The shot to TIPPIT's head

[Steve Thomas]

https://plus.google.com/photos/114244006603230955786/album/6299549866941041169/6299549869332536786?authkey=CJfJ2fL1qNuyZg

 

 

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Texas Author Speaking to Genealogical Society.

Steve Knight. The Lufkin News June 23, 2016

 

Tippit was laying on his back with his arms crossed?

 

Steve Thomas

[Ron Bulman]

On ‎9‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 6:20 PM, Robin Unger said:

J.D Tippit Credit: James Richards

 

I don't see any bullet hole in the head. The coup de ta in the head from Oswald? 

[Ron Bulman]

On ‎9‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 6:16 PM, Robin Unger said:

J.D.Tippit

Very interesting.  Of the other three photographs, the first is frontal which would not necessarily show this entrance wound on the right side of the head behind the eye and the other two are cropped.  If Tippit was on the ground dead on his back from the first three shots his head would not have likely remained facing straight up but rolled right or left.  Thus the coup de grace shot would have been into the side of the head.  Thank you Mr. Unger.  Your photographs are always much appreciated.  I know you've been educating us for a long time but thanks again for keeping on doing so.  There are so many pictures on your site I get easily lost or distracted looking at more and more of them.

 https://www.jfkassassinationgallery.com/

[David Josephs]

TATUM:   Next. this man with a gun in his hand ran toward the back of the squad car, but instead of running away he stepped into the street and shot the police officer who was lying in the street

Bowley says that he turns Tippit over as he was face down
Clayton says he was covered with a ROYAL BLUE COAT which he removed

How does one shoot a man thru the temple, front to back, if he's face down?  

And why does no one else corroborate these movements?  It had to happen right in front of Markham, Holan, the Wrights, the Davis', Benavidas, Scoggins... etc...

Mr. BELIN - How many shots did you hear all told?
Mr. BENAVIDES - I heard three shots.

Mr. BELIN. How many shots did you hear?
Mr. SCOGGINS. Three or four, in the neighborhood. They was fast.
Mr. BELIN. They were fast shots?
Mr. SCOGGINS. Yes; they were fast.

ELBERT AUSTIN, 8317 Fourth Avenue, Dallas, advised that on the afternoon of November 22, 1963, he was working on a construction job at the intersection of Tenth and Denver Street, Dallas, Texas. He advised he was a brick mason's helper and was assisting in the construction of an apartment house. Me stated sometime after 1:00 PM he was on a scaffold in front of the aforementioned apartment house when he heard approximately two or three shots

JIMMY EARL BURT, General Delivery stated that on November 22, 1963 he was living at 505 E. 10th Street, Dallas, Texas which is the residence of his father—in—law, DAVID SHAEFER. He and a friend WILLIAM SMITH were sitting in his brother, BILLY BURT's house located at the corner of 9th and Denver Streets, Dallas. It was some time after lunch when they heard two gunshots. He and SMITH immediately ran from the house toward his car, a 1952 two—tone blue Ford which was parked facing south on Denver Street. As they ran from the house they heard four more shots making a total of six.

Mr. BALL. What did you hear at that time?
Mr. CALLAWAY. I heard what sounded to me like five pistol shots.
Mr. BALL. Five pistol shots?
Mr. CALLAWAY. Five shots, yes, sir.

FRANK CIMINO, 403 East Tenth Street, Apartment 7, Dallas, Texas, advised that on November 22, 1963, he was residing in an apartment at 405 East Tenth Street. He Stated that at around 1 p.m. he was at his apartment listening to the radio. He heard four loud noises which sounded like shots and then he heard a women scream.  The officer was lying on his side with his head in front of the left front head light of his car. His gun was out of the holster and lying by his side

Mr. DULLES. Plural? How many did you hear?
Mrs. DAVIS. Just two, they were pretty close together. (both sisters say the same thing)

Mr. BALL. How many?
Mr. GUINYARD. I heard three.

