Nellie Connally Destroys the Single-Bullet Theory

[Michael Griffith]

When Nellie Connally, wife of Governor John Connally, testified before the Warren Commission (WC), she destroyed the single-bullet theory (SBT). She explained that she heard a disturbing noise, turned, and saw JFK clutching at his throat, before she even heard the shot that hit her husband. She had time to notice that JFK was grabbing his throat and time to process the expression on JFK’s face. Then, after turning and seeing these things, she heard a second shot and could see that it hit her husband. She was certain her husband was not hit by the same shot that hit JFK.

Her testimony powerfully confirms how and when JFK reacts to his first bullet wound in the Zapruder film. The HSCA’s Photographic Evidence Panel (PEP) noted the clear indications that JFK begins to react to a “severe external stimulus” at Z200. His waving motion freezes; he begins to turn his head rapidly to the left; and Jackie Kennedy starts to turn her head rapidly to the right to look at JFK. The PEP also noted other evidence of this shot and correctly concluded that it was fired at or before Z190 (probably at right around Z186).

The PEP finding dovetails perfectly with Nellie Connally’s testimony, and also with John Connally’s testimony. The governor was certain he was not hit before Z234, and the Zapruder film confirms this. Now let us read Mrs. Connally’s testimony.

Nellie Connally to the WC:

          Mrs. CONNALLY. Then I don’t know how soon, it seems to me it was very soon, that I heard a noise, and not being an expert rifleman, I was not aware that it was a rifle. It was just a frightening noise, and it came from the right. I turned over my right shoulder and looked back, and saw the President as he had both hands at his neck.

          Mr. SPECTER. And you are indicating with your own hands, two hands crossing over gripping your own neck?

          Mrs. CONNALLY. Yes, and it seemed to me there was--he made no utterance, no cry. I saw no blood, no anything. It was just sort of nothing, the expression on his face, and he just sort of slumped down.

          Then very soon there was the second shot that hit John. As the first shot was hit, and I turned to look at the same time, I recall John saying, “Oh, no, no, no.” Then there was a second shot, and it hit John, and as he recoiled to the right, just crumpled like a wounded animal to the right, he said, “My God, they are going to kill us all.” (4 H 147)

Fourteen years later, Nellie Connally gave an almost identical account to the HSCA:

          Mrs. CONNALLY. I heard--you know how we were seated in the car, the President and Mrs. Kennedy, John was in front of the President and I was seated in front of Mrs. Kennedy--I heard a noise that I didn't think of as a gunshot. I just heard a disturbing noise and turned to my right from where I thought the noise had come and looked in the back and saw the President clutch his neck with both hands.

          He said nothing. He just sort of slumped down in the seat. John had turned to his right also when we heard that first noise and shouted, "no, no, no," and in the process of turning back around so that he could look back and see the President--I don't think he could see him when he turned to his right--the second shot was fired and hit him. He was in the process of turning, so it hit him through this shoulder, came out right about here. His hand was either right in front of him or on his knee as he turned to look so that the bullet went through him, crushed his wrist and lodged in his leg. And then he just recoiled and just sort of slumped in his seat. I thought he was dead. (1 HSCA 41-42) 

The HSCA’s Forensic Pathology Panel (FPP) claimed that John Connally was hit by the same bullet that struck JFK at around Z190 but could not explain why he did not drop his hat if a bullet had just torn through his wrist. The Zapruder film shows Connally still holding his hat in Z230, some 40 frames, or 2.2 seconds, after JFK was hit. As Dr. Cyril Wecht noted in his dissent to the FPP’s report: 

          Wecht exhibit 6 shows JBC firmly clutching his hat. This is . . . after he is alleged to have been shot through the chest, right wrist, and into his left thigh. Indeed, the FPP states that they were surprised that although lie lead suffered the injury to his wrist, lie did not drop his hat. The panel should not only be surprised, but incredulous. If they were not so slavishly dedicated to defending the Warren Commission report (WCR), and the previous opinions submitted by two of the panel members, Dr. James Weston and Dr. Werner Spitz, they would have interpreted this picture correctly and accepted it for what it obviously and clearly demonstrates. . . . (7 HSCA 199)

 

Edited June 8, 2023 by Michael Griffith

[Michael Crane]

I'm thinking that JFK also gets shot in the back while behind the sign.

[Benjamin Cole]

1 hour ago, Michael Griffith said:

When Nellie Connally, wife of Governor John Connally, testified before the Warren Commission (WC), she destroyed the single-bullet theory (SBT). She explained that she heard a disturbing noise, turned, and saw JFK clutching at his throat, before she even heard the shot that hit her husband. She had time to notice that JFK was grabbing his throat and time to process the expression on JFK’s face. Then, after turning and seeing these things, she heard a second shot and could see that it hit her husband. She was certain her husband was not hit by the same shot that hit JFK.

Her testimony powerfully confirms how and when JFK reacts to his first bullet wound in the Zapruder film. The HSCA’s Photographic Evidence Panel (PEP) noted the clear indications that JFK begins to react to a “severe external stimulus” at Z200. His waving motion freezes; he begins to turn his head rapidly to the left; and Jackie Kennedy starts to turn her head rapidly to the right to look at JFK. The PEP also noted other evidence of this shot and correctly concluded that it was fired at or before Z190 (probably at right around Z186).

