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Tech Snuffs JFK Controversy

November 14, 2008
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By Eric Bland, Discovery News

Nov. 13, 2008 -- A team of experts assembled by the Discovery Channel has recreated the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Using modern blood spatter analysis, new artificial human body surrogates, and 3-D computer simulations, the team determined that the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository was the most likely origin of the shot that killed the 35th president of the United States.

"The question we were trying to answer is, given the spatter evidence in a vehicle, and knowing an individual was sitting at a particular location, is there something we could use to determine where the shot originated?" said Steve Schliebe, a blood spatter and trace evidence specialist with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, who was part of the special investigation.

While blood spatter analysis existed in the 1960s, modern innovations have greatly improved its accuracy and the amount of information that can be gleaned from drops of blood.

"A lot of this is still fairly new, from the last 10 to 15 years," said Bevel. "Before that we thought we knew what was going on, but because of innovations like high-speed photography we have a much better appreciation of what is actually taking place."

On Nov. 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. Central time, President John F. Kennedy was shot twice while traveling in his limousine through Dallas, Texas. The first shot entered Kennedy's back and exited out of his throat. A second shot entered the left side of Kennedy's head and exited out the right side, spraying a nearby officer agent and the car's interior with bodily material. Kennedy was pronounced dead at 1:00 p.m. at Parkland Hospital.

Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested an hour and twenty minutes after the shooting. Widely believed to have fired the shots that killed Kennedy, Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby before he could be brought to trial.

Conspiracy theories abound on the number of shots fired, the number of shooters, and the location and identity of the shooter(s). The goal of Discovery Channel's Nov. 16th special, "JFK: Inside the Target Car," was to explore the theories and determine where the shots most likely came from using modern forensic science.

A mock-up of the Dallas, Texas crime scene was set up, including the depository, the "grassy knoll," and other nearby landmarks. Artificial surrogates of Kennedy were placed in a car. Sharpshooters then shot the surrogates from the model depository, the grassy knoll, and four other plausible locations.

Schliebe, along with Tom Bevel, an independent expert forensic investigator, were brought in to examine the simulated crime scene. Both scientists had no idea what the experiment was for or that it was a reenactment of the JFK assassination.

Investigator Steve Schlieble talks about the new Kennedy investigation.  Want even more video? Click here.


Investigator Steve Schlieble talks about the new Kennedy investigation. Want even more video? Click here.

The two experts found a simulated gunshot would to the head that closely matched the wound Kennedy suffered. Most of the simulated body material had spattered forward into the car, consistent with a shot that entered the back of the head and exited toward the front. There was some back-spatter -- material that flew back in the opposite direction of the bullet's trajectory -- but not much.

The general lack of back spatter and the preponderance of spatter in another direction are two of the clues, among others, that the investigators used to pinpoint the origin of the shots.

"After Tom and I looked at the scene, we pointed up and back away from the vehicle," said Schliebe. "Apparently that lined up perfectly with where the sharpshooter had hit the model head."

Along with advances in blood spatter analysis, another advantage modern forensic experts have is simulated body parts.

The team used some of the most advanced artificial human heads in the world for the ballistic tests. Made from a proprietary mixture by Australia-based Adelaide T&E Systems, the heads have three different materials which simulate the brain, skull and external soft tissue (skin) -- that together respond to the trauma the same way a human head would.

The simulated brain material was made from a pig-skin-derived gelatin, dyed green. The skull surrogate is made from a special vinyl ester resin filled with calcium and proprietary fibers. The artificial skin uses a polyurethane and plasticizers to mimic human skin's physical properties. The head was even custom-fitted, based on Kennedy's hat size.

"The heads they used were quite interesting," said Bevel. "They were considerably more sophisticated than anything I've seen before."

In addition to the physical environment, a virtual environment was also set up. A team from Los Angeles-based Creative Differences went to the original Dallas crime scene and took precise measurements of all the angles, distances, wind speed and directions, etc., in the area to create a 3-D model of the crime scene.

To animate it, the team looked at a video of the assassination filmed by Abraham Zapruder. The Zapruder film, as it's called, is generally believed to be the most complete video of the shooting because of its clear view of the motorcade and the height it was shot from.

Only two of the 486 Zapruder frames actually show Kennedy being shot. Computer graphics expert Doug Martin highlighted the red parts of the frames and the blood resulting from the wound, and plotted them onto the computer simulation to see where the fatal shot came from.

