Tippit Shooting 1:15-1:16

[Michael Capasse]

A .38 automatic casing is marked “.38 AUTO”
A .38 Special is marked “.38 SPL”
A standard .38 round is marked “.38 CAL”

These markings are unambiguous.

If Sgt. Hill had been guessing, one would expect him to assume the casings were the more commonly used .38 Specials — not the relatively rare .38 automatics. That he identified the shells as automatics from the outset seems highly questionable.

Frankly, it's hard to believe this was an honest mistake.

[Tim Nickerson]

A .38 automatic casing is marked “.38 AUTO”
A .38 Special is marked “.38 SPL”
A standard .38 round is marked “.38 CAL”

These markings are unambiguous.

If Sgt. Hill had been guessing, one would expect him to assume the casings were the more commonly used .38 Specials — not the relatively rare .38 automatics. That he identified the shells as automatics from the outset seems highly questionable.

Frankly, it's hard to believe this was an honest mistake.

Hill did not look at the butt end of either of the shells. He called out the gun as being a .38 automatic based on a false assumption. The shells looked like .38s.  It was an honest mistake. The actual shells recovered do not lie. They are .38 Specials, non-automatic. Oswald would have had no need to manually remove shells from an automatic.

[Michael Capasse]

  A veteran officer knows that shells have markings and would look without assuming.
“the shells at the scene indicate the suspect is armed with an automatic 38 rather than a pistol.”

[Tim Nickerson]

A veteran officer knows that shells have markings and would look without assuming.
“the shells at the scene indicate the suspect is armed with an automatic 38 rather than a pistol.”

Again, Hill never looked at the butt end of either shell. They looked like they were .38s. They were not. They were .38 Specials.

Mr. BENAVIDES - Well, I started--I seen him throw the shells and I started to stop and pick them up, and I thought I'd better not so when I came back, after I had gotten back, I picked up the shells.
Mr. BELIN - All right. Now, you said you saw the man with the gun throw the shells?
Mr. BENAVIDES - Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN - Well, did you see the man empty his gun?
Mr. BENAVIDES - That is what he was doing. He took one out and threw it.
Mr. BELIN - Do you remember in which hand he was holding his gun?
Mr. BENAVIDES - No; I sure don't.
Mr. BELIN - Do you remember if he was trying to put anything in the gun also?
Mr. BENAVIDES - Yes. As he turned the corner he was putting another shell in his gun.
Mr. BELIN - You saw him?
Mr. BENAVIDES - I mean, he was acting like. I didn't see him actually put a shell in his gun, but he acted like he was trying to reload it.
Maybe he was trying to take out another shell, but he could have been reloading it or something.
======================

Mrs. Charlie Virginia Davis - Well, we saw Oswald. We didn't know it was Oswald at the time. We saw that boy cut across the lawn emptying the shells out of the gun.
.......
Mrs. Charlie Virginia Davis - We watched him unload the shells out of his gun.
=================

Representative FORD - You saw him take the shells out of the gun?
BARBARA DAVIS -  No, sir; he was shaking them.
Representative FORD -  He was shaking them?
BARBARA DAVIS -  He was shaking them. I didn't see him actually use his hand to take them out. I mean he was sort of shaking them out.

[Michael Capasse]

Again, Hill never looked at the butt end of either shell. They looked like they were .38s. They were not. They were .38 Specials.

  lame - Why would Hill guess at the caliber if it is written on the shell?
Add Davis sisters and Benevides to the equation and it gets worse

Mr. BENAVIDES - Well, I started--I seen him throw the shells and I started to stop and pick them up, and I thought I'd better not so when I came back, after I had gotten back, I picked up the shells.
Mr. BELIN - All right. Now, you said you saw the man with the gun throw the shells?
Mr. BENAVIDES - Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN - Well, did you see the man empty his gun?
Mr. BENAVIDES - That is what he was doing. He took one out and threw it.
Mr. BELIN - Do you remember in which hand he was holding his gun?
Mr. BENAVIDES - No; I sure don't.
Mr. BELIN - Do you remember if he was trying to put anything in the gun also?
Mr. BENAVIDES - Yes. As he turned the corner he was putting another shell in his gun.
Mr. BELIN - You saw him?
Mr. BENAVIDES - I mean, he was acting like. I didn't see him actually put a shell in his gun, but he acted like he was trying to reload it.
Maybe he was trying to take out another shell, but he could have been reloading it or something.

