The JFK Assassination Discussion & Debate > JFK Assassination Discussion & Debate
Fourth Edition of "Forensic Science and President Kennedy's Head Wounds"
Michael T. Griffith:
--- Quote from: Stewart Fillmore on August 31, 2026, 10:54:07 PM ---As part of an ongoing project testing the forensic/ballistic elements of the assassination. I’ve done extensive and redundant ballistic testing, trajectory analysis and forensic reconstructions. To test the head shot trajectory and fragmentation pattern, I shot three intact pig’s heads. I had pre and post X-rays taken. Using surplus 6.5 Carcano on one of the heads, the shot did not explode the head and left a relatively small exit hole (8-9mm) with minor skull fracturing. A witness panel 2 feet behind the head revealed only a slight yaw and the x-ray showed no fragmentation/jacket separation. The maintained its trajectory through the skull into the witness panel.
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Yes, this is always how FMJ bullets behave when they hit skull bone. They will never shatter into dozens of tiny fragments, much less do so and then also shear off fragments at the entry site. This has been confirmed in numerous wound-ballistics tests.
--- Quote from: Stewart Fillmore on August 31, 2026, 10:54:07 PM ---Then using .257 Roberts with a thin jacketed sierra matchking projectile at 3300 fps, it took out the occipital skull and most of the brain with it. It left the characteristic lead snowstorm on the x-ray and the smallest of fragments on the witness panel.
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Yes, indeed. The ammo that hit JFK's head behaved in a very similar manner, i.e., like high-velocity frangible ammo.
--- Quote from: Stewart Fillmore on August 31, 2026, 10:54:07 PM ---I was a little uncertain as to the cortical thickness of the skull so I did a separate test shooting a 7 mm thick pork shoulder blade embedded on one end of a 8 inch ballistic gel block and pork ribs on the other end. The Carcano round made a 6 mm round hole in the shoulder blade, cut a straight path through the ballistic gel, and clipped the edge of one if the ribs leaving a perfect semi circle. The witness panel again showed a slight yaw and no fragmentation/jacket separation whatsoever with no deviation in trajectory.
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In contrast, the non-fatal bullet that hit Governor Connally left fragments in his chest, wrist, and thigh, and it also veered leftward and downward.
--- Quote from: Stewart Fillmore on August 31, 2026, 10:54:07 PM ---I’ve long been skeptical of the trajectories of CE 567 and 569, so that was the purpose of the test—but I couldn’t get the Carcano jacket to shear.
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Yes, forensic literature indicates that the only time an FMJ bullet may shear off its jacket is if it is fired from a very short distance from a high-velocity rifle and does not have time to stabilize its flight.
Thank you for sharing this interesting information.
Andrew Mason:
--- Quote from: Ted Sager on August 29, 2026, 07:07:42 AM ---Head shot fragments hit JCs upheld wrist, AKA top of wrist. Nelly said she thought the third shot is the one that hit his wrist. Head fragment removes a possibility of slug shedding tiny fragments within the skull.
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What is your source for saying that Nellie "said she thought the third shot is the one that hit his wrist"?
Stewart Fillmore:
--- Quote from: Michael T. Griffith on September 01, 2026, 07:02:06 PM ---
In contrast, the non-fatal bullet that hit Governor Connally left fragments in his chest, wrist, and thigh, and it also veered leftward and downward
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I don’t believe there were any bullet fragments in the chest, as per Dr Shaw’s WC testimony. But he did have fragments in the wrist and leg. The wrist wound is troublesome when you analyze the holes in the suit and shirt sleeves, and the pants. Using both mannequins and a live stand in, I’ve run string through pre cut holes in a suit and shirt with French cuffs in the exact locations documented in the official record. For the string to align, the French cuff had to be completely out of the suit sleeve and the forearm pronated (thumb down) to the near extreme end of its range. Also the exit hole in the French cuff was jagged and highly irregular—almost a zig zag shape. And yet the entry hole in the pants was round and the flesh wound in the leg described as “punctate” by Dr Shires. The odds of a completely unstable bullet making the irregular exit hole in the cuff and within a few inches landing presumably base first to make a round hole has to be astronomical.
John Corbett:
--- Quote from: Stewart Fillmore on September 02, 2026, 05:49:15 AM ---I don’t believe there were any bullet fragments in the chest, as per Dr Shaw’s WC testimony. But he did have fragments in the wrist and leg. The wrist wound is troublesome when you analyze the holes in the suit and shirt sleeves, and the pants. Using both mannequins and a live stand in, I’ve run string through pre cut holes in a suit and shirt with French cuffs in the exact locations documented in the official record. For the string to align, the French cuff had to be completely out of the suit sleeve and the forearm pronated (thumb down) to the near extreme end of its range. Also the exit hole in the French cuff was jagged and highly irregular—almost a zig zag shape. And yet the entry hole in the pants was round and the flesh wound in the leg described as “punctate” by Dr Shires. The odds of a completely unstable bullet making the irregular exit hole in the cuff and within a few inches landing presumably base first to make a round hole has to be astronomical.
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Why would you expect you reenactment of the shooting to produce exactly the same result as the actual shootiing?
Stewart Fillmore:
--- Quote from: John Corbett on September 02, 2026, 12:23:26 PM ---Why would you expect you reenactment of the shooting to produce exactly the same result as the actual shootiing?
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I would never expect a reconstruction to exactly produce the same result as the actual shooting. I never claimed it did. But reconstructions/wound ballistics testing are frequently used in court as illustrative or demonstrative of a shooting incident. The goal isn’t to exactly reproduce a shooting incident—that’s an impossible standard—but to test whether the known/claimed forensic elements of the incident can be replicated consistently under similar conditions. Reconstructions are not meant as the final word either way but as a means of assigning weight to the credibility or believability of an assertion—if the shooting can substantially be replicated, it simply means it’s more likely than not it happened the way the evidence suggests.
I was a longtime believer in the official conclusion of the assassination. But with forensic training and experience from a 29 year career as an FBI Agent and additional years working murder cases as a private investigator, I thought it would be an interesting project to test the ballistic and forensic elements of the assassination personally. I had no agenda other than seeing what I came up with. The work is actually fun to me. I’ve extensively and redundantly tested the single bullet theory through ballistic tests, trajectory analysis using strings, lasers and rods with both mannequins and stand ins, and other forensic reconstructions. I’m currently working on the head shot. Despite rigorous and faithful replication of the official parameters, I cannot replicate numerous elements of the SBT. Does that mean it didn’t happen? No but the weight of what I’ve found sufficiently convinced me it’s wrong.
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