"We might never know if Oswald pulled the trigger, but when you look at the wind pattern, the spread of the debris, the angles and distances involved, it's consistent with a shot from the sixth floor depository," said Martin.

This kind of computer analysis has only been available for about five years, says Martin. He expects criminologists will continue to make use of 3-D crime scene simulations to help reconstruct events and gather evidence a 2-D picture alone can't reveal.

"I think this is the wave of the future," said Martin. "If we had this technology back in the '60s, I think it would have put a lot of the conspiracy theories to rest."


Comments:

Analysis has led to more detail about one gunshot. But the controversy is not snuffed. There were at least 3 shots, possibly four (House Assas. Committee), a fifth (Oswald/Tippett) a sixth (Ruby/Oswald) a seventh (Oswald/Gen. Walker). And what if the one head shot was fired by Lone Nut Oswald? We are asked to believe there were two Lone Nuts (Ruby- Lone Nut #2). Analyzing one gunshot in all this mess will never snuff anything.
Posted by: a memory of '63 | January 02, 2009 at 12:54 PM

Seems the tests in this show open up more questions than they 'snuff'. The fourth test, which they euphemistically call the 'missed shot' is the one that most closely replicates the damage to the head shown in the autopsy photos. Of course, that ended up in the trash bin, though there is a clip of the test at the DC youtube site.
Posted by: Pamela McElwain-Brown | November 23, 2008 at 05:32 PM

Seems the tests in this show open up more questions than they 'snuff'. The fourth test, which they euphemistically call the 'missed shot' is the one that most closely replicates the damage to the head shown in the autopsy photos. Of course, that ended up in the trash bin, though there is a clip of the test at the DC youtube site.
Posted by: Pamela McElwain-Brown | November 23, 2008 at 05:32 PM

Total and complete garbage. Proof that Discovery Channel is completely owned and a mouthpiece of lies, spin, and propaganda. I'll never watch any Discovery channel again as they are just more tools for the nwo. Everybody join me in boycotting all msm.
Posted by: Chris | November 20, 2008 at 04:14 PM

Of course there was an explosion of skull and brain matter as the bullet exited the front right of JFK head. This explosion drove his head back and to the left. This much had been established by every expert who has bothered to look at the evidence from an unbiased point of view and by test done on sheep heads. They always fly back towards the direction of the shooter.

Conspiracy theorist hack writers will never admit they are wrong, it's to embarrassing and too much of a loss of a cash cow for them.

Suckers are born every minute and you can sell them conspiracy book all day.
Posted by: Dave Kyte | November 18, 2008 at 12:47 PM

KENNY HAMPTON, you are correct sir! The book "Mortal Error" explains all of this from a ballistic POV and has never gotten any notice. Three things from the book should dispel what I just watched:

1. The marksman was told to shoot at a point on the right temple when the autopsy photos show the entrance wound high on the back of the skull.

2. Said entrance hole was measured to be 6mm in the bone, beveled as an entrance wound would be. This measurement was taken by the assisting doctor at the autopsy who happened to be a gunshot wound expert. Why do I mention this? Oswald was shooting a 6.5mm bullet. It could not have made a 6mm entrance hole in the hard bone of the skull. A bulet may make an entrance wound slightly larger than the actual bullet diameter, but it can never make a smaller one.

3. Follow the trajectory shown...the bullet would have exited through JFK's face. There is no such damage and no bullet was found in the dash as would be expected. The actual bullet behaved much differently.

The bullet behavior, entrance wound size and lack of a damaged bullet are explained in the book. I would suggest you read it if you want to know exactly what happened.
Posted by: Akagi | November 17, 2008 at 11:21 PM

You're never going to convince me that a bullet went through two bodies, remained in pristine condition and then fell out of it's second victim after the body had been moved onto a gurney. LOL
Posted by: Ellen K. | November 17, 2008 at 10:56 PM

Folks who say that the shot could not have come from the rear because the Zapruder film shows his head moving from front to rear: look at frames 312 and 313. When the bullet struck, Kennedy's head moved FORWARD from the force of the bullet, then a fraction of a second later moved backward, most likely from a neuromuscular reflex. It happened too quickly to see by viewing the moving picture, but the individual frames tell the real story. See it for yourself.
Posted by: SMama | November 17, 2008 at 08:32 PM