The PEP finding dovetails perfectly with Nellie Connally’s testimony, and also with John Connally’s testimony. The governor was certain he was not hit before Z234, and the Zapruder film confirms this. Now let us read Mrs. Connally’s testimony.

Nellie Connally to the WC:

          Mrs. CONNALLY. Then I don’t know how soon, it seems to me it was very soon, that I heard a noise, and not being an expert rifleman, I was not aware that it was a rifle. It was just a frightening noise, and it came from the right. I turned over my right shoulder and looked back, and saw the President as he had both hands at his neck.

          Mr. SPECTER. And you are indicating with your own hands, two hands crossing over gripping your own neck?

          Mrs. CONNALLY. Yes, and it seemed to me there was--he made no utterance, no cry. I saw no blood, no anything. It was just sort of nothing, the expression on his face, and he just sort of slumped down.

          Then very soon there was the second shot that hit John. As the first shot was hit, and I turned to look at the same time, I recall John saying, “Oh, no, no, no.” Then there was a second shot, and it hit John, and as he recoiled to the right, just crumpled like a wounded animal to the right, he said, “My God, they are going to kill us all.” (4 H 147)

Fourteen years later, Nellie Connally gave an almost identical account to the HSCA:

          Mrs. CONNALLY. I heard--you know how we were seated in the car, the President and Mrs. Kennedy, John was in front of the President and I was seated in front of Mrs. Kennedy--I heard a noise that I didn't think of as a gunshot. I just heard a disturbing noise and turned to my right from where I thought the noise had come and looked in the back and saw the President clutch his neck with both hands.

          He said nothing. He just sort of slumped down in the seat. John had turned to his right also when we heard that first noise and shouted, "no, no, no," and in the process of turning back around so that he could look back and see the President--I don't think he could see him when he turned to his right--the second shot was fired and hit him. He was in the process of turning, so it hit him through this shoulder, came out right about here. His hand was either right in front of him or on his knee as he turned to look so that the bullet went through him, crushed his wrist and lodged in his leg. And then he just recoiled and just sort of slumped in his seat. I thought he was dead. (1 HSCA 41-42) 

The HSCA’s Forensic Pathology Panel (FPP) claimed that John Connally was hit by the same bullet that struck JFK at around Z190 but could not explain why he did not drop his hat if a bullet had just torn through his wrist. The Zapruder film shows Connally still holding his hat in Z230, some 40 frames, or 2.2 seconds, after JFK was hit. As Dr. Cyril Wecht noted in his dissent to the FPP’s report: 

          Wecht exhibit 6 shows JBC firmly clutching his hat. This is . . . after he is alleged to have been shot through the chest, right wrist, and into his left thigh. Indeed, the FPP states that they were surprised that although lie lead suffered the injury to his wrist, lie did not drop his hat. The panel should not only be surprised, but incredulous. If they were not so slavishly dedicated to defending the Warren Commission report (WCR), and the previous opinions submitted by two of the panel members, Dr. James Weston and Dr. Werner Spitz, they would have interpreted this picture correctly and accepted it for what it obviously and clearly demonstrates (7 HSCA 199)

 

Exactly. JBC's and Nellie's testimony is not consistent with the SBT.

But the matter is even simpler than that.

JBC testified he was "pushed forward" by the bullet that struck him. That happens ~Z295.  The bullet met a lot of resistance, taking out a long section of a rib. So the bullet pushed JBC forward 

JFK is shot at Z313.

The Z-film runs at 18 frames per second. 

Do the math. 

[Michael Griffith]

On 6/7/2023 at 7:47 PM, Benjamin Cole said:

Exactly. JBC's and Nellie's testimony is not consistent with the SBT.

But the matter is even simpler than that.

JBC testified he was "pushed forward" by the bullet that struck him. That happens ~Z295.  The bullet met a lot of resistance, taking out a long section of a rib. So the bullet pushed JBC forward 

JFK is shot at Z313.

The Z-film runs at 18 frames per second. 

Do the math. 

Starting at Z238, Connally's right shoulder collapses and his cheeks puff. Connally said he "felt the blow" when the bullet him, and he added that he could not imagine how the bullet that hit him was the first shot:

          It is not conceivable to me that I could have been hit by the first bullet, and then I felt the blow from something which was obviously a bullet, which I assumed was a bullet. . . .

On 6/7/2023 at 7:31 PM, Michael Crane said:

I'm thinking that JFK also gets shot in the back while behind the sign.

Beginning at Z226, Kennedy's body is visibly jolted sharply forward, and the position of his hands and elbows--particularly his elbows--changes dramatically, as they are flung upward and forward. The force and speed of these movements of his arms and elbows are quite startling when one compares Z226, where they are first discernible, to Z232 just 1/3-second later.

Although the WC, and to a great extent the HSCA, ignored these movements, they are among the most dramatic and visible reactions in the entire Zapruder film.