FRANCIS KINNETH, 1425 Caidwell, Dallas, Texas, advised he was employed on a construction job at the intersection of Denver and Tenth Street, Dallas, on the afternoon of November 22, 1963. He advised at approximately 1:00 PM he had heard approximately two or three shots

 L. J. LEWIS, 7616 Hums, Pleasant Grove, Texas, advised he is presently self-employed as a wholesale car dealer. LEWIS advised that on the afternoon of November 22, 1963, he was on the used car lot of Johnny Reynolds Used Cars together with HAROLD RUSSELL and PAT PATTERSON, during which time they heard approximately three or four gun shots coming from the vicinity of Tenth and Patton Avenue, Dallas, Texas

 Mr. LIEBELER. How many shots did you hear?
Mr.REYNOLDS. I really have no idea, to be honest with you. I would say four or five or six. I just would have no idea.

Mr. JACK RAY TATUM :  I heard three shots in rapid (illegible)I went right through the intersection, stopped my car and turned to look back. I then saw the officer lying on the street and saw this young white man standing near the front of the squad car. Next. this man with a gun in his hand ran toward the back of the squad car, but instead of running away he stepped into the street and shot the police officer who was lying in the street.

When the shooting began C. Frank Wright was sitting in his living room at 501 E. 10th, close to Jimmy Burt's father-in-law (505 E. 10th), watching television with his wife. As soon as he heard shots Wright jumped up and went outside while his wife called the police. Mary Wright said, "I ran to the telephone .... .! didn't look in the book or anything. I ran to the telephone, picked it up and dialed '0.' I said, 'Call the police, a man's been shot!"' Wright looked west from his porch and saw a police car near 10h & Patton. He watched as the assailant stood over the slain police officer before leaving. 

 

 

 

[John Butler]

On 1/23/2012 at 11:41 PM, Bernice Moore said:

 

I'll come back to this in a moment.

Robin Unger posted this earlier in this piece.  I don't know what to make of it since it, IMO, does not match the autopsy description.

According to Bernice Moore above:

" Examination of the wound of the right temple is =

made. T is found to enter in the right middle cranial fossa, pursues a =

course which is slightly upward, backward, and to the left. There is =

fracturing about the entrance and extensive fractures as it strikes the =

left occipitoparietal bone. It is recovered on this region, 3 inches to =

the left of the midline and approximately 1 inch from the top of the =

head."

The middle cranial fossa is described as:

 

"The middle cranial fossa accommodates the following anatomical structures:

• pituitary gland,
• temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex."

The temporal lobe is located where the temporal bone is.

The wound as described by the autopsy report should be seen this way:

 

An autopsy report must be very precise in location anatomical structures.  

If that is Tippit's head wound in the photo, what do we make of the autopsy report?

And this,

This drawing has the Tippit head wound originating in the Sphenoid bone and ending at the Parietal bone at the top of the skull.  This is also contrary to the autopsy report on the head wound:

" Examination of the wound of the right temple is =

made. T is found to enter in the right middle cranial fossa, pursues a =

course which is slightly upward, backward, and to the left. There is =

fracturing about the entrance and extensive fractures as it strikes the =

left occipitoparietal bone. It is recovered on this region, 3 inches to =

the left of the midline and approximately 1 inch from the top of the =

head."

It would seem the autopsy report is questionable.  The bullet could not have reached to 1 inch of the top of the head if it struck the "left occipitoparietal bone".  It's possible that it could of reached that area after bouncing off the left occipitoparietal bone, which I would think is the boundary between the two.  The report says it was recovered "on this region"

This is what I am saying:

After examining the body wounds, I have concluded they don't make sense either.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by John Butler

[John Butler]

On 1/23/2012 at 11:41 PM, Bernice Moore said:

 

Skip this.

Edited September 30, 2021 by John Butler

[John Butler]

The wound I described above is reminiscent of the Kennedy head wound.  Temple to Occiput.  The tangential shot described by Dr. Kemp Clark.  

Coincidence or something to think about?  This shooting happens within 36 to 45 minutes or so from the Kennedy shooting.  I don't think that is enough time for the information of Kennedy's wound to have spread to the Tippit killer or killers.  I was going to suggest there may have been more than one killer of Tippit based upon his torso wounds.  We can see those in this pic:

 

Tippit's wounds do not appear to be the same.  The abdominal wound described as wound No. 4 appears to be a wound of exit rather than a wound of entrance suggesting a back wound.  However, from it's description in the autopsy, it is a shallow wound without a bullet present.  It was perhaps made from a bullet striking a button or ornamentation.  No. 4 is described as:

"Wound No. 4 is examined. It is found to be superficial and =

penetration of the rib cage is noted. There is hemorrhage beneath the =

abraded and bruised area adjacent to the wound. No missiles are present =

in this area."

