Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

第四章

Chapter IV examines the evidence establishing that Lee Harvey Oswald owned and used the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle (serial number C2766) to assassinate President Kennedy. The chapter covers fiber analysis linking the rifle to Oswald’s clothing, photographs of Oswald with the weapon, ownership verification, and the circumstances by which the rifle was brought into the Texas School Book Depository on November 22, 1963.

Fiber Analysis of the Assassination Rifle

FBI expert Stombaugh testified that fibers on the rifle might retain freshness if the weapon had been “put aside” after catching them. The rifle was likely wrapped in a blanket for about 8 weeks before November 22, and continuous storage in the blanket could explain the fibers’ relatively fresh appearance. While the Commission could not determine exactly when the fibers were deposited, it concluded that the fibers most probably came from Oswald’s shirt, reinforcing the conclusion that Oswald owned and handled the assassination weapon.

Photograph of Oswald With Rifle

Between March 2 and April 24, 1963, the Oswalds lived in a rented house on Neely Street in Dallas with a small back yard. On one Sunday, while his wife Marina was hanging diapers, Oswald asked her to photograph him holding a rifle, a pistol, and copies of two newspapers later identified as the Worker and the Militant. Two pictures were taken, and the Commission concluded the rifle shown in these photographs is the same rifle found on the sixth floor of the Depository Building (Commission Exhibits 133-A and 133-B).