Fourth Edition of "Forensic Science and President Kennedy's Head Wounds"

[Tim Nickerson]

I think more specifically Frazier testified he could not determine directionality and metal content because the clothes had been compromised by the dry cleaning.   However he acknowledged that some type of missile caused the damage.  Thus it’s possible to recreate the holes in surrogate clothes based on the documented measurements/locations of the bullet holes and run string through the holes to get some idea of the path.  I did it with a mannequin arm with holes in it corresponding to JBC’s wounds and with a stand in with string taped to the corresponding locations of the wounds.  It revealed the French cuff had to be entirely out of the suit sleeve and the forearm pronated to an extreme degree of its range.  It’s entirely possible that’s how JBC was sitting but it’s an awkward position.

Frazier said that he couldn't even say that the holes in the clothes were actually bullet holes.

[Tim Nickerson]

I think more specifically Frazier testified he could not determine directionality and metal content because the clothes had been compromised by the dry cleaning.   However he acknowledged that some type of missile caused the damage.  Thus it’s possible to recreate the holes in surrogate clothes based on the documented measurements/locations of the bullet holes and run string through the holes to get some idea of the path.  I did it with a mannequin arm with holes in it corresponding to JBC’s wounds and with a stand in with string taped to the corresponding locations of the wounds.  It revealed the French cuff had to be entirely out of the suit sleeve and the forearm pronated to an extreme degree of its range.  It’s entirely possible that’s how JBC was sitting but it’s an awkward position.

I don't think it would be possible to recreate the holes in surrogate clothes to any good degree of accuracy, even if Connally's clothes hadn't been washed. Fabric stretches, and not all fabric stretches the same.

[Stewart Fillmore]

Frazier said that he couldn't even say that the holes in the clothes were actually bullet holes.

He testified they were consistent with being bullet holes but he could not determine directionality.  He must have presumed they were bullet holes however because in his testimony regarding the May 1964 reconstruction, he offered no resistance to being asked if all the holes in the clothes of both men reasonably aligned. 

[Tim Nickerson]

He testified they were consistent with being bullet holes but he could not determine directionality.  He must have presumed they were bullet holes however because in his testimony regarding the May 1964 reconstruction, he offered no resistance to being asked if all the holes in the clothes of both men reasonably aligned.

At the time of his post May 24, 1964 testimony, he was assuming that they were bullet holes. And rightly so. The questions that he was being asked in the testimony about trajectory alignment seemed rather pointless after he pointed out to Specter that he hadn't made a very thorough study of the Zapruder film.

[John Corbett]

At the time of his post May 24, 1964 testimony, he was assuming that they were bullet holes. And rightly so. The questions that he was being asked in the testimony about trajectory alignment seemed rather pointless after he pointed out to Specter that he hadn't made a very thorough study of the Zapruder film.

JBC had a hole in his back and another in his chest. His clothes had holes in the same location. Who in their right mind would argue that the holes in his body and the holes in his clothes were not caused by the same bullet?

[Michael T. Griffith]

I’m not aware of Lattimer duplicating the overall shot with dummies set up in the same relative positions as JFK and JBC as Alex Krstic (the Australian test) did on the Unsolved History episode.  Lattimer duplicated several elements of the SBT but if he did an overall reconstruction, I’d like to see his results if you can tell me where I could find it.

Lattimer used animal tissue to simulate Kennedy's neck, a rib cage to simulate Connally's torso, and radius bones wrapped in simulated forearms to simulate Connally's forearm. But nothing was used to simulate Connally's back or chest muscles.

Lattimer said four out of his 20 bullets struck all three objects. A picture of one of the test bullets shows it was split at the nose in several places and was markedly deformed, much more deformed than CE 399. When Stewart Galanor asked Lattimer, in a filmed interview, if he could examine the bullets that struck all three simulation objects, Lattimer said he had thrown them away (Cover-Up, New York: Kestrel Books, 1998, pp. 41-42).

A detailed analysis of Lattimer's research can be found in chapter 6 of British physiologist Russell Kent's 2022 book JFK Medical Betrayal: Where the Evidence Lies.

Lattimer discussed his SBT test in two articles that I know of:

"The Kennedy-Connally Single Bullet Theory: A Feasibility Study," International Surgery, 50:6, 1968, pp. 524-532.

"Observations Based on A Review of the Autopsy Photographs, X-Rays, and Related Materials of the Late President John F. Kennedy," Resident and Staff Physician, May 1972, pp. 34-64.

I'm guessing you may have already read John Hunt's seminal article "Breakability: CE-399 and the Diminishing Velocity Theory," which, among other things, discusses the Australian SBT test.

I would also recommend an article written by our very own Benjamin Cole: "The Death of the Tumbling Magic-Bullet Theory: the Governor’s Shirt, the President’s Shirt, and the Overlooked Dr. Robert Shaw."

I would further recommend chapter 11 in Pat Speer's online book A New Perspective on the John F. Kennedy Assassination. Speer spends considerable time talking about Lattimer's SBT claims.

[John Corbett]

I continue to insist that no shooting can be perfectly replicated and it is an unreasonable demand that such a thing is necessary. I know of no other case in which that was done. Individual elements of a shooting can be tested to show what is possible, but to expect every aspect of any shooting to be perfectly replicated is ridiculous.