No fingerprints on the cartridges?

[Steve Thomas]

3 spent cartridges on the floor of the Texas School Book Depository.

1 live round in the rifle - that makes 4

4 cartridges recovered at the scene of Tippit's shooting - that makes 8

5 rounds found in Oswald's pocket - that makes 13

a fully loaded revolver with 6 rounds - that makes 19

On 19 bullets or cartridges, Oswald's fingerprints were not found on a single one of them?

Was anyone's prints found on any of them?

Doesn't that seem odd?

Steve Thomas

[John Crites]

What seems just as odd is that Oswald would leave 3 spent shells lying right by the window but take the time to hide the rifle - wedging it between boxes and cleaning it of prints before making that Olympic dash down the stairs.

[Ron Ecker]

Plus I understand that Oswald had three wallets, useful for leaving at crime scenes. I'm sure his fingerprints were all over those. (Not meaning to change the subject from cartridges to wallets, just wondering how stupid do they think we are.)

[Robert Prudhomme]

Well, I can see the three empty cartridges being cleaned of fingerprints before he departed the 6th floor (I know, John, I know; much simpler just to stick them in his pocket, right? LOL) but the one that puzzles me is the live cartridge that was found in the chamber of the rifle by the DPD. Did he wear gloves while loading the cartridges into the clip?

Also, what about fingerprints on the clip itself? It apparently did not fall out of the magazine until the rifle was halfway to DPD headquarters. How did he wipe the prints off of it?

Edited May 3, 2016 by Robert Prudhomme

[Ron Ecker]

I think the best explanation is from the person who said that Oswald had "the fingerprints of intelligence" all over him.

[Steve Thomas]

Well, I can see the three empty cartridges being cleaned of fingerprints before he departed the 6th floor (I know, John, I know; much simpler just to stick them in his pocket, right? LOL) but the one that puzzles me is the live cartridge that was found in the chamber of the rifle by the DPD. Did he wear gloves while loading the cartridges into the clip?

Also, what about fingerprints on the clip itself? It apparently did not fall out of the magazine until the rifle was halfway to DPD headquarters. How did he wipe the prints off of it?

Robert,

According to Day's WC testimony, both the empty shells and the live round were tested for fingerprints, and no prints at all were found.

http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/day1.htm

Mr. DAY. Were taken, I processed these three hulls (found at the TSBD) for fingerprints, using a powder. Mr. Sims picked them up by the ends and handed them to me. I processed each of the three; did not find fingerprints.

Mr. BELIN. Could you tell us what exactly you did in testing those hulls for fingerprints?

Mr. DAY. I used fingerprint powder, dusted them with the powder, a dark powder. No legible prints were found.

Mr. DAY. Captain Fritz took possession of it. I retained possession of the rifle.

Mr. BELIN. Did you process this live round at all for prints?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; I did. I did not find any prints.

Mr. DAY. There was one other article released with this, an envelope containing the three negatives I made of the prints on the side of the magazine housing of that 6.5 rifle, which I did not definitely identify as belonging to Oswald.

While, in his testimony, Day refers once to the clip, he does not specifically say he dusted it for prints. He mentions testing the side of the magazine housing and all other metallic surfaces, but not specifically the clip.

Mr. BELIN. Do you carry any equipment of any kind with you when you go there?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. We have a station wagon equipped with fingerprint equipment, cameras, containers, various other articles that might be needed at the scene of the crime.

Mr. STUDEBAKER. Lieutenant Day and I answered the call.

Mr. BALL. What equipment did you take with you?

Mr. STUDEBAKER. We took our camera and fingerprint kits and our truck. We have a truck that is equipped with all that stuff - a station wagon.

W.E. Barnes first reported to the TSBD, but when the report came over that Tippitt was shot, he was dispatched there. He had the equipment for doing so, and said he tested Tippitt's car for prints, but does not say he tested the shells for prints.

In Poe's WC testimony he says that he gave the hulls to Barnes of the Crime Search Section.

Mr. BALL. What did you do with the hulls?

Mr. POE. I turned the hulls into the crime lab, which was at the scene.

Mr. BALL. Did you save the Winston cigarette package?

Mr. POE. I turned it in with the two cartridges.

Mr. BALL. To the crime lab?

Mr. POE. Yes, sir.

I wonder if the "crime lab" that Poe refers to was the station wagon that Day and Studebaker mention.

I haven't seen any reference so far that the live shells found in Oswald's revolver, or the live shells that were supposedly found in his pocket were tested for prints.

Just as an aside, I wonder who the guy in the brown jacket was, seen by "6 or 7 witnesses", fleeing the scene of Tippitt's shooting by running away east (in the opposite direction of the Texas Theater) up the alley between Tenth and Jefferson.

http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/21/2195-001.gif

Steve Thomas