The First Shot

[Ray Mitcham]

Mrs Connolly's testimony to W.C.

Mrs. CONNALLY. Yes; and it seemed to me there was--he made no utterance, no cry. I saw no blood, no anything. It was just sort of nothing, the expression on his face, and he just sort of slumped down.
Then very soon there was the second shot that hit John. As the first shot was hit, and I turned to look at the same time, I recall John saying, "Oh, no, no, no." Then there was a second shot, and it hit John, and as he recoiled to the right, just crumpled like a wounded animal to the right, he said, "My God, they are going to kill us all."

Nelly referencing JBC's own words to identify JBC as being hit by the first shot. Same as Jackie.

Where did Jackie say JBC was hit by the first shot?


What  you don't understand that Mrs Connolly said JBC  was hit by the second shot.


"Mrs. CONNALLY. Yes; and it seemed to me there was--he made no utterance, no cry. I saw no blood, no anything. It was just sort of nothing, the expression on his face, and he just sort of slumped down.
Then very soon there was the second shot that hit John. As the first shot was hit, and I turned to look at the same time, I recall John saying, "Oh, no, no, no." Then there was a second shot, and it hit John, and as he recoiled to the right, just crumpled like a wounded animal to the right, he said, "My God, they are going to kill us all."

As the first shot was hit...I recall John saying Oh, no,no,no Then there was a second shot and it hit John

[Dan O'meara]

I think you are stretching it a bit to call a 25-28 frame - 1.5 second - delay "bizarre".  Given what he had to do to react, it might be considered rather quick.  It was certainly quicker than Kellerman's reaction which does not begin until z252.

Keep in mind, JBC's was not a reaction prompted by recognizing a physical impact. His brain first had to recognize the sound as a gunshot.  Then his brain had to process the significance of that sound ie. that an assassination of the President was unfolding.  Then his brain had to make a decision to turn around to check on JFK.  Then the brain had to instruct the muscles to co-ordinate a turn to the rear to perform the check. All of that took 25-28 frames (z195-198 to z223) or 1.37 to 1.53 seconds.

And that is assuming that his reaction began at z223.  It may not have.  If you look at JBC's shirt, the amount of white shirt visible in z222 is less than in z223. In fact, z222 and z224 look very similar (so much for the jacket bulge theory).  One possible and very reasonable explanation would be that, while he is behind the sign, JBC is already beginning to move his body.
?? I agree that he doesn't turn around to see JFK until after JFK is shot (on the first shot).  JBC said he turned around after the first shot and before he - JBC - was hit in the back.  So, according to the evidence, that turn is before JBC was hit in the back.
The evidentiary context in which JBC turned around to see JFK was JBC reacting to the sound of the shot.  The actions that you describe are, according to the evidence, the result of JFK being hit by the first shot and JBC reacting to hearing it, not being hit in the back by it. 
He did say in his interview in the hospital that he saw "the President had slumped".
The uncertainty is evident in the fact that in 1966 in the Life article (25 Nov 1966) he said:

• “Between the time I heard the first shot and felt the impact of the other bullet that obviously hit me, I sensed something was wrong, and said, ‘Oh no, no, no.’ After I felt the impact I glanced down and saw that my whole chest was covered with blood.”

Also, in his testimony before the HSCA he said:

• “When I was hit, or shortly before I was hit-no, I guess it was
  after I was hit-I said first, just almost in despair, I said, "no, no,
  no," just thinking how tragic it was that we had gone through this
  24 hours, it had all been so wonderful and so beautifully executed.
  
  The President had been so marvelously received and then here,
  at the last moment, this great tragedy. I just said, "no, no, no, no."
  Then I said right after I was hit, I said, "My God, they are going to
  kill us all.”