I originally thought Tippit may have been shot in the back since he was found face down on his side or stomach.  One witness said he turned him over.  I thought a good question was asked earlier is how Tippit's head wound could be arrived at if he was face down on the ground.  This would imply killers and a back wound.  But, the autopsy info does not recognize that scenario.

Tippit's wound says there was wild shooting at a close distance.  The head wound appears to be a luck shot or one that came later as a coup de grace.  The torso wounds appear to be wild shooting from someone not that experienced as a gunman.

It's not possible to tell whether there was more than one shooter.  The autopsy report does not match earlier thoughts on this matter.  

  

Edited October 1, 2021 by John Butler

[John Butler]

There is something wrong with the Tippit autopsy report

There is still something not quite right about the Tippit autopsy, so I will try to make this clearer.  This mainly concerns bullet wound No. 1.  This was a head wound.  The Unger photo, the initial autopsy description, the head drawing from the autopsy, and the later description in the autopsy appear to disagree about the location of this bullet and its path through the brain.

Here is the Unger photo:

This shows a wound that is not in the right temple area.  The wound pictured is an entrance wound just to the right of the eye/eyebrow which would locate the wound in the Sphenoid bone just off the Zygomatic Arch or cheek bone as shown below.

And, this is also seen in the head wound sketch from the autopsy.

The initial description of this wound matches what is said above.  This description can be read where the large red 1 is found.

All of this is in agreement as to the location/entrance of the wound in Tippit’s head.

As they use to say in Monty Pyhon, “And, now for something completely different”.

The second description of the wound can be found at the large red 2 at the bottom of the page.  This says the wound is a wound of the right temple.  The right temple or temple bone is further to the mid line of the skull and is the region around the ear and not at all near the eye/eybrow/Sphenoid bone. 

Now here is the really screwy/crazy part of this autopsy report.  The language of the autopsy says it is found to enter the right middle cranial fossa.  This description says that the bullet enter the right portion of the skull at the skull base which is the right middle cranial fossa.

This is where the autopsy report says the bullet entered the skull.  Which makes no sense at all in relation to the initial information, photo, and drawing of a forehead wound near the eye/eyebrow.

Futhermore, at the large red 2 there is more to this amazing description involving the brain stem and cerebral peduncles.

It says the course of the missile through the brain is followed and is found to enter the right temporal lobe.  The temporal lobe is just behind the temporal bone and sits, in this case, in the right, middle cranial fossa at the base of the skull. 

So, if this missile/bullet enters the right, middle cranial fossa (at the base of the skull) and then passes through the right temporal lobe where does it go next.

It courses through the brain to the brain stem and severs the cerebral peduncles.  Here is where those brain structures are located.

As you can see this area is nowhere near the Sphenoid bone.  And, the Sphenoid bone is nowhere near the base of the skull.

There is a further complication as to where the missile/bullet ends up.  In the initial description the bullet is said to be 1 inch from the top of the skull.  In the head drawing the route is sketched from the eye/sphenoid area to the top of the skull.

This is not what the last part of the later description says.  It says that the route of the bullet is found to exit from the brain substance in the Calcarine Gyrus at the left of the midline.

A word about sulcus and gyrus definitions.  A sulcus is a depression or fissure.  A gyrus is a raised ridge.  These describe the folds and depressions in the brains surface.

Here is the area of the Calcarine gyrus/and or fissure.  In order to have a Calcarine fissure/sulcus there must be a Calcarine gyrus.

This is certainly not the way the Tippit head wound is portrayed.  Autopsy locations have to be extremely accurate other wise information is lost about what happened to the body.  There is a huge difference between the eye/cheekbone/sphenoid region and the base of the skull.

