JOHN F KENNEDY – A CASE BALLISTIC CASE STUDY

PRACTICAL 4 BALLISTIC
MAKWANA HENY
2211272160032

BACKGROUND-President Kennedy boards the presidential motorcade in Dallas,

Texas, in a convertible limousine. The President's wife (Jacqueline), Texas Govern
or John Connally, Governor Connally's wife and the driver were also in the car. Aft
er Kennedy's limousine slowly passed a building called the Texas School Book De
pository, he fired three shots at the limousine from a distance of about 200 feet.

As President Kennedy was waving to the crowd to his right, the first bullet entered
his back and exited his throat, entering Texas Governor John Connally and enterin
g his back, chest and wrists. The second bullet missed the car, but the third hit the
back of the president's head. After three shots were fired, the driver of the president
's limousine rushed to the local hospital to receive emergency treatment for the Pre
sident, the Governor of Texas, and the Governor. The president died before reachin
g the hospital, while the governor general survived after emergency surgery.

EVIDENCE COLLECTION-
Internal Ballistic Evidence

The bullet that hit President Kennedy's head exploded onto something. For this rea
son, groove marks on the bullets cannot be detected.

However, the bullets that hit Kennedy and Governor Connally were found in the h
ospital. The bullet is constructed with a 6.5mm round-nosed, military-style all-
metal casing and is specifically designed to penetrate the human body. Key eviden
ce the FBI found regarding the bullet included:

1.Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) of the bullet fragment in Governor Connally

's wrist tested positive, identical to the bullet sight.
2.The weight of the bullet was determined to be 10.28 grams. The average weight
of an unfired bullet of this type is 10.42 grams. The bullet fragment recovered from
Connery's wrist wound weighed approximately 0.13 grams.
3.The rifling marks found on this bullet match the lands and grooves on the gun fo
und in the Texas Register.
External ballistic evidence

The muzzle velocity of the bullet that hit President Kennedy is estimated to be bet
ween 560 and 610 m/s. Each bullet arced downwards, hitting President Kennedy at
an angle of 25 degrees from the horizontal.

Terminal Ballistic Evidence

The first bullet that hit the President entered his back above his shoulder blade, pas
sed the base of his neck, and penetrated the upper part of his right lung without pen
etrating. Put it on and leave the front of your neck alone. The bullet entry measures
4 mm x 7 mm and the exit wound measures 3 mm x 5 mm. The bullet hit one of th
e president's vertebrae.

After leaving the President's neck, the bullet begins to fall, slowing down to approx
imately 457 m/s. He then hit Governor Connally, who was sitting in front of Kenne
dy. The bullet entered Connery's back, causing a cut of 8 mm x 15 mm. This large
entry wound demonstrates the significance of the shot, which usually occurs after h
itting the target, in this case President Kennedy. The bullet entered Connery's chest
, breaking one of his ribs and leaving a 50 mm diameter wound. The bullet slowed
to 274 m/s and entered Connery's right wrist, leaving broken metal behind before e
xiting his palm.
EVALUTION
The autopsy of President Kennedy concluded the wound from th. ,;
; ; e second bullet that hit his head was fatal. A small entry wound was visible in
the rear right-hand side of the President’s head. The bullet imploded upon impact
causing a large portion of the right side of Kennedy’s brain and skull to detach.

Five years after John F. Kennedy’s death, former FBI agent and New Orleans
District Attorney, Jim Garrison, attempted (unsuccessfully) to prove legally that
Lee Harvey Oswald was not solely responsible for the assassination, but rather that
it had been a government conspiracy involving numerous people.
 In the 1970s, an investigation by the House Select Committee on Assassinations
concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin of John F. Kennedy, but it
also suggested that likely others were involved in the planning of the assassination
in a "probable conspiracy”.

CONVECTION-
There was no conviction in the John F. Kennedy assassination case. Lee Harvey
Oswald was arrested and charged with the murder of Kennedy, but he was never
convicted. Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby two days after his arrest.

The Warren Commission, which was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to

investigate the assassination, concluded that Oswald acted alone in killing
Kennedy. However, many people believe that there was a conspiracy to assassinate
Kennedy, and there have been numerous investigations and theories about who
was involved.

The House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), which investigated the

assassination in the 1970s, concluded that there was "a high probability" that two
gunmen fired at Kennedy. However, the HSCA did not reach a definitive
conclusion about who was involved in the assassination.

The assassination of John F. Kennedy remains a mystery, and it is likely that the
debate about who was responsible will continue for many years to come.

CASE STUDY REPORT

The assassination of John F. Kennedy is one of the most famous and controversial
cases in American history. The case has been investigated by multiple
commissions and individuals, but no definitive conclusion has been reached about
who was responsible or how many shooters were involved.

The following is a summary of the case:

 On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a

motorcade in Dallas, Texas. He was shot in the head and neck and died shortly
after.
 Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and charged with the murder of Kennedy. He was
also accused of killing Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit.
 Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby two days after his arrest.
 The Warren Commission, which was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to
investigate the assassination, concluded that Oswald acted alone in killing
Kennedy.
 The House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), which investigated the
assassination in the 1970s, concluded that there was "a high probability" that two
gunmen fired at Kennedy. However, the HSCA did not reach a definitive
conclusion about who was involved in the assassination.

The evidence in the case is complex and inconclusive. Some of the evidence that
supports the Warren Commission's conclusion that Oswald acted alone includes:

 Oswald was seen by multiple witnesses buying a rifle and ammunition shortly
before the assassination.
 Oswald was arrested shortly after the assassination and had the rifle and
ammunition in his possession.
 Oswald had a motive for killing Kennedy, as he was a communist sympathizer
who was angry with the Kennedy administration.
The assassination of John F. Kennedy is a complex and controversial case. There is
no clear consensus on who was responsible or how many shooters were involved.
The case is likely to continue to be debated for many years to come.