Reading many of the comments on this forum prove to me once again, that the majority of conspiracy theorists have absolutely no knowledge of forensics. Duncan MacPherson, author of "Bullet Penetration" and considered the foremost wound ballistic expert in the world has said "anybody believing in a shot from the grassy knoll knows little about forensics and even less about physics". All gunshot wounds create a "beveling" when the bullet enters the body. This beveling is unmistakable for a forensic pathologist. In the case of JFK, he had one beveling in his skull, in the rear where the shot entered at ZAP 313. This is irrefutable science. It happens 100% of the time. Nothing else matters. It is the one arena that conspiracy theorists ignore. Case closed.
Posted by: PaulM | November 17, 2008 at 07:31 PM

Gary Mack and Gerald Posner are one and the same people. Try and prove everything you can that Oswald did it, and ignore all other evidence.

Ignore Badgeman, ignore he Mauser found in the Book Depository, ignore the back and to the left head and body movement of JFK, ignore Badgeman's shooting position, ignore countless eyewitness testimony about shot, smoke, and the smell of gunpower at or near the grassy knoll.

What a joke, Gary Mack is a joke to run the 6th floor musuem.
Posted by: orlando | November 17, 2008 at 04:06 PM

Mack makes a big deal about the recreated blood spatter pattern proving "conclusively" that the kill shot came from the rear, and then fails to mention that this same recreated shot blew off half of the plastic Kennedy head. Autopsy x-rays and photographs do not show half of Kennedys' head absent, nor does the Zapruder film show this massive amount of skull being blown away. Also, this recreation of the rear shot, has the bullet exiting the plastic Kennedy head, entering and exiting the front seat of the presidential limo and coming to rest in the dashboard. There is absolutely no record\picture(s) of a bullet hole in the front seat of the presidential limo, or of a bullet hole in the dashboard of the limo. Absolutely non of this is mentioned in this totally one sided presentation. Every time Mack attempts to validate a key component of the Warren Report, he disproves something else in that government sanctioned Pandora's Box. This happened a couple years ago. Mack had the same sharp shooter attempt to duplicate the shot and ensuing wounds created by a bullet entering and exiting Kennedy's neck, and eventually entering and exiting Gov. Connolly. The sharpshooter did duplicate the shot, but the remaining bullet fragment bore no resemblance what-so-ever, to bullet fragment #399, (the pristine bullet), retrieved from Connolly's stretcher. Again, no mention of this discrepancy either. Mack has absolutely no credibility after abandoning his "Badge Man" conspiracy hypothesis, then getting his current position of running the Kennedy Museum\School Book Depository, and now chumming up with the Discovery Channel.
Posted by: ROY STORING | November 17, 2008 at 12:04 PM

I saw Discovery's previous doc about the magic bullet and how all the angles matched a clear trajectory from the school book building through JFK and into Connelly's wrist. I trust that experiment. However they totally left out or did not talk about the bullet that nearly blew his head off.

Just because Oswald's one shot hit a target does not mean a second one did as well. The Zepruder film clearly shows the head shot came from the front. I do not care what any blood splatter report says. I do not know how anyone can conduct and accurate blood splatter report 50 or so years later that happened outside with weather conditions and in a moving car. There was at least one other gunman that day. The film shows it clearly. I am glad I am not the only one that is not fooled by this.
Posted by: Deezy | November 17, 2008 at 09:40 AM

Great show Discovery! Keep 'em coming!
Posted by: Todd Shint | November 17, 2008 at 09:36 AM

I am so disappointed in the Discovery Channel for airing such interesting garage.

"Out of respect, we won't reshow the assassination of a great man." LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Out of respect, FIND THE TRUTH!

From the Zapruda film, JFK is almost slumped over and gets hit and his body almost lifts off the ground a bit before being throws back and to the left.

LOL!!!!! what a joke, i can't believe Discovery Channel would air something like this.
Posted by: orlando | November 17, 2008 at 02:19 AM

Not impressed at this point. You don't choose a "more accurate rifle" for a test. You choose the same rifle used in the crime. You use the same scope on that rifle and the same weight of bullet, etc. All information readily available. Then your tests are more accurate. Also, you shoot at a MOVING TARGET to see if it could be done. Sheesh
Posted by: Michael Murdock | November 17, 2008 at 12:40 AM

LEE OSWALD cannot do this alone. It takes a group of individuals with inside knowledge and access to security detail and some police help to allow a rifle out a building window that is just across the street from the county jail and courthouse.

