(Testimony of Robert A. Frazier)
Mr. Specter.
Was the hole consistent with being an exit bullet hole? That is to say, could it have been caused by an exiting bullet?
Mr. Frazier.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Specter.
Did you find any damage on the right sleeve of the jacket?
Mr. Frazier.
Yes, sir; on more or less the top portion of the right sleeve very near the end of the sleeve there is a very rough hole which penetrates both the outside layer, the lining and the inside layer of the sleeve.
Mr. Specter.
Were you able to observe sufficient characteristics to formulate any conclusion as to the cause of that tear?
Mr. Frazier.
This also did not indicate direction from the condition of the fibers, possibly due to the cleaning and pressing of the garment.
However, it could have been a bullet which struck the garment at an angle to the surface which caused a slight elongation. The hole was approximately five-eights of an inch in length, and three-eights of an inch in width. The elongation could also have been the result of a mutilated bullet having struck the garment or it could have been caused by a fold in the garment at the time the object or bullet struck.
Mr. Specter.
Did you have occasion to examine the shirt, which was purportedly worn by Governor Connally, and which has heretofore been identified by the Governor in Commission proceedings, as that worn by him on November 22, 1963?
Mr. Frazier.
Yes.; I did.
Mr. Specter.
May the record show at this point that Mr. Frazier is examining the shirt heretofore identified on the back side with a photograph marked Commission Exhibit 685 and on the front side with a photograph marked Commission Exhibit 686.
Now, referring to that shirt, Mr. Frazier, what, if anything, did you observe on the rear side by way of an imperfection, hole or defect?
Mr. Frazier.
I found a hole which is very ragged. An L-shaped tear actually is what it amounted to in the back of the shirt near the right sleeve, 2 inches from the seam line where the sleeve attaches to the shirt, and 7 1/2 inches to the right of the midline of the shirt, the right side being as you look at the back of the shirt.
This tear amounted to a five-eights of an inch long horizontal and approximately one-half inch long vertical break in the cloth, with a very small tear located immediately to its right, as you look at the back of the shirt, which was approximately three-sixteenths of an inch in length.
This hole corresponds in position to the hole in the back of the coat, Governor Connally's coat, identified as Commission No. 683.
Mr. Specter.
Were there sufficient characteristics observable to formulate a conclusion as to the cause and direction of that hole?
Mr. Frazier.
No, sir; there were no characteristics on which you could base a conclusion as to what caused it, whether or not it was a bullet and if it had been, what the direction of the projectile was.
Mr. Specter.
Could it have been caused by a 6.5-mm. bullet coming from the rear of the wearer toward his front?
Mr. Frazier.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Specter.
Referring now to the front side of the Governor's shirt, what, if anything, did you observe with respect to a tear or a hole thereon, as to the body of the shirt?
Mr. Frazier.
I found in the right chest area of the shirt, considering the shirt when it is being worn, a very irregular tear more or less in the form of an "H," of the letter "H." This tear was approximately 1 1/2 inches in height, with the crossbar tear being approximately 1 inch in width, which caused a very irregularly shaped and enlarged hole in the front of the shirt. The hole is located 5 inches from the right-side seam, and 9 inches below the top of the right sleeve. The 9-inch figure is from the top of the right shoulder where the sleeve adjoins the yoke of the shirt.
Mr. Specter.
Had that garment been cleaned and pressed, Mr. Frazier, prior to the time you examined it?
Mr. Frazier.
Yes, sir.
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