Chemical and forensic analysis of JFK assassination bullet lots: Is a second shooter possible?

Abstract

The assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) traumatized the nation. In this paper we show that evidence used to rule out a second assassin is fundamentally flawed. This paper discusses new compositional analyses of bullets reportedly to have been derived from the same batch as those used in the assassination. The new analyses show that the bullet fragments involved in the assassination are not nearly as rare as previously reported. In particular, the new test results are compared to key bullet composition testimony presented before the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). Matches of bullets within the same box of bullets are shown to be much more likely than indicated in the House Select Committee on Assassinations' testimony. Additionally, we show that one of the ten test bullets is considered a match to one or more assassination fragments. This finding means that the bullet fragments from the assassination that match could have come from three or more separate bullets. Finally, this paper presents a case for reanalyzing the assassination bullet fragments and conducting the necessary supporting scientific studies. These analyses will shed light on whether the five bullet fragments constitute three or more separate bullets. If the assassination fragments are derived from three or more separate bullets, then a second assassin is likely, as the additional bullet would not easily be attributable to the main suspect, Mr. Oswald, under widely accepted shooting scenarios [see Posner (1993), Case Closed, Bantam, New York].

The effect of composition and morphological features on the striation of .22LR ammunition

“…Scanning electron microscopy associated to Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was employed to investigate the composition of the bullets considered in this study. To the knowledge of the authors, all previous works on bullet composition made use of traditional elemental analysis techniques, such as atomic absorption or emission, mass spectrometry or neutron activation [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. On one hand, these analytical approaches are far more sensitive and more suitable for a proper quantitation of elements even in trace amount.…”

“…A further element of novelty of this paper is actually the use of SEM for obtaining information on the chemical composition of bullets, whereas this technique in the ballistics field has traditionally been limited to morphological studies [11][12][13] and to gunshot residue determination [14][15][16]. The issue of elemental composition of bullets has been quite thoroughly investigated [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28], but always with atomic spectroscopy or mass spectrometry techniques. The main aim of such studies was estimating if the composition of a bullet could be a significant feature for linking a fired bullet to the ammunition seized to a suspect.…”

Computational ballistic analysis of the cranial shot to John F. Kennedy

“…Substantial controversy surrounds the bullet's alloy composition [12,26,27]. In this report it was assumed that the bullet jacket consisted of 90% copper and 10% zinc, and the soft core consisted of common lead [12].…”

Computational ballistic analysis of the cranial shot to John F. Kennedy

“…Substantial controversy surrounds the bullet's alloy composition [12,26,27]. In this report it was assumed that the bullet jacket consisted of 90% copper and 10% zinc, and the soft core consisted of common lead [12].…”