Inexplicable Wounds made by Special Bullets

[Bob Prudhomme]

The next wound on the list is the throat wound.

This wound was described by Dr. Perry of PH over the phone to Commander Humes as being between 3-5 mm in diameter, which would seem too small to have been made by a 6.5mm bullet. Of course, Humes was unable to measure the wound himself, as the tracheotomy incision had been made through the middle of the wound, obliterating it.

Perry was not the only PH doctor to describe this wound, though. Below is WC testimony from several of them describing the wound:

Dr. PERRY: This was situated in the lower anterior one-third of the neck, approximately 5 mm. in diameter. (3H372) Dr. CARRICO: This was probably a 4-7 mm. wound, almost in the midline, maybe a little to the right of the midline, and below the thyroid cartilage. (6H3)
DR. CARRICO: There was a small wound, 5- to 8-mm. in size, located in the lower third of the neck, below the thyroid cartilage, the Adams apple. (3H361)
Dr. PERRY: I determined only the fact that there was a wound there, roughly 5 mm. in size or so. (6H9)
Dr. JONES: The wound in the throat was probably no larger than a quarter of an inch in diameter. . . . t was a very small, smooth wound. (6H54)
Nurse HENCHLIFFE: It was just a little hole in the middle of his neck. . . . About as big around as the end of my little finger. (6H141)

Suffice it to say that Perry's estimation of wound size was inly one of many. It should also be remembered that entrance wound size is not an accurate means of estimating the diameter of the bullet that made the wound, given the elasticity of skin, and that a 6.5mm bullet has by no means been ruled out as the bullet that made the throat wound.

That being said, we are still faced with the question: If the throat wound was an entrance wound, where did the bullet go?

For an answer to this question, let us look at the anatomy of the human neck:



This drawing shows us that there is an appreciable amount of tissue between the front of the neck, where the bullet entered, and the vertebrae in the rear part of the neck.

The next drawing shows the relation of the trachea (windpipe) to the vertebrae a little better.



The thyroid cartilage is seen at the upper end of the trachea. The bullet entered just below the thyroid cartilage almost in the midline of the trachea, damaging more of the right side of the trachea.

Would there have been enough tissue between the front of the neck and the vertebrae to have made a hollow point frangible bullet disintegrate into its powder form, arresting the travel of the bullet without shattering vertebrae?

Quickly, let us go over the mechanics of a modern lethal frangible bullet with a hollow point again. As the bullet travels through soft tissue, the hollow point fills with sift matter and begins to come under enormous hydraulic pressure. This pressure is exerted on the compressed metal core of the bullet and, within two inches of entering, the compressed metal core disintegrates into a cloud of metal powder.

The greatest clue that this may have been possible in JFK's case comes from an interview done with Jerrol Custer, the x-ray technician who took the x-rays of JFK's body. He maintains one of the x-rays he made of JFK's neck has disappeared, and that it contains something very interesting. In the vicinity of the cervical vertebrae C3 and C4 are, he says, a host of bullet fragments. Unfortunately, he did not state how large these fragments are, but did allude to the fact there were enough of them to make an entire bullet. The fact they are described in great number does make it possible the fragments were very small, precisely what we would expect to see from a frangible bullet.

So, with all of this in mind, the question is, could a frangible bullet have broken up as it transited the tissue in the front aspect of JFK's neck, and completed this disintegration just before anything solid was able to smash JFK's vertebrae? Were C3 and C4 vertebrae intact, or was there damage to them? Once again, Custer does not mention this.

The two inch penetration of a frangible bullet through soft tissue is based on modern lethal frangible bullets that are the product of years of research and engineering. In 1963, such a bullet would have been a crude modification of a Carcano frangible range bullet. Is it possible it would have disintegrated earlier than a modern frangible bullet, doing so in less than the two inches of soft tissue required for the modern bullet?

What I find the most disturbing about Custer's allegations is his claim the fragments were in the vicinity of C3/C4 vertebrae. Look at this drawing below:


As can be seen, C4 is level with the top of the thyroid cartilage, while C3 is slightly above the thyroid cartilage. If the bullet entered below the thyroid cartilage, and the fragments were at C3/C4, does this mean the bullet was transiting upwards through the anterior neck?

Bob, perhaps I am getting ahead of myself here, but if the same bullets were used to cause the head wound as the throat wound, how does one account for the extreme difference in the amount of damage done?

Hi Gord

That is coming up next, but I'll give you a clue for now. It all has to do with the fact the skull is basically a solid, water tight container filled with liquid and semi-liquid matter. An expanding or exploding bullet transiting the brain creates an enormous pressure wave ahead of it in this matter, unlike the neck which would provide many openings to vent this pressure. This pressure wave creates a very high hydraulic pressure within the brain that cannot escape. As fluid cannot be compressed, this pressure will often find an opening by rupturing one or more bones of the skull and escaping. It is important to remember that such a rupture, while labelled an "exit" wound, does not actually have a bullet exit through it; especially if the bullet causing it is of the type that completely disintegrates into a cloud of metal powder two inches into the brain matter.