This is a revealing statement.  While he could not recall when exactly he uttered the "no, no, no", he did recall why he said it:  out of concern for the president being assassinated and not because he had just been hit in the back.  So that fits with having said it before he was hit.  And it also explains how he would have known that JFK had been hit and had slumped.  His statement "they are going to kill us all" indicates that he was aware at that time that JFK had been hit. That is a possibility. Sure. But if she was mistaken about that and JBC was hit at z223, she was also mistaken about seeing JFK clutching at his neck/face BEFORE her husband was hit.  And she was also mistaken that she reached out to pull him down immediately after he was hit because she does not appear to do anything of the kind until after z278 when JBC begins to fall back onto her.

And this is exactly why I consider the confusion and contradiction of eye-witness testimony to be 'secondary' evidence.
JBC says "Oh, no, no, no" immediately after he is shot but Nellie says it was before he was shot then JBC contradicts himself and says it was after and that he "just said" it because the day was spoiled (LOL) even though Jackie remembers him screaming like a stuck pig but she doesn't remember climbing on to the trunk. JBC sees the president slumped over but also states -  "I did not see the President at any time either after the first, second, or third shots". Nellie says she comforted JBC after the headshot, JBC says it was before the headshot, Kellerman is absolutely positive JFK shouts out "My God, I am hit" but he is silent according to everyone else, Greer doesn't hear anybody say anything and on and on and on...

The contradictory nature of these testimonies can be manipulated to support almost any scenario and in that sense are useless.
In my opinion the Z-film is 'primary' evidence and eye-witness testimony can only be validated if it is represented in the Z-film.
The pages of arguments I have presented demonstrating a first shot hit at z223 have deliberately avoided witness statements (for the very reasons we see above) but is there a way of validating these statements through the Z-film?
For example - Nellie testifies that:

"The third shot that I heard I felt, it felt like spent buckshot falling all over us, and then, of course, I too could see that it was the matter, brain tissue, or whatever, just human matter, all over the car and both of us.
I thought John had been killed, and then there was some imperceptible movement, just some little something that let me know that there was still some life, and that is when I started saying to him, "It's all right. Be still."

In the Z-film the moment the headshot occurs both JBC and Nellie immediately duck down in front of the jump seats. There is no time for Nellie to comfort JBC or notice the 'human matter' over everything. These are possibly things that happened later in the journey.
However, JBC testifies Nellie comforts him before the headshot and the Z-film appears to show Nellie lean towards JBC's ear  at which point she could  say something to him. Although not definitive, the Z-film supports JBC's testimony to a certain extent and refutes Nellie's testimony.
I believe this is how witness statements should be viewed - through the lens of the Z-film:

[Dan O'meara]

On another thread Robin Unger posted this very clear Gif (excellent work again Robin).
It shows JBC rising and looking back towards the president after ducking down in front of the jump seats.
Although he may (or may not) hint at this, nowhere in the dozens of statements he gave in interviews, reports, testimonies etc., does JBC mention this specific and notable action.
Like Jackie forgetting she climbed on the trunk, JBC seems to have forgotten this quite significant action, highlighting the dubious nature of putting eye-witness testimony before the Z-film:

[Andrew Mason]

And this is exactly why I consider the confusion and contradiction of eye-witness testimony to be 'secondary' evidence.
....

The contradictory nature of these testimonies can be manipulated to support almost any scenario and in that sense are useless.
In my opinion the Z-film is 'primary' evidence and eye-witness testimony can only be validated if it is represented in the Z-film.

So what in the zfilm makes you think there were three shots?  What makes you think that the shot that struck JFK in the neck was the first shot?  I agree with both of those facts, but it is not because of the zfilm. It is the consistency of the witness evidence that tells us that.

Just because witnesses can be unreliable does not mean that they always or even usually are.  We are unable to rely on Kellerman's evidence that JFK spoke after the first shot because it conflicts with all the other witnesses who said that he uttered nothing (which is consistent with having his speech apparatus damaged).  But that does not mean that we cannot rely on the Connally's evidence.  Their evidence on what occurred is perfectly consistent with what is seen in the zfilm.