This description makes absolutely no sense when compared to the way that most people think about how the Tippit head wound occurred.  Shot at the base of the skull moves upward toward the brainstem severing the Cerebral Peduncles and strikes the back of the skull at the occipitoparietal area.

But, this is what Earl Rose’s Tippit Autopsy says.

[John Butler]

On 10/10/2018 at 10:57 AM, David Josephs said:

TATUM:   Next. this man with a gun in his hand ran toward the back of the squad car, but instead of running away he stepped into the street and shot the police officer who was lying in the street

Bowley says that he turns Tippit over as he was face down
Clayton says he was covered with a ROYAL BLUE COAT which he removed

How does one shoot a man thru the temple, front to back, if he's face down?  

And why does no one else corroborate these movements?  It had to happen right in front of Markham, Holan, the Wrights, the Davis', Benavidas, Scoggins... etc...

This is a photo of the Tippit scene after the shooting:

The witness above states he saw no blood from Tippit when he turned the body over.  Tippit was at this point allegedly shot 4 times.  There is some dispute about the head wound at this point.  There should have been blood from at least 3 or 4 gunshot wounds.  I believe someone said earlier that Tippit's head was behind the front driver's side wheel face down.  If so, there should be blood there or near the tire.  There doesn't appear to be the case.

If Tippit did fall near the tire or close, then this photo gives credibility to the witness statement above about seeing no blood.   If the stain on the payment near the officer's feet is blood, then Tippit's patrol car was moved.   If the patrol car was moved, then why?  Another problem is:

"How does one shoot a man thru the temple, front to back, if he's face down?"

That question is the first problem with the head wound leading one to believe that something else occurred.  I believe no one really saw Tippit being shot in the head.  From what we learned in reading the Tippit autopsy report by Dr. Earl Rose will strengthened this question in bold print.  It will call into question was Tippit shot in the head at the murder scene.

The witnesses at the scene reported a variable number of shots.  There could have been 3, 4, 5, or more as reported by various witnesses.  This is enough for 3 or 4 wounds.  Is it enough for 5?  Once again, there is something wrong with the Tippit autopsy report.  Dr. Earl Rose gave two descriptions of gunshot wound no. 1, the head wound.  If these two descriptions are correct, then there were 5 wounds suffered by the Tippit body.  Was one suffered postmortem?  This one:

   

Edited December 30, 2021 by John Butler

[David Andrews]

On 9/30/2021 at 8:38 PM, John Butler said:

. 

The torso wounds appear to be wild shooting from someone not that experienced as a gunman.

 

It's possible Tippit's body flailed involuntarily after the first shot.  There's one near-center mass shot, below the heart and right of the midline.  This is the enlarged entrance where a bullet struck Tippit's brass uniform button and drove it into the wound.  That may have been the first torso shot, the others made as Tippit reacted.  That center/midline hit points to a confident gunman, or at least one too close to miss.  All the shots aimed at the torso hit it.  Perhaps the leftmost shot was made as Tippit was twisting to his left while falling. 

Edited December 31, 2021 by David Andrews

[John Butler]

David,

Could be.  The center shot that hit the brass button would be like being hit with a baseball bat full swing.  It could have twisted or distorted Tippit's body so that the other two shots were not center mass.  I haven't studied these in the autopsy report.  What is more interesting to me is the shot to Tippit's forehead area.  This shot is not in the right temple as described.  Earl Rose knew better.  And, if he didn't then, he should never have been given a medical certificate.  This is a wound to an area of the head known as the Sphenoid Bone jus to the right of the eye socket.  The Temporal Bone/Temporal Lobe area of the skull and brain are around the ear and further to the right of the Sphenoid.

Earl Rose was corrupt and falsified the autopsy findings.  He gave an autopsy report that fit the crime of someone executing Officer Tippit, or at least the impression of that since no one reads autopsy reports in full, if a brief, clear-cut answer is provided up front.

Having said that, I think folks are having a hard time coming to a conclusion like that, or understanding, or believing such.  It is a radical view of the autopsy report.  Let me say here I am not saying this.  The autopsy report is saying that. 

I am going to go back over that and see if I can make what I understand clearer on what Earl Rose actually said.  He gave two different descriptions of the head shot wound of Officer Tippit.  Only one of which is true.