This shot probably hit him at Z224, at least 34 frames after he was first hit at/just before Z190. The Z190 shot was the throat shot, which is why he started grabbing his throat. The Z224 shot was the back shot, which is why he was knocked visibly forward. 

Edited June 9, 2023 by Michael Griffith

[Benjamin Cole]

JBC said after the first audible shot he turned to look over his own right shoulder, but was unable to see JFK, and then began to turn forward to prepare to look over his own left shoulder.

But before JBC could look over his own left shoulder, he was struck. He was pushed forward by the blow of the bullet.

That happens ~Z295. 

Some posit (including DVP) that after being shot through the chest, JBC turns around and looks over his right shoulder for JFK. 

I dismiss this as likely impossible. 

You may wish to re-examine your timeline. 

Would JBC, after being shot through the chest---a shot he described as immediately incapacitating  (yes, of course)---then turn around to look for JFK?

 

 

 

[David Von Pein]

1 hour ago, Benjamin Cole said:

Some posit (including DVP) that after being shot through the chest, JBC turns around and looks over his right shoulder for JFK. 

Virtually ALL lone-assassin supporters posit that very thing, including the Warren Commission. And that's because Connally has obviously been shot by the time he completely turns around to stare into JFK's face. Only selected CTers believe otherwise.

http://jfk-archives.blogspot.com/2015/01/jfk-assassination-arguments-part-887.html

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by David Von Pein

[Benjamin Cole]

1 hour ago, David Von Pein said:

Virtually ALL lone-assassin believers posit that very thing. And that's because Connally has obviously been shot by the time he completely turns around to stare into JFK's face. Only selected CTers believe otherwise.

http://jfk-archives.blogspot.com/2015/01/jfk-assassination-arguments-part-887.html

 

Well, we are worlds apart on this one. 

It stretches credulity that after being shot through the chest, by a bullet that took out several inches of rib, and left a large hole in his chest front, that then JBC turned around to look at JFK.

JBC testified he was pushed forward by the bullet that struck him, and was immediately incapacitated. That is very credible. 

We know the JBC bullet was not tumbling when it struck JBC---the LN'ers often argue the SBT was tumbling when it struck JBC, due to having passed through JFK's neck and being tweaked. 

However, I have presented a photo of JBC's shirt worn that day, which reveals a small round bullet hole in the rear of JBC's shirt. 

Arlen Specter is, of course, the inventor on the SBT. 

You have to understand Spector's role---he was a lawyer hired to present the government's case, that LHO was a lone assassin, armed with a single-shot bolt-action rifle, that he fired three shots, and that one shot entirely missed the limo (possibly striking the curb by Tague). 

Specter argued backwards from that awkward premise, and presented the best case that a very smart lawyer could present. 

Amazingly, even HSCA counsel Blakey and pathologist Michael Baden thought the bullet that struck JBC had tumbled first, and so argued that SBT must be true. 

But...IMHO, separate bullets struck JFK and JBC.  See the small round hole in JBC's shirt, and JBC's testimony under oath. 

 

 

[David Von Pein]

16 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

IMHO, separate bullets struck JFK and JBC.

I'll humbly choose to disagree.

http://jfk-archives.blogspot.com / The SBT In Action

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by David Von Pein

[Benjamin Cole]

2 minutes ago, David Von Pein said:

I'll humbly choose to disagree.

http://jfk-archives.blogspot.com/ The SBT In Action

 

Show a few more frames. 

JBC does a 180-degree turn in his seat in the next few frames, and you see the left profile of JBC's face for several frames. 

Then JBC begins to turn forward, and is pushed forward ~Z295. 

[David Von Pein]

I put this together myself, using the individual Costella frames:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8UwZ588YcqIc3hRRHluY2NmR2c/view

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by David Von Pein

[Benjamin Cole]

You have the last word. 

[David Von Pein]

1 hour ago, Benjamin Cole said:

You have the last word. 

Nah. You can have it. Be my guest.

But no matter who gets the last word in any forum thread, the SBT will still be true. 😛

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by David Von Pein

[Benjamin Cole]

Connally: "I was knocked over, just doubled over by the force of the bullet. It went in my back and came out my chest about 2 inches below and the left of my right nipple. The force of the bullet drove my body over almost double and when I looked, immediately I could see I was just drenched with blood." (1 HSCA 42)

Well, that is what JBC said. 

As the bullet that struck JBC from behind then plowed along a rib for several inches, it met resistance, unlike a bullet that misses any bone and presents only a flesh wound.

I would say JBC was a credible witness, and was very much not a CT'er, at least in public. 

[David Von Pein]

3 hours ago, Benjamin Cole said:

"I was knocked over, just doubled over by the force of the bullet." [-- John Connally]

And at what point in the Z-Film does Gov. Connally exhibit anything remotely close to that type of physical reaction?

Answer: He doesn't.

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by David Von Pein

[Benjamin Cole]

7 minutes ago, David Von Pein said:

And at what point in the Z-Film does Gov. Connally exhibit anything remotely close to that type of physical reaction?

Answer: He doesn't.

 

What would you call ~Z295?