Post by Rob Caprio on Aug 1, 2022 20:27:52 GMT -5
All portions ©️ Robert Caprio 2006-2024
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The Warren Commission (WC) claimed that the murder weapon was a Mannlicher-Carcano (MC) and that it was owned by alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO). What evidence did they present for these claims? None that supports them. In the late 1970s a new look into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK) was undertaken by the United States Congress and it was known as the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). They too would focus on the alleged murder weapon and we shall see what they had to say in this post.
They HSCA Says...The Mannlicher-Carcano Ballistic Evidence.
*****************************************
Let's begin at the beginning -- when the rifle was allegedly found in the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) Building on November 22, 1963. (There is no need to cover the ordering and receiving aspect as that has been done extensively in the "Statements That Sink The WC's Conclusions" series.) The HSCA writes this in their report.
Quote on
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol7/pages/HSCA_Vol7_0183a.gif
(4) When found, the Mannlicher-Carcano contained one unfired 6.5 millimeter caliber copper-jacketed military-type cartridge, manufactured by the Western Cartridge Co. The cartridge was removed from the rifle by Capt. J. Will Fritz where the rifle was found. (HSCA Volume VII, p. 355)
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol7/html/HSCA_Vol7_0183a.htm
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Two things jump out when this sentence is read. Firstly, if there was a cartridge chambered as described, where was the clip that was used to load it? In the MC system the clip falls out when the last round is chambered, but the clip was never found. (Again, this is common knowledge and can be read about in the twenty-six volumes or my "Statements That Sink The WC's Conclusions" series.) There is no evidence showing that a clip was recovered at the alleged crime scene (i.e. photograph in situ; listed on the inventory log of evidence; photographs of it being processed at the scene, etc...). Why? IF the last round was chambered as described this should have happened automatically (I won't even get into how unreliable and unstable a MC can be without a full clip. The WC claimed LHO only used 4 rounds and the clip holds 6 rounds.) Why didn't it?
Secondly, Why did Captain Will Fritz of the Dallas Police Department (DPD) remove the round from the chamber? He was NOT part of the crime scene investigative group, therefore, he had no right to touch or alter the crime scene in any way. And yet, he did. Why was he never taken to task for this? It is a serious violation of the rules of evidence and as a captain he should have known this. Nothing shows the laissez-faire attitude of law enforcement better in this case IF this is true. IF this was done in a normal case people would have been in serious trouble, but in this case the more incompetent someone was the better if it helped the official conclusion.
The official record of course shows that he waited for the photographs to be taken, but none of the reports on the scene mention this. Moreover, look at how he handled the round once he ejected it.
Mr. BALL. After the pictures had been taken of the rifle what happened then?
Mr. FRITZ. After the pictures had been made then I ejected a live shell, a live cartridge from the rifle.
Mr. BALL. And who did you give that to?
Mr. FRITZ. I believe that I kept that at that time myself. Later I gave it to the crime lab who, in turn, turned it over to the FBI.
Mr. BALL. Did you put any marking of yours on the empty cartridge?
Mr. FRITZ. On that loaded cartridge?
Mr. BALL. On that loaded cartridge.
Mr. FRITZ. I don't know, I am not sure, I don't think so.
What kind of evidence handling is this? And by a captain too! He puts no markings on it and then keeps it for himself for a period of time. Imagine how that would have gone over in a court of law.
The next reference to the MC is in regards to the shooting attempt at retired General Edwin A. Walker (EAW) on the evening of April 10, 1963, and the bullet allegedly recovered from the crime scene.
Quote on
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol7/pages/HSCA_Vol7_0183b.gif
(10) In addition to these other items, the Warren Commission obtained the bullet recovered by the Dallas police after an attempted assault on General Walker in Dallas on April 10, 1963. It was delivered to the FBI laboratory on December 4, 1963, for analysis. Although the Commission concluded that Oswald fired the bullet, the FBI laboratory could not conclusively identify it with the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle. (Ibid., p. 356)
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol7/html/HSCA_Vol7_0183b.htm
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This one is short and sweet -- the WC lied. The alleged bullet found, Commission Exhibit (CE) 573, was NEVER linked ballistically to the alleged murder weapon (CE 139). Never. I guess the WC figured they had nothing to lose since the alleged murder weapon was NEVER linked to LHO in any way too!
The report goes on to state that the stretcher bullet (i.e. magic bullet -- CE 399), and the larger fragments (nose and base) allegedly found in the presidential limousine 10-12 hours later were ballistically matched to CE 139. This means nothing since none of these items had any chain of custody. NONE. The WC argued that CE 399 came off of JFK's stretcher, but the man who found it, Parkland Hospital (PH) employee Darrell Tomlinson, never would confirm this. To sum up, the WC claimed something that the only witness they had who actually found the bullet would NOT say! This is called lying.