Yes, the Texas Book Depository building is just across the street from the Dallas County Jail and Courthouse.

Scientist need to factor this in their experiment also.
Posted by: john | November 16, 2008 at 11:36 PM

Kevin Poveromo,

The case isn't closed. The government killed the President and no one has paid for his murder. You are an idiot and have no clue what you are talking about.
Posted by: James G. | November 16, 2008 at 10:47 PM

I don't believe that Kennedy was shot from behind. He was shot by the driver which explains why his head was rocked back so violently. Physics doesn't lie.
Posted by: James G. | November 16, 2008 at 10:43 PM

I wasn't able to post my view because the program they use says that my comments are spam related.
Posted by: James G. | November 16, 2008 at 10:40 PM

Attaching a plastic head to a stick and shooting a bullet through said head, does not replicate the kill shot.
Posted by: Roy Storing | November 16, 2008 at 10:29 PM

Why didn't Discovery examine the theory that a shot came from the storm sewer on Elm Street?
Posted by: Larry Z | November 16, 2008 at 10:19 PM

Why didn't Discovery examine the possibility that a shot came from the storm sewer on Elm Street? I recall a documentary presenting this possibility and the explanation for JFK's sudden head snap backwards.
Posted by: Larry | November 16, 2008 at 10:08 PM

Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. He kill JFK. Proof? This show and a first discovery show which treated and duplicate the single bullet that hit JFK and Connolly. Finally, listen to Robert Oswald's interview ,nobody knows a crazed killer like his brother. Lee did it case closed.
Posted by: kevin poveromo | November 16, 2008 at 09:52 PM

I'm sorry but you can not recreate something in history IDC how much tech you have the important word is "recreate" you will never get it exactly what is when it first happened. And that head thing is funny if they can do that that means people can make humans give me a break discovery good job working for the government.I am going believe in a channel that has the same programming as myth busters lol good job discovery...gj
Posted by: yournutsdiscovery | November 16, 2008 at 09:47 PM

The Discovery Channel and the Military Channel are the same outfit. Another incident of the fox investigating the chicken coup.

The blood splattered to the rear of JFK's head at such a tremdous speed and violent force - which can only happen fron a close range shot from the front. Not from 90 yards behind.

We now have magic blood to accompany the magic bullet.
Posted by: j crites | November 16, 2008 at 09:40 PM

24 hours later and the same emotional statements are being made.

I guess people don't like science when it gets in the way of their beliefs.

The top of JFK's collar was above the throat wound. The ragged torn hole indicated the bullet exited the front of the shirt. Thus, the bullet which struck the back, exited the throat.

JFK's head moved forward and down at the moment of impact of the head shot. The body moved backward after the head shot. As the body began to move backward, JFK's right arm jumped up and fell down. A muscle spasm. The movement of the body was for the same reason.

The rifle was ballisticly sound. I bet no one would allow someone to fire C2766 at them from 65-88 yards. It is easy to mock the rifle when the business end is not pointed at you. But it is not science.

In some of Oswald's basic training shooting tests, he did remarkably well. 48 of 50 points on one test. Oswald was capable of making the shot.

To anonymous, i posted because the truth is important. For one, you are wrong that JFK was shot in the side of the head. The motion was forward and down at impact. Stating i must have a 100 IQ does not change observable facts. The shot was fired from the rear.
Posted by: Ronald Judge | November 16, 2008 at 05:20 PM

The noble Tory/elite Whig Private 'federal' Reserve Usury Corporation and it's unconstitutional criminal MI6/CIA/Pentagon/military-industrial corporate Mafias have yet again maliciously financed another cover up hit piece designed solely to conceal the truth and propound the phony mythological 'controversy' they continue to engineer to catapult the propaganda and promote the lies of the Warren Omission.

The Zapata Conspiracy has been fully documented and proven the only investigation that needs to be done is the examination of the criminal, unconstitutional and illegal 'secrets' still being hidden, those criminal accessories to the assassination who are still illegally hiding these items of evidence, and their involvements corruption and motives!
Posted by: Philip Stark | November 16, 2008 at 12:20 PM

What is the most ridiculous aspect of the conspiracy theorist concepts is the idea that the government wanting to kill JFK DIDN'T decide to do it in a quiet easy to hide way, like spiking the pain meds he was know to take for his back problems.

