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The Tell-Tale Back Wound

For the single bullet theory to work, the back wound had to connect to the throat wound. Is that theory supported by the evidence? Read the testimony below and draw your own conclusions.

The below represents information released thanks to the JFK Act, passed in response to the public outcry after Stone's film JFK reminded people that official records were still largely sealed for years to come. Look at what they were hiding.

Read in order, or jump to any name:

Humes | Stringer |

Humes: DR. HUMES said that no major blood vessels were struck by the bullet passing through the President's neck. Regarding his assertion in the Warren Commission testimony that the bullets entered at a 45 degree to 60 degree angle, DR. HUMES said it was a "guesstimate". He said he came to that conclusion because of the nature of the abrasion collar.

Stringer: MR. STRINGER recalled conversation about the pathway through the neck and specifically discussion about air in the throat. He remembers a great deal of discussion and concern as the doctor searched for a missing bullet.

Boswell/Burkley: Dr. J. Thornton Boswell ....stated that Burkley ....Burkley was not interested in a full autopsy - they were only looking for the bullet ....

[Why would they be looking for a bullet if there was indications that a bullet HAD exited?]

According to BOSWELL, HUMES probed the neck wound with his little finger (indicating a point on the little finger which did not go past the first knuckle, less than one inch). He said HUMES also probed it with a metal probe. He said no one gave orders that they not probe that wound.

...

He said the x-rays [sic] were examined during the autopsy in trying to accomplish what they saw as their main purpose, namely to look for a bullet. Dr. BOSWELL is a little vague as to when the doctors felt that a bullet may have fallen out the neck [back of the neck] wound, but seemed to indicate it occurred around the time they learned the bullet had been discovered in Parkland....

Boyers: also saw an entrance wound in the right shoulder blade, specifically just under the scapula and next to it.

...

Boyers recalled many X-rays and photographs being taken. He said the doctors kept searching for the bullet which entered the right shoulder blade.

[Again, why were they continuing to search for a bullet that did not exit if in fact the bullet HAD exited?]

Mr. Boyers said that he was constantly moving about the room. Concerning the wounds of President Kennedy, Mr. Boyers stated that there was a large wound to the right side and towards the rear of the head. Another wound was located in the upper back just under the scapula.

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During the autopsy Mr. Boyers said that the doctors kept looking for the bullet that entered the upper back.

...

And from Boyers signed affidavit:

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Another wound was located near the right shoulder blade, more specifically just under the scapula and next to it. ... During the autopsy many X-rays and photographs were taken. The pathologists kept searching for the missile which entered the right shoulder, but could not locate it. ... I recall during the autopsy there was much use of metal probes trying to locate the passage of the bullet from the right shoulder entrance. I donot [sic] believe the actual passage was proven [emphasis as in the original] to have exited, at the site of the tracheotomy, i.e., by probing - due probably to deflection by bone structure. This was the reason for the whole body x-rays [sic] - in trying to ascertain if the missile was stll present in the body.

...

And from Boyers handwritten notes:

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Many X-rays were taken trying to locate the bullet which entered the president's [sic] right shoulder area.

Jenkins: Mr. Jenkins said he believes Dr. Humes attempted to probe the back wound. He said he didn't believe the doctor found the probe "...penetrated into the chest." Mr. Jenkins said he believed the organs had already been taken out. He said the body was "...repeatedly X-rayed because they felt there should be a bullet or something there."

...

Regarding the autopsy descriptive sheet, Mr. Jenkins recalls that he "...put in the chest incision and tracheotomy." That he doesn't think he drew the back wound. He said it was possible that Dr. Humes added to the sheet. Mr. Jenkins said that five or six years later he saw a publication* which included an autopsy descriptive sheet which he "...didn't feel was the same one he wrote on." He said this made him very uneasy. Specifically, he "...didn't believe it was my handwriting."

...

Mr. Jenkins said he has no inormation concerning the destruction of any film during the autopsy. He says he does remember an incident which was possibly that. He said it was "...a brief flare up." He said there were a lot of incidences like that where people were curt" [sic] and specifically remembered that the "...gallery was very impatient." They seemed to be "...mad about the doctors not finding a bullet."

...

Mr. Jenkins recalls Humes trying to probe the wound with his finger which enabled him to reach the end of the wound.

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Jenkins recalls Humes discussing with someone the problem of finding the bullet. He said this discussion amounted to a "disturbance." Jenkins had the impression that everything "...seemed like it was predesignated...seemed they had an answer and wanted to prove it."

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Jenkins said the back wound was "...very shallow...it didn't enter the peritoneal (chest) cavity."

