Zeroing in on JFK's Fatal Head Shot (PDF)

Zeroing in on JFK's fatal head shot
Larry Rivera © 05/31/16
The occipitoparietal , which is a part of the back of the head, had a huge flap. The
damage a rifle bullet does as it comes out of a person's body is unbelievable.
Dr. Malcolm Perry Saturday Evening Post 12/14/63
Dr. David Mantik, M.D., PhD, has published the definitive study which locates the so-called
Harper Fragment in the rear of JFK's skull, the occipitoparietal area. These two images, from
Dr. Mantik's book John F. Kennedy's head wounds, a final synthesis - and a new analysis of
the Harper Fragment illustrate the exact location where a massive blowout in the back of the
head was observed by more than 20 witnesses at Parkland Hospital and Bethesda Hospital,
among them seven trained doctors who were used to dealing with gunshot wounds on a daily
basis.1

Two working hypothesis
In order to ascertain how the Harper Fragment and its corresponding defect was produced, it
is necessary to establish two distinct hypothesis, which should in turn allow us to study and
possibly determine the origin of the shot that caused it. The two hypothesis covered in this
paper are:
1. The shot over JFK's right eye and brow ridge, near the hairline, which appears to line up
with the location of the exit wound established by Dr. Mantik.
2. Its upward trajectory, based on the position and forward tilt of the President and the
limousine on the down slope of Elm Street.
Over the years, researchers have hypothesized and surmised that the dramatic and shocking
source of the head shot that instantaneously killed JFK came from either the picket fence atop
the Grassy Knoll, or further down the way, where a raised sewer opening and grill cover abuts

with the triple overpass cement railing and the picket fence itself.
Malcolm Kilduff, when announcing the death of President Kennedy pointed above his right
eyebrow and issued this stunning statement: "Uh, Dr. Burkley told me that it's, it's a simple
matter, Tom, of, uh, of a bullet, right through
the head." 2
By using as a base Dr. Mantik's ground
breaking work, in conjunction with simple
geometrical and computer imaging analysis,
this paper will attempt to establish the origin
and trajectory of the shot which produced
the fatal wound which took the life of our
35th President.
The second working hypothesis mentioned
above follows the research of Tom Wilson
and Jack Brazil, who independently of each other, in the early 90's established that the head
shot which took JFK's skull off could have originated from the storm drain on the north curb of
Elm Street.3 This hypothesis, however, is nothing new. In 1967, Jim Garrison sent
investigators to Dealey Plaza, and following leads that he had received from Lillian
Castellano, his men explored the intricate underground system of storm drains and sewers
that led to the nearby Trinity River. In the mid 1960's Castellano obtained and disseminated
among first generation researchers the actual plans and blueprints that showed this intricate
system that was beneath Dealey Plaza. 4

Penn Jones (right) used to give journalists who were brave
enough to enter the storm drain via the manhole cover on the
sidewalk, live demonstrations, by standing in the middle of
Elm Street where the President was struck at Z313, and
showing them what a clear shot a concealed sniper would
have enjoyed from that position.5
Garrison's photograph
This very important photograph snapped by Jim Garrison's
investigators was taken for the purpose of showing that an
assassin inside the storm drain would have had ample
clearance to execute a virtually point blank shot, especially if
the conspirators, including Secret Service driver Bill Greer,
were in on the plot and had planned to bring the limousine, in
coordinated fashion, to stop right in the middle of Elm Street. (Authors note: The position of
the car shown below is exactly abreast of the storm drain and is not representative of JFK

limousine position at Z313. See Cutler image below) Moreover, Garrison was completely
convinced that this is where the shot that did most of the damage came from, adding that:
....a small truck was parked "for an unusually long period" directly over a manhole leading into
this sewer opening on the day of the assassination.
Later on, in the late 1960's Beverly Brunson pointed out Roy Kellerman's Warren Commission
testimony at Volume 2 page 66, which unequivocally stated that he felt that shots came into
the vehicle in an upward trajectory, "an upshot into the vehicle", were Kellerman's exact
words. Brunson pointed out how, in predictable fashion, showing a pattern that he had
already established, Arlen Specter tried to muddy the waters as soon as this sensitive piece
of information was being discussed and put into the record. Specter clearly did not want to
elaborate, and Brunson's comments bear this out. Brunson's research is reproduced here in
its original state:

