Post by Michael Capasse on Jan 20, 2021 11:11:36 GMT -5
Fingerprint File
The assassination of Pres. John F. Kennedy occurred at about 12:30p (Dallas time) on Nov. 22, 1963.
Almost immediately it was determined shot(s) had been fired from the 6th floor of the TSBD in Dealey Plaza.
In the initial moments of the event, the assassin wiped the gun with his shirt, then took it to the opposite corner of the floor.
There he hid the rifle under some boxes, and proceeded down the nearby stairs, and eventually out the building.
Allegedly, the murder weapon, three shells, and a long paper sack were left behind by Lee Harvey Oswald on that black Friday.
He worked in the building amongst those boxes, so any fingerprints in and around that snipers nest means very little toward his guilt.
However, faint traces of two fingerprints were found on the metal housing by the trigger of the rifle, and a partial palm print,
of the ulnar side of the right palm, was on the underside of the barrel. These prints were allegedly lifted on 11/22, but not revealed
until 11/29, five days after Lee Oswald was dead. No identifiable prints were found on the shells or the hand loaded magazine clip.
The first fingerprint expert to handle the rifle was Lt J.C. Day of the Dallas Police Dept. The Lieutenant was with the force for 23 years,
"... The past 7 years I have been--I have had immediate supervision of the crime-scene search section.
It is our responsibility to go to the scene of the crime, take photographs, check for fingerprints, collect any other evidence
that might be available, and primarily we are to assist the investigators with certain technical parts of the investigation...."
"... In the matter of fingerprints, I have been assigned to the identification bureau 15 years.
During that time I have attended schools, the Texas Department of Public Safety, on fingerprinting; also an advanced latent-print
school conducted in Dallas by the FBI. I have also had other schooling with the Texas Department of Public Safety and in the local
department on crime-scene search and general investigative work...."
Yet the failure to submit the proper evidence by this veteran officer, casts serious suspicion on the Dallas Police Dept.
FBI SA Vincent Drain was at the station that day from around 3pm, until just about midnight when he left for DC with the weapon.
It is unbelievable that Day said nothing to this man about this important identifiable confirmation handling the rifle.
Then, when all was gathered, and without DPD present, was flown to Washington for further examination without it.
Once in Washington, the rifle was given to, Sebastian Latona, the fingerprint expert at the FBI laboratory.
Latona testified on April 2nd, '64, as the Supervisor of the Latent Fingerprint Section of the Identification Division.
He had been with the FBI for about 32 years and had done "millions" of latent fingerprint comparisons.
[latent print means, left without intent, as opposed to an "inked print", showing all characteristics of an intended fingerprint]
When Latona began examining the rifle(11/23) it had a section of cellophane placed over an area on or near the trigger guard.
Upon closer examination Sebastian found "...certain latent prints available visible under that area ..."
He paid closest attention to the area under the cellophane, around the trigger guard, but he was not aware of any other prints.
Lt Day did not protect these further prints with any cellophane, nor did he provide any notes or documentation about any other print.
Latona,"...I also had one of the firearms examiners dismantle the weapon and I processed the complete weapon, all parts, everything else.
And no latent prints of value were developed."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LT J.C. Day | WC Testimony
Mr. BELIN. What other processing did you do with this particular rifle?
Mr. DAY. I took it to the office and tried to bring out the two prints I had seen on the side of the gun at the bookstore.
They still were rather unclear. Due to the roughness of the metal, I photographed them rather than try to lift them.
I could also see a trace of a print on the side of the barrel that extended under the wood stock. I started to take the wood stock
off and noted traces of a palmprint near the firing end of the barrel about 3 inches under the wood-stock when I took the wood stock loose.
Mr. BELIN. You mean 3 inches from the small end of the wood stock?
Mr. DAY. Right--yes, sir.
Mr. McCLOY. From the firing end of the barrel, you mean the muzzle?
Mr. DAY. The muzzle; yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Let me clarify the record. By that you mean you found it on the metal or you mean you found it on the wood?
Mr. DAY. On the metal, after removing the wood.
Mr. BELIN. The wood. You removed the wood, and then underneath the wood is where you found the print?
Mr. DAY. On the bottom side of the barrel which was covered by the wood, I found traces of a palmprint.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sebastian Latona | WC Testimony
Representative BOGGS. And the witness has also certified that those are Oswald's prints?
Mr. LATONA. No; I cannot certify to that.
Mr. EISENBERG. Do you want to explain that?
Mr. LATONA. As I am not the one that fingerprinted Oswald, I cannot tell from my own personal knowledge that those
are actually the fingerprints of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Mr. EISENBERG. But you can certify that those prints are identical with the prints on the card which bears
the name of Lee Harvey Oswald which was furnished to you?
Mr. LATONA. That is right.
Mr. EISENBERG. We will get other evidence in the record at a subsequent time to show those were the prints of Oswald.
Mr. Latona, you were saying that you had worked over that rifle by applying a gray powder to it. Did you develop any fingerprints?
Mr. LATONA. I was not successful in developing any prints at all on the weapon.
I also had one of the firearms examiners dismantle the weapon and I processed the complete weapon, all parts, everything else.