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Jenkins recalled that the doctors extensively attempted to probe the back wound. He said the probe they used was a metal one, approximately eight inches long. He said that "...most of the probe went in...between the skin..." and not into the chest cavity. He said Humes could probe the bottom of the wound with his little finger and said that the metal probe went in 2 - 4 inches. He said it was quite a "...fact of controversy..." that the doctors "...couldn't prove the bullet came into the cavity."

...

[Jenkins] said that the probing of the back wound was attempted toward the center as indicated in the drawing, but said that in actuality the only way the probe was able to go in was at a "...fairly drastic angle downward so as not to enter the cavity." He added that he thought the entry wound in the back was lower than that shown in the drawing. He said he didn't notice any bruising at the tip of the lung. He said that according to his recollection of the location of the back wound the bullet would have been going upward through the body to have exited in the front of the neck. He said he is basing his impression of the direction of the bullet on the fact that the probe did not enter the body cavity.

Karnei: Dr. Karnei recalls very little conversation during the autopsy, but does ". . . remember them saying they couldn't find the bullet."

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Dr. Karnei said he was present when probing of the wound was attempted. (". . . when they were putting the probes through the body". [sic]) Dr. Karnei said he was ". . . not exactly sure . . ." how successful they were with the probing. He recalls them putting the probe in and taking pictures (the body was on the side at the time). He said they felt the hole in the back was a wound of entrance and they were ". . .trying to figure out where the bullet came out."

Kellerman: Kellerman recalls Dr. Finck trying to probe the back wound. Kellerman was watching from a vantage point right by the body. Kellerman said at this time the other doctors may not have heard the conversation which ensued because Finck was working in the back of the head area and the other doctors were in the front. Kellerman noticed that Finck was having a lot of trouble probing the wound and said to him "...do you know they found a shell in Dallas." [sic] Finck said "no." Kellerman suggested: "...do you suppose that with the cardiac massage they gave him that the bullet came out." Kellerman said this explanation "...solved it for me...until I saw the films." (reference to Zapruder film).

...

Kellerman recalls Dr. Finck probing the wound about 4 - 5 inches as he was trying to "...get the probe to come out..." Kellerman said the doctors didn't probe the wound with his finger first, saying it was "not that big."

Lipsey: We next asked Mr. Lipsey to describe the wounds. Lipsey said that it was obvious that a bullet "entered the back of his head and exited on the right side of his head." The other bullets entered at the "lower part of his neck" in the rear; one then exited and one hit his chest cavity and travelled down into the body. Lipsey does not feel that the doctors ever located the third bullet; in otherwords, it did not exit the body.

...

Lipsey says that he recalls the doctors discussing the third bullet which he believes entered low in the neck and was deflected down into the chest cavity.

...

We next asked Lipsey to recap his discription [sic] of the wounds. He described these as follows: (1) one bullet entered the back of the head and exited resulting in part of the face and head being blown away; (2) another bullet entered at the top of the neck (rear) which exited in the front portion of the neck; and (3) another bullet entered at the bottom of the neck (rear) or high in the back which did not exit.

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Lipsey also mention that the doctors dissected all of the organs in the chest region while looking for a missle [sic].

...

Lipsey said that the doctors were using the angle from the extrance [sic] in the rear of the head to the throat to look for the other bullet that entered high in the back. He said that both entrances looked the same. Lipsey mentioned that the doctors spent more time looking for the bullet that entered high in the back than anything else. He recalls that he said that the bullet could have gone anywhere. The doctors were also frimly [sic] convinced that this bullet did not exit in the front of the neck. Lipsey said the doctors followed the path of the bullet for a short distance until they lost the track at which point they removed the organs in an attempt to locate it.

O'Neill: O'Neill stated that he was present when various persons placed the body on the autopsy table. Doctors then proceeded to remove the sheet covering JFK and to photograph the body. O'Neill said that he remained "right next to the body," a distance of closer than two yards. O'Neill said that Sibert, Greer and Kellerman were always present.

...

During the autopsy, O'Neill stated that he had lengthy conversations with Greer and Kellerman in which they discussed the entire circumstances of the assassination. When the autopsy doctor appeared to have no idea of where the bullet entering the back may have gone, O'Neill mentioned that he began discussing with others possible "outlets for the bullet."

...

O'Neill stated that when Humes and Boswell couldn't locate an outlet for the bullet that entered the back Sibert left to call SA Killion (FBI Laboratory) to determine if any extra bullets existed. This is when the autopsy doctors learned of the bullet found on the stretcher.

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O'Neill firmly believes that when the autopsy was complete there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the bullet in Dallas was the one that came out of JFK's body.

