-- Pitzer was just about to retire and had a good job lined up. He had no conceivable motive to kill himself.
This, no doubt is a reference to Dennis David's claim that Pitzer had accepted a very lucrative position with a TV network in NYC. However, this is not true. Pitzer's family reported that he had accepted a teaching position at a local community college.
-- Pitzer's right hand tested negative for GSR/nitrates, indicating he had not fired a revolver.
The palmar side of Pitzer's left hand was covered in gunshot residue. This is explained by the left hand being used to steady the gun by wrapping it over the top of the cylinder. The palm side catches the GSR emerging from the cylinder gap. If the muzzle is held against the skin (more about this later), then the gunpowder residue follows the bullet into the wound. Put together, these two factors prevent GSR from reaching the firing hand. BTW, using the non dominant hand to steady a pistol in such a way is more common that you might think.
-- The FBI's own paraffin test in this case indicated the revolver was held some 3 feet away from Pitzer's head when it was fired.
This is a misrepresentation of the evidence. There was a muzzle imprint on the skin at the wound site, which proves that the muzzle of the pistol was held against the skin when the weapon was fired. The soot, residue, and combustion gasses would not have been able to scatter across the surface of the body, as it would in a near-distance shot. Instead, the residue and soot would have followed the bullet into body through the wound the bullet was creating, and there would be no powder tattooing around the entry wound.
-- The FBI was unable to find any evidence that Pitzer had acquired ammo for the revolver that was signed out from the security office in his name.
So what? In those days, .38 Special was the most common cartridge used in the US, with the exception of .22LR. He could have obtained it anywhere, paid cash, and no one would have remembered him buying it. This is just another attempt to argue by insinuation.
-- A heel print found near Pitzer's body was not from the shoes Pitzer was wearing.
Which easily could have been from a first responder or an investigator.
-- Pitzer's family said he had been repeatedly threatened to keep quiet about his knowledge of the JFK autopsy.
Eaglesham and Palmer talked with Pitzer's family as well as friends and co-workers. I don't recall him reporting any of them saying such a thing. Did this really happen, then?
You haven't read Belzer and Wayne's chapter on the Pitzer case, have you?
Yes, Pitzer had been accepted for an associate professor position at a local college. Most people would consider that to be a good job, a very good job. Between his teaching salary and his Navy retirement pay, Pitzer would have been quite comfortable. So, why would he have suddenly shot himself? I notice you provided no motive for his alleged suicide.
So Pitzer supposedly used his left hand "to steady the gun by wrapping it over the top of the cylinder"? Oh, please. Give me a break. Why would he not have simply held the revolver in his right hand, put up against his head, and pulled the trigger? That's how suicidal people usually shoot themselves in the head. But, nah, you've got Pitzer "wrapping" his left hand "over the top of the cylinder" so you can explain the paraffin test results (no GSR on either side of his right hand).
Yes, the heel print could have been from a first responder, but we don't know whose print it was because the FBI did not bother to check it. The FBI could have easily checked the shoes of the first responders to determine if one of them made the heel print, but they didn't.
No, I did not misrepresent the distance of the shot per the FBI report. It said, "the revolver must have been held at a distance of more than 3 ft when discharged."
I notice you snipped and ignored the fact that Pitzer wrote himself a note to remind him to return the revolver that he had signed out. Humm, now that's hardly what you'd expect from a guy who planned on using the revolver to shoot himself.
Regarding the FBI's failure to find any evidence that Pitzer had obtained ammo for the revolver, you say, "he could have obtained it anywhere, paid cash, and no one would have remembered him buying it." So when the FBI showed a photo of Pitzer to local gun shops and asked if he had bought ammo, no would have recognized him, even though he would have bought the ammo fairly recently? Yeah, of course.
And why in the devil would he have bought the ammo himself when he could have checked out ammo from the security office when he signed out the revolver?
Pitzer's family and friends rejected the suicide story. They noted that Pitzer was mentally and emotionally tough and not the kind of person to let problems get him down.
Pitzer was literally just a few days away from retiring from the Navy. And, again, he had a good job lined up. His family said he was "very cheerful" that morning.
Pitzer's wife reported that Navy officials threatened her with the loss of her husband's Navy pension if she didn't accept the suicide verdict and "keep her mouth shut."
You question whether Pitzer was ever warned to keep quiet about his knowledge of the JFK autopsy, yet even Heiner admits this happened.
It's just sad that you folks would desecrate a man's life by claiming he killed himself when the evidence indicates he did not -- and all because you can't bring yourselves to admit there was an organized campaign to kill certain JFKA witnesses, even though a decorated Army Special Forces officer reported that a CIA man approached him about killing Pitzer.
