(Testimony of Roy H. , Special Agent, Secret Kellerman)
Mr. Kellerman.
Andrews to the U.S. Naval Hospital, I would judge, a good 45 minutes. So there is 7 o'clock. We went immediately over, without too much delay on the outside of the hospital, into the morgue. The Navy people had their staff in readiness right then. There wasn't anybody to call. They were all there. So at the latest, 7:30, they began to work on the autopsy. And, as I said, we left the hospital at 3:56 in the morning. Let's give the undertaker people 2 hours. So they were through at 2 o'clock in the morning. I would judge offhand that they worked on the autopsy angle 4 1/2, 5 hours.
Mr. Specter.
And were you present when the funeral director's personnel were preparing the body?
Mr. Kellerman.
I was; yes, sir.
Mr. Specter.
And about what time, then, did they complete their work?
Mr. Kellerman.
They were all through at 3:30.
Mr. Specter.
And what did you do immediately after they completed their work?
Mr. Kellerman.
All right. Our communication between the Kennedy family and staff, who were on another floor in the hospital, was in this regard. We had telephone communication whereby we would tell them if the body is ready to be taken out of the morgue and into the ambulance. And they would hit the elevator and come right out the same way. So the 5 minutes it took to load the people in, we left the hospital morgue part at least at 3:50, and, as I say, we were off at 3:56, driving to the White House.
Mr. Specter.
And did you go directly to the White House?
Mr. Kellerman.
Yes, sir; we did.
Mr. Specter.
Did that complete your tour of duty for that day?
Mr. Kellerman.
Yes, sir; it did.
Mr. Specter.
Now, with respect to the time you were present at the autopsy, was there any conversation of any sort concerning the possibility of a point of entry from the front of the President's body?
Mr. Kellerman.
No.
Mr. Specter.
You have testified about the impression you had as to the source of the first shot, which sounded to you like a firecracker. Did you have any impression as to the source of the other shots, which you described as being a flurry?
Mr. Kellerman.
If you will excuse me just a minute. I was trying to elaborate on the last question.
Mr. Specter.
Pardon me. Go ahead.
Mr. Kellerman.
Just for the record, I wish to have this down. While the President is in the morgue, he is lying flat. And with the part of the skull removed, and the hole in the throat, nobody was aware until they lifted him up that there was a hole in his shoulder. That was the first concrete evidence that they knew that the man was hit in the back first.
Mr. Specter.
When did they lift him up and first observe the hole in the shoulder?
Mr. Kellerman.
They had been working on him for quite some time, Mr. Specter--through the photos and other things they do through an autopsy. And believe it was this Colonel Finck who raised him and there was a clean hole.
Mr. Specter.
What was said, if anything, by those present at the autopsy concerning the wound in the throat?
Mr. Kellerman.
To go back just a little further, the reason for the hole in the throat, the tracheotomy; I am thinking they were of the opinion that when the--when he was shot in the head, and they had found this piece remaining above the eye underneath; I am sure there was some concern as to where the outlet was, and whether they considered--this is all an assumption now; whether they considered this--that there was a hole here in the throat prior to the tracheotomy, I don't know. But to complete the examination, they lifted him up by the shoulders, and there was this hole. Now, I think you asked me a question. Could you repeat it, please?
Mr. Specter.
Well, let's be sure that we have your final answer on the question of any conversation at all about a point of entry in the front part of his body, in his throat, or any place else.
|