NO....... You are to believe then instead they elected to shoot JFK in a moving car... in broad daylight... in front of hundreds if not thousands of people with cameras.... Multiple gunmen hiding in every grassy knoll and man hole......

THEN...... To pin the crime on Oswald who they let walk right out of the School Book building and go home to change...... When they do catch him they don't kill him right then...... they have to kill him later again in front of everyone and TV cameras!

YEP if you would believe that one, you are open to any conspiracy hack writers like Marrs and the other "in it for the cash" types will sell. May is suggest something a little more scholarly, like Gerald Posners's "Case Closed" or Vincent Bugliosi's "Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy".
Posted by: Dave Kyte | November 16, 2008 at 11:45 AM

"No how about read the many books authors like Jim Marrs". You mean Jim Marrs the KOOK who thinks men from Mars are flying around this planet? That Jim Marrs? The man thinks vapor trails are government chemical seeding, that 911 was an inside job. he thinks Obama is not a US citizen.

jimmarrs.com if you doubt his lunacy.

That is the problem with your typical conspiracy theorist type. They lack the intelligence and critical thinking skills to judge anything of importance. They do however make perfect suckers for people like Marrs to peddle books and DVDs.
Posted by: Dave Kyte | November 16, 2008 at 11:23 AM

To assume that this puts the conspiracies to rest is ludicrous. He was hit more than two times first of all, secondly as the article states if the first bullet went through the back of his neck an came out of his throat that would shot would not be from an elevated position because it would have went through the back of his neck an logged in his chest from a downward angle. More importantly if you watch the video the fatal shot explodes the back of his head out across the back of the car hence the grassy knoll shot, he was leaning forward an then thrown back from the shot which is clear in the video which means the bullet entered in the front. Furthermore there would be no reason for the governement to keep the files from the public since everyone saw it with there own eyes, unless of course you are trying to cover something up. They list 5 conspiracy theories which could all easily be combined together into one theory, the truth. JFK was assassinated by his own people, maybe if he was a member of the skull & bones fraternity like all other presidents who have finished there terms in presidency then he would still be with us today. You only freeze information from the public when you are trying to cover up, it was also stated the files would be released in 2025, why so long? Everyone involved will be dead.
Posted by: MurderbyUncleSam | November 16, 2008 at 03:20 AM

Watch the JFK assassination video and you clearly see his head and body snap back when he is shot the second time. I'm no expert but it sure looks like the second shot was from the front. The doctors who attended Kennedy when they brought him in to the hospital said on camera that he had a 7cm hole which is approximately a 2 3/4 inch hole in the back right side of his head. But the photos that were released show only a small bullet whole. Just watch the video below and you will know with out a doubt the government lied. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhWJowvbtxs&feature=related Also there is a video with Governor Connolly who was riding in the car first stating that he hear a shot and turned around to see if Kennedy was ok and saw that he was slumped over and not responding to him, then he heard a second shot in which he was hit. Then he later changes his story to match that of what the FBI, and CIA were claiming. Also the bullet casings supposedly found were actually the wrong size bullet for the gun Oswald was said to have had.
Posted by: anonymous2 | November 16, 2008 at 02:55 AM

"A second shot entered the left side of Kennedy's head and exited out the right side, spraying a nearby officer agent and the car's interior with bodily material."

JFK was shot on the right side, not left. This b.s. lost all credibility with me.
Posted by: REM | November 16, 2008 at 02:50 AM

I see what you mean. Just watched it on You Tube and it was definitely a fatal shot from the front of Kennedy. Here is the link for those that want to see it... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E66__vymfPA

Horrible site to see a US President get shot like that.
Posted by: Eddie B | November 16, 2008 at 02:11 AM

PLEASE! How much did the government officials that were behind Kennedy's killing pay Discovery Channel to create this documentary. This article begins with "the team determined that the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository was the most likely origin of the shot that killed" Kennedy! Is this a JOKE?! Look at the Zapruder Film on YouTube.com and tell me if you think the fatal shot came from the 6th floor Depository (from behind Kennedy), or if it came from the grassy knoll (from in front of Kennedy)? You would have to be blind to say it came from behind! America is not full of a bunch of idiots! We know the truth. Nice try Discovery Channel and government officials that killed Kennedy (the ones that are still alive), but the Kennedy assasination is a CONSPIRACY!!!! The title of this article is "Tech Puts JFK Conspiracy Theories to Rest"? Yeah right! GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E66__vymfPA
Posted by: Jim | November 16, 2008 at 02:01 AM