Gerald Hill | DPD
Mr. HILL. Right. And Poe showed me a Winston cigarette package that contained three spent jackets from shells that
he said a citizen had pointed out to him where the suspect had reloaded his gun and dropped these in the
grass, and that the citizen had picked them up and put them in the Winston package.

Domingo Benavides | CBS Special
"...They were looking all over the place for evidence and everything...and taking fingerprints and what have you...
So--I guess they were gonna just walk off and leave them...not knowing they was there..
and seeing I knew where they was at I walked over and picked up a stick..and picked them up and put them in a Winston package...
I think I picked up 2 and put them in the Winston package and as I was walking back I picked the other one up by hand I believe..."

======================

Mrs. Charlie Virginia Davis - Well, we saw Oswald. We didn't know it was Oswald at the time. We saw that boy cut across the lawn emptying the shells out of the gun.
.......
Mrs. Charlie Virginia Davis - We watched him unload the shells out of his gun.
=================

Representative FORD - You saw him take the shells out of the gun?
BARBARA DAVIS -  No, sir; he was shaking them.
Representative FORD -  He was shaking them?
BARBARA DAVIS -  He was shaking them. I didn't see him actually use his hand to take them out. I mean he was sort of shaking them out.

Four shell casings were recovered from the scene of Officer Tippit's murder. According to the official report, two were found by one witness, and the remaining two by other individuals.

Sisters Virginia and Barbara Davis (also known as Jeanette) each discovered a shell casing in the bushes near the house they rented. However, this is where the chain of custody and the timeline of evidence collection become unclear.

Domingo Benavides was the closest eyewitness to the shooting and had a clear view of where the suspect discarded the shell casings. The Homicide Report, Police Report, and Official Autopsy Report all state that Officer Tippit was struck three times. Yet, four shell casings were recovered.

The first two casings, picked up by Benavides, were entered into evidence and are well-documented.
(though he claimed to have found 3)

The fourth shell was found by Virginia Davis several hours later, after the police had already left the scene. Despite multiple searches of the area earlier in the day, she and her sister Jeanette continued looking and eventually located the casing in the bushes around 5:30 p.m. They contacted the police, and Officer C.N. Dhority returned to the scene, conducted an additional search, and retrieved the shell around 7:00 p.m.

Of the four shell casings, three—identified as Q74, Q75, and Q77—have a relatively consistent and traceable chain of custody, although there are concerns regarding a brief detour made by a “sergeant in the crime scene search section” to the Texas Theater, which complicates the evidence handling process.

It is the third shell casing, designated Q76, that presents the most issues. Its chain of custody is questionable and has led to speculation that Captain Doughty (distinct from Officer Dhority) may never have actually handled it at all.

[Mitch Todd]

Gil Jesus provides a detailed explanation of the confusion surrounding the shells here:
https://gil-jesus.com/the-tippit-shells/

It is a mess.

Gil's article is just another case of him being a doof. Consider his statement: "regular 38 shells are marked “38 CAL”." There is no such thing as a "regular .38"

[Mitch Todd]

A veteran officer knows that shells have markings and would look without assuming.
“the shells at the scene indicate the suspect is armed with an automatic 38 rather than a pistol.”

Again, in common usage, just plain ".38" is assumed to be .38 Special. Just like plain ."357" is assumed to mean ".357 Magnum" and "9mm" is assumed to mean "9mm Parabellum/Luger" Hill actually is saying that the cases are .38 Special

[Michael Capasse]

Again, in common usage, just plain ".38" is assumed to be .38 Special. Just like plain ."357" is assumed to mean ".357 Magnum" and "9mm" is assumed to mean "9mm Parabellum/Luger" Hill actually is saying that the cases are .38 Special

There is no need to assume anything. The shells are clearly marked.
It was not just ".38" It was "automatic .38"