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O'Neill states that Humes did call Parkland on 11/23/63 to learn more about the bullet found on the stretcher (399).

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O'Neill stated that he heard Humes claim that the bullets entered from a 45-60 degree angle.

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O'Neill mentioned that he does not see how the bullets that entered below the shoulder in the back "could have come out of the throat." O'Neill also said he disagreed with Dr. Boswell's depiction of the location of the back (thorax) wound which Dr. Boswell had drawn on a diagram during an interview with this Committee this past fall.

...

O'Neill stated that some discussion did occur concerning the disintegration of the bullet. A "general feeling" existed that a soft-nosed bullet struck JFK. In reference to the back wound, there was discussion that the bullet could have been a "plastic" type or an "Ice" [sic].

And from ONeills signed affidavit:

I do not see how the bullets [note: the "s" in the word "bullets" has been crossed out and initialed by O'Neill] that entered below the shoulder in the back could have come out the front of the throat. During the interview on January 10, 1978, I disagreed with Dr. Boswell's depiction of the location of the back (thorax) wound which Dr. Boswell had drawn on a diagram during an interview with this Committee in the Fall [sic] of 1977. I do not recall anything about the tracheotomy incision that indicated a bullet had damaged the area. When shown the tracing of the tracheotomy, I had no recollection or comment concerning the apparent bullet wound perimeter. It was and is my opinion that the bullet which entered the back came out the back.

Some discussion did occur concerning the disintegration of the bullet. A general feeling existed that a soft-nosed bullet struck JFK. There was discussion concerning the back wound that the bullet could have been a "plastic" type or an "Ice" [sic] bullet, one which dissolves after contact. There was no real sense either way that the wounds were caused by the same kind of bullet.

Rudnicki: In addition to the large head wound and the tracheostomy Rudnicki noticed a wound in the shoulder blade region of the back. Rudnicki stated that the pathologists began probing the back wound but could not discern its tract. During this time Rudnicki said that doctors took measurements of the wounds. Rudnicki recalled discussion concerning a bullet that was found in Dallas, the general direction that the bullets entered, the nature of the tracheostomy, and the possibility that two bullets struck the head in the same general area causing a massive defect. Rudnicki could not recall anything more specific concerning these discussions or any conclusions.

Sibert: Sibert recalls the Doctors [sic] looking for a bullet in the body and becoming frustrated when they did so. He said they probed the wound with a finger and Fr. [sic] Finck probed it with a metal probe. Sibert said the Drs [sic] "...concluded it only went so far and they couldn't find it."

...

Sibert said that it was his impression that Finck and Humes agreed that there was no exit wound on the bullet through the back and said he had no recollection of how far in the probe went.

And from his signed affidavit:

I recall the doctors looking for a bullet in the body in connection with the back wound and becoming frustrated during their search. They probed the wound with a finger and Dr. Finck probed it with a metal probe. They concluded that the wound went in only so far and they couldn't find the bullet. It was my impression that both Finck and Humes agreed that there was no exit wound of the bullet through the back. The doctors also discussed a possible deflection of the bullet in the body caused by striking bone. Consideration was also given to a type of bullet which fragments completely.

...

Following discussion among the doctors relating to the back injury, I left the autopsy room to call the FBI Laboratory and spoke with Agent Chuch [sic] Killion. I asked if he could furnish any information regarding a type of bullet that would almost completely fragmentize. Agent Killion then asked if we knew about a bullet which had been found on a stretcher at Parkland Hospital and had been received at the Laboratory from a Secret Service Agent. After this phone call, I returned to the autopsy room and told Dr. Humes about this bullet.

Just for fun, compare that with this statement drafted by Purdy and the HSCA that Sibert WOULDN'T sign:

I left once during the autopsy to call the lab, because the doctors were having trouble locating bullets. I called Chuck Killion at the FBI Lab and was told that a bullet had been found in Parkland Hospital. I don't believe anyone called Parkland Hospital that night to find out what had happened there.

...

I recall the doctors looking for a bullet in the body and becoming frustrated during their search. They probed the wound with a finger and Dr. Finck probed it with a metal probe. The doctors concluded it only went so far and they couldn't find it.

In sum, the witnesses remember most consistenly how troublesome it was to the doctors that they could not find the bullet believed to still be in the President's body. I left out the various reports of discussing and sending for a metal detector!

But what the above shows clearly is how someone had to have a bit of foreknowledge of what they needed to find, and communicated the upset when such was NOT found. Highly informative. And deadly to the Single Bullet Theory and any who continue to tout such unnecessary lies.

These segments are taken from the HSCA medical evidence compiled by Kathy Cunningham and available on disk from

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