Interesting that JFK was assassinated 2 weeks after enacting an executive order to eliminate the Federal Reserve Bank. That executive order is still on the books but no president since Kennedy dare touch it.
Posted by: Eddie B | November 16, 2008 at 01:41 AM

Yes jfk was plotted against and killed probably killed by lee h ozwald but it went farther than him because that's why ruby came to the police dept,and killed him he was keeping Ozwald from fingering the group and conspiracy in a federal court.
Posted by: virginia stewart | November 16, 2008 at 01:26 AM

Since the limousine was cleaned up so quickly after the assassination how is it possible that they had accurate criteria to put together such a conclusive reenactment? in addition, the chief autopsy doctor stated that the "official" autopsy photographs had been altered and did not show what he saw in the operating room. why in the world would Oswald ever say "I'm just a PATSY"? for a lone-nut in the 1960's that statement alone should set off alarm bells to any thinking individual. PATSY? these are just a few examples of clues to what forces were really behind the assassination.
Posted by: Shamus Tobin | November 16, 2008 at 01:19 AM

THE ONLY THEORY THAT HAS EVER MADE ANY SENSE IS THE FACT THAT THE HEAD SHOT CAME FROM THE SECRET SERVICE MAN IN THE TRAILING VEHICLE.THERE IS EVEN A PICTURE OF THEM ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL SHOWING HIM STILL HOLDING THE M-16 IN HIS HANDS. WHY DO YOU THINK THEY RUSHED TO CLEAN THE CAR UP SO FAST AS TO GET RID OF THE EVIDENCE. THAT IS THE ONLY CONSPIRACY ABOUT THE WHOLE THING. NO SHOW HAS EVER EVEN TRIED TO DISPEL THAT THEORY.
Posted by: KENNY HAMPTON | November 16, 2008 at 01:11 AM

There are some very astute observations posted about this show. Not having seen the Discovery show I have to agree with a few of the postings. First and foremost the presidents limousine was in fact airlifted to Detroit and melted down on November 24. No law enforcement agency was allowed to do any forensic examine of the vehicle. However there are photographs exisiting that show the bullet impact on the metal border of the windshield that have never been explained. After having read 20+ books about events preceding, during and after his murder you would have to be a complete imbecile to think Oswald acted alone. I actually met one of the Navy doctors who performed the intial autopsy and was forced to change his findings. And even after over 30 years he refused to discuss any aspect of his findings other than to say the "official" autopsy is completely wrong. Will we ever know the real truth? I doubt it and it infuriates me that those responsible got away with it.
Posted by: Doug Gwiazdon | November 16, 2008 at 12:59 AM

First to the few that posted comments stating that there is no conspiracy. Why did you even bother posting? You sound like you have an IQ of about 100. It is undisputed that he was first shot from the back or the front. Then he was shot in the side of the head. The only way he could have been shot in the side of the head and in the back of the head by the same person is that the shooter would have first had to shot him from the front and then shot him in the side of the head as he was driving by. There is no way the shooter could have shot him in the back of the head first and then in the side of the head. This is very basic people. If the shot to the back of the head came first and it was more or less a straight on shot indicated by where they said it entered and exited, it would have been impossible for him to shoot him in the side of the head. In order for there to be one shooter, he would have had to be shot from the front and as the car moved forward he was then shot through the side of the head. There is no disputing this. No science, no technology, no blood spatter patterns required. Either there was 2 shooters, or Kennedy was shot from the front and not from the back. If he was shot from the front then Oswald was could not have been the shooter.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 16, 2008 at 12:53 AM

Another poor research and investigative fluff piece by disco channel. Disco is for dummies with no college trying to look bright. Read e howard hunrts death confession. doctoring of jfk autopsy. What oil, cia, military johnson, nixon, bush (eyewitness saw them partying together in houston night b4 celebrating coming coup). too many bullets. rifle not capable of speed and accuracy. jack ruby silencing patsy. grow up. i suppose if this new prez were killed, estab. media would say it was a crazy white supremacist on meth. ha ha. whatev.
Posted by: starbq | November 16, 2008 at 12:42 AM

I think it is very possible that Oswald was the lone gunman probably. I have always been bothered by that head shot though, because it always looked to me that the shot hit the front of the head and blew the back of his skull off. I always wonder why after being hit by the first shot the president didn't duck down or that Jackie didn't pull him down out of the line of fire after he was hit. She could have saved him just by yanking him down into her lap.
Posted by: joeber | November 16, 2008 at 12:41 AM

I didn't watch the whole video, just the sample. But I heard them say most of the blood splatter went forward, with a little back splatter. So was the piece of the brain that Mrs. Kennedy crawled onto the TRUNK to retrieve just a "little back splatter?"