The Tippit head shot has been called into question.  David Joseph's first did this with this thread in 2102.  He noted how does one get damage to the back of the head if Officer Tippit was lying face down.  Dr. Liquori described only 3 wounds at Methodist Hospital.  A head wound was not mentioned.  A later Dec. 29, 1963 FBI report has Dr. Liquori describing a head wound.  How creditable was the FBI during this period?  That should have been Rose in that report.  Did the FBI notice that problem?  

 

 

[David Andrews]

John, I amended my post above for clarity of purpose.

I agree, the autopsy notes mentioning the middle fossa are odd compared to the cadaver photographs. the wound diagram and the declared position of the body.

If the bullet traveled "slightly upward, [and] backward and left" [my insertion], that track would better correspond to a contact wound fired into a face-up skull.  But a shot to Tippit's right side would be better made by a right-handed person if he were face down.  Angle of entry had to be a factor for the rearward travel either way. (If face-down, the gunman was lucky the bullet didn't exit the back of the skull and hit him.) 

I know, this doesn't alleviate the irritating middle fossa notation.  Being that the eyes are below the frontal lobe, the wound track leading to the back of the brain may be on borderline of the middle fossa.

Edited December 31, 2021 by David Andrews

[John Butler]

David,

The Rose autopsy of Officer Tippit indicates there were 5 gunshot wounds rather than 4.  The problem with this is there is not 5 entrance wounds.  We see only 4 in the autopsy photos.

  

What we see here is the forehead area wound of Tippit.  The wound that has been questioned.  On the montage above I have labeled this No. 1.  No. 2 is a crease or fold in the neck of Tippit below his chin.  This area is extremely dark and shows up that way in all photos.  I did think at one time this was important because it could be cosmetic surgery disguising a wound of entrance.  But, It could simply be a fold in his neck skin and of no importance for looking for an extra gunshot wound.  The angle from that fold to Tippit's brainstem seems extreme for the autopsy description.  So, I discount that altogether as a disguised wound.  

That leaves someone sticking a gun in Tippit's mouth and firing it.  The wound would be hidden and the angle appears to be right for the autopsy description.  The bullet did bounce once off the skull bone in the skull according to Rose.  This indicates a low velocity weapon.  A .38 Special is capable of penetrating the skull and exiting the skull.  I looked that up on the internet.  The .38 Special is a stronger round so I think that is correct.  Although, I do have doubts.

The cranial fossae, front, middle, and rear are the bones that are at the bottom of the skull and hold the brain into the skull.  Rose clearly states that "it" entered the right middle cranial fossa.  Two things are important here.  "It" obviously refers to the bullet or wound track of the bullet.  And, the right middle cranial fossa is at the bottom of the skull and not up around the eye socket. 

"If the bullet traveled "slightly upward, [and] backward and left" [my insertion], that track would better correspond to a contact wound fired into a face-up skull.  But a shot to Tippit's right side would be better made by a right-handed person if he were face down.  Angle of entry had to be a factor for the rearward travel either way. (If face-down, the gunman was lucky the bullet didn't exit the back of the skull and hit him."

I consideread at one point a ricochet from the visible wound at the right side of the skull to the front part or left side of the skull to the rear.  But, sticking with the old Monk the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

Rose was corrupt.  He gave the Dallas Police what they wanted.  And, this was back upped by the FBI in a report of 11-29-63 in which they have Dr. Liquori describing the head wound that he didn't mention earlier. on 11-22-63.  

The biggest problem here is that someone, maybe Rose and co., could have shot Tippet in the head postmortem.  There is slight but, relevant information to perhaps suggest this. 

  

Edited December 31, 2021 by John Butler

[John Butler]

2 hours ago, David Andrews said:

If the bullet traveled "slightly upward, [and] backward and left" [my insertion], that track would better correspond to a contact wound fired into a face-up skull.  But a shot to Tippit's right side would be better made by a right-handed person if he were face down.  Angle of entry had to be a factor for the rearward travel either way. (If face-down, the gunman was lucky the bullet didn't exit the back of the skull and hit him.) 

Skip this.

Why?  This editor has problems posting multiple quotes.