The fragments allegedly found in the presidential limousine are worthless too as they never were found in a proper way. The limousine was stolen from the area of jurisdiction (Dallas) by people who had no jurisdiction (Secret Service -- SS). In legal terms this means the evidence was ruined for a court of law. Furthermore, the man who sat in the seat the fragments were supposedly found below said that he NEVER saw any bullet fragments in his WC testimony!
Mr. SPECTER. But aside from the portions of President Kennedy's head which you have already testified about, you observed nothing detectable as being bullet fragments or bullets?
Mr. KELLERMAN. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Ricocheting off any part of the car?
Mr. KELLERMAN. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you ever observe any bullet fragments in the car at rest after the shooting?
Mr. KELLERMAN. No, sir.
So, to recap, the man sitting in the limousine -- SS Special Agent Roy Kellerman -- NEVER saw any bullet fragments at his feet, but, after the limousine was illegally taken and flown to Washington, D.C., bullet fragments were found 10-12 hours later. Does this sound reasonable to you? These fragments have no value at all outside of showing that there was a conspiracy at work in the assassination.
The three cartridge cases allegedly found in the TSBD (CE 543, 544 and 545) were found to have originated in CE 139 by the FBI, but this does not confirm that they were found that day. Especially when we consider the fact that initially ONLY two cartridge cases were found and listed on the evidence sheet. Ditto the official DPD evidence photograph.
Furthermore, one of the cartridges had a dent in it which meant it had been loaded and fired before. LHO was not known to have cartridge loading equipment or the ability to do so. Why were the other two without dents IF LHO did reload the one with the dent?
The alleged murder weapon could not be tied to LHO; it could not be definitively tied to CE 399; CE 399 could not be tied to either victim; CE 573 could NOT be tied to CE 139 or even the crime itself as it had not chain of custody; and neither limousine fragment could be tied to CE 139 and had no chain of custody. This is the case the WC put forth in 1964. Ask any District Attorney how they would do with key ballistic evidence like this. I would venture a guess that they would not even seek an indictment with this kind of evidence.
The WC made a mockery of the murder of JFK and thumbed their nose at the American people.
cdn.muckrock.com/news_images/2018/04/04/HSCA.jpg.1200x400_q85.jpg
spartacus-educational.com/DPD12.jpg
The Warren Commission (WC) claimed that the murder weapon was a Mannlicher-Carcano (MC) and that it was owned by alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO). What evidence did they present for these claims? None that supports them. In the late 1970s a new look into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK) was undertaken by the United States Congress and it was known as the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). They too would focus on the alleged murder weapon and we shall see what they had to say in this post.
They HSCA Says...The Mannlicher-Carcano Ballistic Evidence.
*****************************************
Let's begin at the beginning -- when the rifle was allegedly found in the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) Building on November 22, 1963. (There is no need to cover the ordering and receiving aspect as that has been done extensively in the "Statements That Sink The WC's Conclusions" series.) The HSCA writes this in their report.
Quote on
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol7/pages/HSCA_Vol7_0183a.gif
(4) When found, the Mannlicher-Carcano contained one unfired 6.5 millimeter caliber copper-jacketed military-type cartridge, manufactured by the Western Cartridge Co. The cartridge was removed from the rifle by Capt. J. Will Fritz where the rifle was found. (HSCA Volume VII, p. 355)
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol7/html/HSCA_Vol7_0183a.htm
Quote off
Two things jump out when this sentence is read. Firstly, if there was a cartridge chambered as described, where was the clip that was used to load it? In the MC system the clip falls out when the last round is chambered, but the clip was never found. (Again, this is common knowledge and can be read about in the twenty-six volumes or my "Statements That Sink The WC's Conclusions" series.) There is no evidence showing that a clip was recovered at the alleged crime scene (i.e. photograph in situ; listed on the inventory log of evidence; photographs of it being processed at the scene, etc...). Why? IF the last round was chambered as described this should have happened automatically (I won't even get into how unreliable and unstable a MC can be without a full clip. The WC claimed LHO only used 4 rounds and the clip holds 6 rounds.) Why didn't it?
Secondly, Why did Captain Will Fritz of the Dallas Police Department (DPD) remove the round from the chamber? He was NOT part of the crime scene investigative group, therefore, he had no right to touch or alter the crime scene in any way. And yet, he did. Why was he never taken to task for this? It is a serious violation of the rules of evidence and as a captain he should have known this. Nothing shows the laissez-faire attitude of law enforcement better in this case IF this is true. IF this was done in a normal case people would have been in serious trouble, but in this case the more incompetent someone was the better if it helped the official conclusion.