If the throat wound is an entry wound, why does Kennedy grab his throat first, then slump forward as if being shot in the back?

How does a bullet on a downward trajectory hit in the back, change directions in the body, and come out the throat, and the change directions again in mid air to strike Connolly in the back?

I also have been to Dealy Plaza, and if you can honestly look at the spot of the head shot, compared to the Book Depository, and the Grassy Knoll, The Knoll is the PERFECT spot for a head shot, and would be consistent with Kennedy rocking back, and his brains landing on the back of the car.
Posted by: Ryan | November 16, 2008 at 12:05 AM

The doctor who was in attendance states specifically that the wound in the throat was a wound of entry as was the second head wound. The other doctors have corroborated this. The Discovery Channel is a patsy for those who wish to keep the cover-up in place IMHO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmPJVzvlP5o&feature=related
Posted by: Me | November 15, 2008 at 11:53 PM

I hate to break this to these scientists,But they had to use the evidence that was given to them,they did not get the evidence from the scene,and the conclusion that they do have is drawn from much handled as well as second hand whereas there was no chain of evidence whatsoever,ive written two leads for two articles,with photographs,ive been a USMC rifle expert and sniper,ive majored in forensics and mortuary science,and heres what they need to know,which i am quite sure they dont as if they had all of the evidence,theyd of never come up with this absurd theory.What evidence they have drawn from is very inconsistent for a few reasons,blood spatter is inconsistent A. the vehicle was moving,B.the last round was a projectile with an exploding impact known as a trajectory with a small charge detonating upon impact,C.I have the digitized autopsy photos,including some they did not see,D.i have the photographs of the secret service with buckets outside of Parkland washing out the interior before the president was pronounced dead E.they make no suggestion of the round that hit just above the rear view mirror.F.the photo of a police officer leaving thru the back door of a stairwell with a sniper rifle ,with scope attached that was found in the stairwell,and the weapon never was tagged in evidence ,nor is there a record of it except of course another pic i have.G.they dont mention that george Bush sr. sent a teletype the morning of November 22 1963 between 8:00 am and 10:00 am from his oil business to the Dallas FBI building telling them within a 4 hour time lapse as to the fact Kennedy was going to be shot.H.Make no mention that if the round had come from above and at that angle,the exit wound would be in fact out of the lower left (right anatomically)and entering the seat,and or floorboard,I.most importantly,look at Mrs Kennedys head position and where she was at the time of the last shot,J.she was permitted to wear that dress for hours after the assassination and destoyed any real evidence that could of existed.K.that one officer pictured escorting three so called bums out of a railcar,were in fact stopped earlier in the day prior with a rifle in the automobile,and here hours later they are in suits with manicured haircuts and nails and the officer has a patch on the sleeve of his left arm,and it is a patch as a identifier of a sniper with the crosshairs visible.L.and most importantly the very fact that the proported weapon of choice was taken to the Aberdeen proving ground and was test fired by over 30 rifle experts,either military,or civilian and every single shooter had to place shims under the scope just to be able to hit a target even at thirty yards and even then were not parfect bullseyes.If you remember the exploding head wound you would see the flap of shin first lifted and then droping,if you look at the real autopst photos and the abrasions on the left side of the skull,you will see that the shot came from behind,slightly elevated and wasnt a full force impact but rathe a slight grase at high speed and about an ince from the rear rightand about 4 degrees high,Now if you look at the pics of the procession just before the left turn in front of the book depository,you will notice a metal fire escape,there is a man sitting up near the top of the steps,he is holding a can or bottle,i would say can,to his rear right their is a window,now under federal law concerning dignitary motorcades ,under no circumstance is there to be an open window,you will notice at the moment of the fatal shot,the blast sends the man on the step careening forward,and falling off the step,you will notice a puff of smoke coming out of the window,and the man turning to see where the sound came from.you will also quetsion the last minute parade route change that no one knew about twent minutes earlier,you will not hear mention that LBJ stepped out of the presidential vehicle,just as the parade route changed as was planned,you will not hear that Oswald was a cia operative as well as a top DIA operative,you will not hear that he was the number one radar man for the u2 spy plane,nor that George Bush SR and The Mrs. are to this day great friends of oswalds widow,you will not hear that the weapon used to kill the officer spewed shell casings on the ground,and oswalds pistol wasnt a casing ejecting pistol,and you will notice that they talk about anything except where the order to kill Kennedy came from.The very truth is the one person that knew everything in advance of the three assassinations,Kennedys and King knew everything by july 4th 1963.The day John F. Kennedy was assassinated he had a bill to sign on his desk upon his return from Dallas,that bill was an amendment to be placed into law that would require all OIL companies be taxed on all monies they recieved from the very first dollar up,rather then after the first 30% or more being tax free.Sure does make you wonder.Theres alot more to this,and if you want to see the write ups i did as tests ,go to ok cupid website,look under tests,and find The JFK Assassination THE LONE GUNMAN,AND tHE JFK AUTOPSY THE REAL DEAL.
Posted by: archangel majestic | November 15, 2008 at 11:51 PM