All of which is to say, that the Commission, especially Arlen Specter, was well aware of the

possibility that the fatal shot could have had an upward trajectory, seriously jeopardizing the
rear shot conclusion that was eventually adopted and seared into the historical record.
The Harper Fragment
The Harper fragment was found by Billy Harper on 11/23/63 at approximately 5:30PM beyond
the South infield of Dealey Plaza, well in front of JFK's limousine position. 6

Fortunately, it was immediately photographed at the behest of Billy's uncle Jack, who was an
M.D. in his own right. 7 That is the only reason that today we know what it actually looked like.
Later on, the FBI also photographed and X-rayed this piece of skull bone.8 It ultimately fell
into the hands of Admiral George Burkley, and subsequently disappeared. 9 It was, in effect, a
very large piece of skull, the images of which, over the years Dr. Mantik has thoroughly
studied to determine its provenance.10 Harper pinpointed for Howard Roffman in September
1969, the location where he found it:

It seems inconceivable that such a large piece of skull would have remained undetected for
close to 30 hours after the fatal head shot which killed JFK. Several of the Murray
photographs show "agents", within minutes of the assassination, combing the infield beyond
the South side of Elm Street in Dealey Plaza looking for, locating, and pocketing crucial
evidence which was never inventoried and entered as evidence. 11
Dr. Mantik clearly remains skeptical about how, when and where the Harper Fragment might
have landed where it was found:

Sargent Stavis Ellis
The stunning revelations of Dallas Police Sergeant Stavis Ellis, who was interviewed by
telephone on 4/21/71 by Gil Toff on behalf of Fred Newcomb for his book Murder from Within,
offer a tantalizing possibility of the provenance of the Harper Fragment: 12

(Authors note: Toff used the pseudonym "John Whitney")

The interviewer was so taken aback by the revelation of the skull fragment, that he later came
back to that subject towards the end of the interview, and asked for a clarification:

Clearly, this event is not seen in the extant Zapruder film, however, that is subject for another
day. What is important to note here is that this fragment did not remain in Dealey Plaza and
was removed immediately from the scene by an unidentified Secret Service Agent, who
tossed into the limousine. Outside of speculation, it is not inconceivable that this was actually
the Harper Fragment which later, well after the fact, could have been re-positioned down Elm
Street, Southwest of the location of the head shot at Z313, where it was found the next day by
Billy Harper. The purpose of this would have clearly been to create "evidence" that would
have supported a shot from behind, hence, the Southeast window of the 6th floor of the
TSBD.

In 2000, Dr. Mantik created this diagram for Jim Fetzer's Murder in Dealey Plaza, where he
roughly set the anatomical location of the Harper Fragment: 13

The opinion of Dr. Robert Grossman
Dr. Robert Grossman, a neurosurgeon who attended to JFK at Parkland Hospital that day
drew this diagram about his recollections. When shown the HSCA Ida Dox drawing,

(above right) which showed the back of the head intact, he unequivocally remarked: "That's
completely incorrect". 14
As stated in the introduction of this paper, in his recent book cited earlier, Dr. Mantik has
updated and reiterated his expert analysis by introducing actual skull images with an overlay

(shown earlier above), which represents the Harper Fragment, to show the reader where it
came from. The actual anatomical and technical reasoning for Dr. Mantik's conclusion is
beyond the scope of this paper, therefore, the reader is referred to that source. We have
taken the liberty, however, of enhancing Dr. Mantik's image to more clearly show the exact
position of the Harper Fragment:

In January 2015 we discovered irrefutable proof of the magnitude of the blowout of the back
of the head when we obtained a very clear copy of frame 343, which showed the hole
enhanced by the position of Jackie's white glove, providing the perfect background that
enabled us to unequivocally identify the defect. 15