And no latent prints of value were developed.
The assassination of Pres. John F. Kennedy occurred at about 12:30p (Dallas time) on Nov. 22, 1963.
Almost immediately it was determined shot(s) had been fired from the 6th floor of the TSBD in Dealey Plaza.
In the initial moments of the event, the assassin wiped the gun with his shirt, then took it to the opposite corner of the floor.
There he hid the rifle under some boxes, and proceeded down the nearby stairs, and eventually out the building.
Allegedly, the murder weapon, three shells, and a long paper sack were left behind by Lee Harvey Oswald on that black Friday.
He worked in the building amongst those boxes, so any fingerprints in and around that snipers nest means very little toward his guilt.
However, faint traces of two fingerprints were found on the metal housing by the trigger of the rifle, and a partial palm print,
of the ulnar side of the right palm, was on the underside of the barrel. These prints were allegedly lifted on 11/22, but not revealed
until 11/29, five days after Lee Oswald was dead. No identifiable prints were found on the shells or the hand loaded magazine clip.
The first fingerprint expert to handle the rifle was Lt J.C. Day of the Dallas Police Dept. The Lieutenant was with the force for 23 years,
"... The past 7 years I have been--I have had immediate supervision of the crime-scene search section.
It is our responsibility to go to the scene of the crime, take photographs, check for fingerprints, collect any other evidence
that might be available, and primarily we are to assist the investigators with certain technical parts of the investigation...."
"... In the matter of fingerprints, I have been assigned to the identification bureau 15 years.
During that time I have attended schools, the Texas Department of Public Safety, on fingerprinting; also an advanced latent-print
school conducted in Dallas by the FBI. I have also had other schooling with the Texas Department of Public Safety and in the local
department on crime-scene search and general investigative work...."
Yet the failure to submit the proper evidence by this veteran officer, casts serious suspicion on the Dallas Police Dept.
FBI SA Vincent Drain was at the station that day from around 3pm, until just about midnight when he left for DC with the weapon.
It is unbelievable that Day said nothing to this man about this important identifiable confirmation handling the rifle.
Then, when all was gathered, and without DPD present, was flown to Washington for further examination without it.
Once in Washington, the rifle was given to, Sebastian Latona, the fingerprint expert at the FBI laboratory.
Latona testified on April 2nd, '64, as the Supervisor of the Latent Fingerprint Section of the Identification Division.
He had been with the FBI for about 32 years and had done "millions" of latent fingerprint comparisons.
[latent print means, left without intent, as opposed to an "inked print", showing all characteristics of an intended fingerprint]
When Latona began examining the rifle(11/23) it had a section of cellophane placed over an area on or near the trigger guard.
Upon closer examination Sebastian found "...certain latent prints available visible under that area ..."
He paid closest attention to the area under the cellophane, around the trigger guard, but he was not aware of any other prints.
Lt Day did not protect these further prints with any cellophane, nor did he provide any notes or documentation about any other print.
Latona,"...I also had one of the firearms examiners dismantle the weapon and I processed the complete weapon, all parts, everything else.
And no latent prints of value were developed."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LT J.C. Day | WC Testimony
Mr. BELIN. What other processing did you do with this particular rifle?
Mr. DAY. I took it to the office and tried to bring out the two prints I had seen on the side of the gun at the bookstore.
They still were rather unclear. Due to the roughness of the metal, I photographed them rather than try to lift them.
I could also see a trace of a print on the side of the barrel that extended under the wood stock. I started to take the wood stock
off and noted traces of a palmprint near the firing end of the barrel about 3 inches under the wood-stock when I took the wood stock loose.
Mr. BELIN. You mean 3 inches from the small end of the wood stock?
Mr. DAY. Right--yes, sir.
Mr. McCLOY. From the firing end of the barrel, you mean the muzzle?
Mr. DAY. The muzzle; yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN. Let me clarify the record. By that you mean you found it on the metal or you mean you found it on the wood?
Mr. DAY. On the metal, after removing the wood.
Mr. BELIN. The wood. You removed the wood, and then underneath the wood is where you found the print?
Mr. DAY. On the bottom side of the barrel which was covered by the wood, I found traces of a palmprint.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sebastian Latona | WC Testimony
Representative BOGGS. And the witness has also certified that those are Oswald's prints?
Mr. LATONA. No; I cannot certify to that.
Mr. EISENBERG. Do you want to explain that?
Mr. LATONA. As I am not the one that fingerprinted Oswald, I cannot tell from my own personal knowledge that those
are actually the fingerprints of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Mr. EISENBERG. But you can certify that those prints are identical with the prints on the card which bears
the name of Lee Harvey Oswald which was furnished to you?
Mr. LATONA. That is right.
Mr. EISENBERG. We will get other evidence in the record at a subsequent time to show those were the prints of Oswald.
Mr. Latona, you were saying that you had worked over that rifle by applying a gray powder to it. Did you develop any fingerprints?
Mr. LATONA. I was not successful in developing any prints at all on the weapon.
I also had one of the firearms examiners dismantle the weapon and I processed the complete weapon, all parts, everything else.
And no latent prints of value were developed.