366 locations on the skull. 1367 1368 NARR: For this, Cummings turns to James Pokines, a forensic anthropologist 1369 at the BU School of Medicine who’s an expert on bone. 1370 1371 1372 ID’ing Skull Fragments 1373 1374 James Pokines #2161046 (15:59:45) Well a forensic anthropologist in a case like 1375 this is trying to determine // where the bullet might have entered, where it might 1376 have exited // (15:59:54) So we had to reconstruct // what these missing fragments 1377 might have been, where they came from. 1378 1379 Pete Cummings #2161046 (16:14:54) One of the more interesting fragments was 1380 this small fragment that // that on one of the autopsy photos of President Kennedy 1381 you can see it flap down over the right side of his head. 1382 1383 Jim Pokines #2161046 (16:15:20) It looked to us like it matched this margin of 1384 bone exactly. You can also see it in other photographs, it has exactly the same shape. 1385 1386 Pete Cummings #2161046 (16:16:48) the next one we, we tried to orient was 1387 something known as the triangular fragment. 1388 1389 Jim Pokines #2161046 Alls we had to work with in this case was a radiograph so 1390 we couldn't even tell if it was facing up or facing down. We could see just one 1391 structure right here cranial suture in a very distinctive shape to it (16:17:31) 1392 1393 NARR: Suture lines are seams in the head where the plates of the skull joined 1394 together in childhood. 1395 1396 Jim Pokines #2161046 so we thought that it came from this front portion of the 1397 skull (16:17:31) 1398 1399 Pete Cummings #2161046 (16:19:02) another fragment that we had available to us 1400 one something that is known as the Harper fragment and it was a fragment that was 1401 recovered by a young man on the street after the assassination. 1402 1403 Jim Pokines #2161046 (16:19:32) and you could see the details of the piece quite 1404 well, inside and outside // also the thickness of the fragment gave us some clues // 1405 and we knew that it had to orient a certain direction. (16:19:57) 1406 1407 1408 Conclusions 1409


1410 Pete Cummings #2161046 (16:35:08) So here you have the Harper fragment, the 1411 triangular fragment, the piece of bone from the front x-‐ray and the flap that we saw 1412 in numerous photographs and x-‐rays. 1413 1414 NARR: After many weeks spent trying to put the pieces together, to these 1415 doctors, the fragments tell a clear story. There’s no evidence of any shot from 1416 the right front. 1417 1418 Jim Pokines #2161046 (16:38:40) everything I’ve seen is consistent with a 1419 relatively simple scenario. Bullet enters here and comes out roughly in this area. 1420 1421 Pete Cummings #2161046 (16:09:09) I don't know where the exit wound is. 1422 There's not a discrete exit point. There's a giant blowout because of this pressure 1423 wave that's in the head. The skull will just explode, and that's exactly what we see 1424 here and it's very consistent with the position of the head in the Zapruder film and 1425 where I would expect that bullet to be traveling. 1426 1427 1428 Intro Larry Sturdivan 1429 1430

(JFK F-‐307; IdaDox_JFK_skull_trajectory; JFK Z312 profile; skull 1431 trajectory_z312; photo_hsca_ex137; WC_1) 1432

1433 NARR: One lingering mystery about the head wound is the entry point. The 1434 autopsy doctors said it was low. The House Committee forensic pathology 1435 panel said it was 4 inches higher. 1436 1437 Larry Sturdivan & Pete Cummins walking shot 1438 1439 NARR: One scientist thinks he knows what happened. Larry Sturdivan is an 1440 expert in wound ballistics. He worked at the Biophysics Laboratory, an Army 1441 research center. 1442 1443 Larry Sturdivan #2161048 (13:24:40) probably the reason that they developed the 1444 higher impact was simply to explain the fact that sort of line could line up with the 1445 schoolbook depository window. // (13:38:54) I don’t know why they assumed that 1446 it had to make a straight path. 1447 1448 NARR: At the Biophysics Lab, test shots into human skulls were made with the 1449 Oswald rifle. Consistently, the Carcano bullets hitting thick skull bone were 1450 deformed and destabilized. 1451 1452 Larry Sturdivan #2161049 (13:29:42) the bone is hard enough and strong enough 1453 and dense enough to deform the bullet. // (13:34:41) When it destabilizes it begins 1454


to yaw. As soon as it begins to yaw it develops a lift force like an airplane wing. And 1455 it will inevitably take a curved path. 1456 1457 ENDS HERE 1458 1459 Bullet path through brain / explain head snap 1460 1461 WRAP 1462

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