Wow amazing ive been investigating this for a while and what a coincidence that this came up..
Posted by: jonathan | November 15, 2008 at 11:44 PM

Oswald cannot do this alone. It takes a group of people with inside knowledge, connections with security detail and some police help to allow a rifle on the Depository window across the street from the Dallas County jail and Courthouse.

Yes, America. The Texas School Book Depository building is just across the street from the Dallas County Jail and Courthouse. Even the prisoners saw the rifle from their cell window across the street.

The so called scientist should factor this in during their experiment.
Posted by: John | November 15, 2008 at 11:25 PM

Any talk of the depository and Oswald being a single gunman is subterfuge and misdirection. If you concentrate on that theory and focus to the point of singularity it looks right. However, when the larger picture is considered with all of the ties that Oswald, including his Russian fiasco, it becomes apparent that whether Oswald killed Kennedy or not is not the proof of conspiracy. Then adding Ruby into the mix just shows there was something that all of these single gunman theories fail to address. They want to stick to science to prove the single theory and ignore all of the coexisting evidence of the events, connections, and people involved.
Posted by: franj | November 15, 2008 at 11:22 PM

All the conspiracy theories and high tech analysis/investigations aside, I have not seen any mention as to whether the same weapon allegedly used by Oswald (or at least the same make/model/vintage) was used in any tests/analysis/investigation. If I remember correctly, it was a Mannlicher-Carcano. The majority of information I have seen and my having actually fired one indicate that it is an extremely poor and highly inaccurate weapon. Further, at the time of the assasination much ado was made about Oswald having had Marksman or Sharpshooter rating in the Army. I was in the Army and it doesn't take much to get those ratings. Therefore, let's also question the validity of any test that used an expert rifleman since Oswald was apparently only a so-so rifleman. This leads me to believe that even if Oswald did it he didn't use his rifle.
Posted by: Cary McRae | November 15, 2008 at 11:14 PM

NICE JOB DISCOVERY. I BEEN TO THE HISTORIC ERRIE CRIME SCENE AT 3AM IN THE MORNING. JUST ME THE BUILDING AND THE EXACT SPOT WHERE WE LOST THE 35TH PRESIDENT OF THE US.IT WAS INCREDABLE. I LOOKED UP TO THAT 6TH FLOOR. AND LOOKED AND WALKED EVERYWHERE NEARBY.OK FOLKS MY CONCLUSION IS THERE IS NOT A REASONABLE DOUBT IN MY MIND. ONCE AND FOR ALL. THAT NO CONSPIRACY NO NOTHING EXCEPT 1 AND I MEAN 1 CRAZED MAN NAMED LEE HARVEY OSWALD FIRED 3 SHOTS THAT MORTALLY WOUNDED AND CRITICALLY INJURED GOVERNER CONALLY. I WAS 7 YEARS OLD WHEN IT HAPPENED AND STILL THINK ABOUT IT. SRANGE HOW PEOPLE CAN COME UP WITH SO MANY NUTTY THEORYS ABOUT THIS. NOW THAT IS THE TRUTH. WARREN COMMISSION IS VERY ACCURATE.AND YES ON ONE OF THE DARKEST DAYS IN AMERICAN HISTORY THATS THE WAY IT WENT.
Posted by: joe simpson | November 15, 2008 at 11:13 PM

 
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