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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. XV - Page 700« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Lyndal L. Shaneyfelt)

Mr. Shaneyfelt.
window. Mrs. Kennedy would still be visible, and Agent Hill; Mrs. Kennedy and Agent Hill, as I recall, are the only ones readily visible or that are visible.
Mr. Redlich.
Turning now, Mr. Shaneyfelt, to the curb mark itself; you have brought with you today the actual piece of curbing which contains the mark referred to in your testimony; is that correct?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
That is correct.
Mr. Redlich.
That piece of curbing has been designated as Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 34.
(The article referred to was marked Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 34.)
Mr. Redlich.
Were you present at the time this curbing was removed?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
Yes; it was removed under my supervision.
Mr. Redlich.
Can you then describe the subsequent investigation that was conducted in connection with this curbing?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
Yes; the section of curbing, Shaneyfelt Exhibit No.34 was cut out from the curbing along the south side of Main Street in the assassination area. The mark on the curb having been located 23 feet, 4 inches from the abutment of the triple underpass. It was cut out under my supervision, and I personally returned it to the FBI laboratory. In the FBI labratory it was examined for the presence of any foreign material.
Mr. Redlich.
For the record, the results of this investigation have been summarized in a communication from Director Hoover to Mr. Rankin, dated August 12, 1964, and designated now as the Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 27; is that correct, Mr. Shaneyfelt?
The absence of copper precludes the possibility that the mark on the curbing in the laboratory resulted in the finding of foreign metal smears adhering, to the curbing section within the area of the mark. These metal smears were spectrographically determined to be essentially lead with a trace of antimony. No copper was found.
The lead could have originated from the lead core of a mutilated metal-jacketed bullet such as the type of bullet loaded into the 6.5-millimeter Carcano cartridges, or from some other source having the same composition.
The absence of copper precludes the possibility that the mark on the curbing section was made by an unmutilated military full metal-jacketed bullet such as the bullet from Governor Connally's stretcher.
The damage to the curbing would have been much more extensive if a rifle bullet had struck the curbing without first having struck some other object. Therefore, this mark could not have been made by the first impact of a high velocity rifle bullet.
Mr. Redlich.
Based on your examination of the mark on the curb, can you tell us whether the mark which we have been referring to is a nick on the curb, that .is, has a piece of the curb been chipped away, or is it instead a simple marking of lead?
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
Yes; it is not a chip. There is no indication of any of the curbing having been removed, but rather it is a deposit of lead on the surface of the curbing that has given the appearance of a mark.
It was also established from a microscopic study of the curbing that the lead object that struck the curbing that caused the mark, was moving in a general direction away from the Texas School Book Depository Building.
Mr. Redlich.
In connection with this investigation into the microscopic characteristics of the mark, a photograph was prepared which is designated as Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 35. Will you describe that photograph?
(The photograph referred to was marked Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 35.)
Mr. Shaneyfelt.
Yes; Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 35 is a color photograph that I made of the mark on the curbing, which is Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 34. This is magnified about five times, and shows only the marked area. There is a red area in the lower left corner marked A which designates the point of initial impact, and the lead deposit is then sprayed out in a fanlike direction from that
arrow.
Mr. REDLICH. Does point A in Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 35 refer to or correspond to the portion of the marking which is visible in Shaneyfelt Exhibit No. 34?
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