The official record of course shows that he waited for the photographs to be taken, but none of the reports on the scene mention this. Moreover, look at how he handled the round once he ejected it.
Mr. BALL. After the pictures had been taken of the rifle what happened then?
Mr. FRITZ. After the pictures had been made then I ejected a live shell, a live cartridge from the rifle.
Mr. BALL. And who did you give that to?
Mr. FRITZ. I believe that I kept that at that time myself. Later I gave it to the crime lab who, in turn, turned it over to the FBI.
Mr. BALL. Did you put any marking of yours on the empty cartridge?
Mr. FRITZ. On that loaded cartridge?
Mr. BALL. On that loaded cartridge.
Mr. FRITZ. I don't know, I am not sure, I don't think so.
What kind of evidence handling is this? And by a captain too! He puts no markings on it and then keeps it for himself for a period of time. Imagine how that would have gone over in a court of law.
The next reference to the MC is in regards to the shooting attempt at retired General Edwin A. Walker (EAW) on the evening of April 10, 1963, and the bullet allegedly recovered from the crime scene.
Quote on
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol7/pages/HSCA_Vol7_0183b.gif
(10) In addition to these other items, the Warren Commission obtained the bullet recovered by the Dallas police after an attempted assault on General Walker in Dallas on April 10, 1963. It was delivered to the FBI laboratory on December 4, 1963, for analysis. Although the Commission concluded that Oswald fired the bullet, the FBI laboratory could not conclusively identify it with the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle. (Ibid., p. 356)
www.historymatters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol7/html/HSCA_Vol7_0183b.htm
Quote off
This one is short and sweet -- the WC lied. The alleged bullet found, Commission Exhibit (CE) 573, was NEVER linked ballistically to the alleged murder weapon (CE 139). Never. I guess the WC figured they had nothing to lose since the alleged murder weapon was NEVER linked to LHO in any way too!
The report goes on to state that the stretcher bullet (i.e. magic bullet -- CE 399), and the larger fragments (nose and base) allegedly found in the presidential limousine 10-12 hours later were ballistically matched to CE 139. This means nothing since none of these items had any chain of custody. NONE. The WC argued that CE 399 came off of JFK's stretcher, but the man who found it, Parkland Hospital (PH) employee Darrell Tomlinson, never would confirm this. To sum up, the WC claimed something that the only witness they had who actually found the bullet would NOT say! This is called lying.
The fragments allegedly found in the presidential limousine are worthless too as they never were found in a proper way. The limousine was stolen from the area of jurisdiction (Dallas) by people who had no jurisdiction (Secret Service -- SS). In legal terms this means the evidence was ruined for a court of law. Furthermore, the man who sat in the seat the fragments were supposedly found below said that he NEVER saw any bullet fragments in his WC testimony!
Mr. SPECTER. But aside from the portions of President Kennedy's head which you have already testified about, you observed nothing detectable as being bullet fragments or bullets?
Mr. KELLERMAN. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Ricocheting off any part of the car?
Mr. KELLERMAN. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you ever observe any bullet fragments in the car at rest after the shooting?
Mr. KELLERMAN. No, sir.
So, to recap, the man sitting in the limousine -- SS Special Agent Roy Kellerman -- NEVER saw any bullet fragments at his feet, but, after the limousine was illegally taken and flown to Washington, D.C., bullet fragments were found 10-12 hours later. Does this sound reasonable to you? These fragments have no value at all outside of showing that there was a conspiracy at work in the assassination.
The three cartridge cases allegedly found in the TSBD (CE 543, 544 and 545) were found to have originated in CE 139 by the FBI, but this does not confirm that they were found that day. Especially when we consider the fact that initially ONLY two cartridge cases were found and listed on the evidence sheet. Ditto the official DPD evidence photograph.
Furthermore, one of the cartridges had a dent in it which meant it had been loaded and fired before. LHO was not known to have cartridge loading equipment or the ability to do so. Why were the other two without dents IF LHO did reload the one with the dent?
The alleged murder weapon could not be tied to LHO; it could not be definitively tied to CE 399; CE 399 could not be tied to either victim; CE 573 could NOT be tied to CE 139 or even the crime itself as it had not chain of custody; and neither limousine fragment could be tied to CE 139 and had no chain of custody. This is the case the WC put forth in 1964. Ask any District Attorney how they would do with key ballistic evidence like this. I would venture a guess that they would not even seek an indictment with this kind of evidence.
The WC made a mockery of the murder of JFK and thumbed their nose at the American people.