The pages of arguments I have presented demonstrating a first shot hit at z223 have deliberately avoided witness statements (for the very reasons we see above) but is there a way of validating these statements through the Z-film?
...
However, JBC testifies Nellie comforts him before the headshot and the Z-film appears to show Nellie lean towards JBC's ear  at which point she could  say something to him. Although not definitive, the Z-film supports JBC's testimony to a certain extent and refutes Nellie's testimony.
I believe this is how witness statements should be viewed - through the lens of the Z-film:

Where is the contradiction between Nellie and JBC? Both said that she pulled him down and said repeatedly "be still". Both said that occurred before and after the head shot.

[Dan O'meara]

So what in the zfilm makes you think there were three shots?  What makes you think that the shot that struck JFK in the neck was the first shot?  I agree with both of those facts, but it is not because of the zfilm. It is the consistency of the witness evidence that tells us that.

Because of it's confusing and contradictory nature, I consider eye-witness testimony 'secondary'. I've no doubt you would like to misrepresent this as me saying eye-witness testimony is to be ignored but that is not what I'm saying at all, as well you know.
The validity of eye-witness testimony is massively enhanced when it is confirmed by the Z-film (which I consider to be 'primary' evidence). Simply because I put emphasis on the Z-film doesn't mean I'm casting aside all other evidence, I've made this point clear already and you are again misrepresenting what I'm saying.
More importantly, we have already seen how certain elements of eye-witness testimony can be refuted by the Z-film.

Obviously, the Z-film has it's limitations, for a starter it is silent so can give us no audio information and for something like this we must then rely on witness and other evidence
 

Just because witnesses can be unreliable does not mean that they always or even usually are.

Nobody is saying this is the case. I'm saying this unreliability creates uncertainty which can sometimes be resolved by putting emphasis on the Z-film and not contradictory eye-witness evidence.

We are unable to rely on Kellerman's evidence that JFK spoke after the first shot because it conflicts with all the other witnesses who said that he uttered nothing (which is consistent with having his speech apparatus damaged).  But that does not mean that we cannot rely on the Connally's evidence.  Their evidence on what occurred is perfectly consistent with what is seen in the zfilm.

The Connally's evidence is contradictory in many aspects. They sometimes contradict each other, they sometimes even contradict their own statements. How this can be consistent with the Z-film is beyond me.

Where is the contradiction between Nellie and JBC? Both said that she pulled him down and said repeatedly "be still". Both said that occurred before and after the head shot.

I apologise if I've missed this. Can you point out where they both said it occurred before and after the headshot.

[Dan O'meara]

Trying to make sense of the various statements of the assassination made by John and Nellie Connally and how they fit with the Z-film, I've made a list specific points made by both:
After the first shot:

1)   JBC turns to the left
2)   Calls out "Oh, no, no, no" (at some point after this - "My God they're going to kill us all")
3)   Turns/recoils sharply to his right.
4)   Crumples/doubles up in his seat
5)   Is pulled back by Nellie

These things are shown clearly in the Z-film. Points 2, 3 and 4 happen almost together but they occur as described. Point 1 is interesting as there are only two times JBC turns to his left. One time is in the z160's and is caught in the Croft photo but cannot be the moment the Connally's are referring to. The other is between z229 and z234 and :



JBC is clear as to when he is hit:

"I was turning to look back over my left shoulder into the back seat, but I never got that far in my turn. I got about in the position I am in now facing you, looking a little bit to the left of center, and then I felt like someone had hit me in the back."

In this extreme close up we see JBC turning left until he is facing " a little bit to the left of center" : 



It is at this moment JBC says he is hit. JBC estimates z234 as the frame he is hit. The next thing we see in the Z-film is JBC crying out "Oh, no, no, no":



It should be noted that this Gif starts at z235, the very next frame after JBC claims he is hit. What is clear from this is that, according to JBC, he is hit and then cries out "Oh, no, no, no". He is consistent on this point apart from one quote from a Life Magazine interview:

“Between the time I heard the first shot and felt the impact of the other bullet that obviously hit me, I sensed something was wrong, and said, ‘Oh no, no, no.’ After I felt the impact I glanced down and saw that my whole chest was covered with blood.”

The irony is that the article this quote comes from concerns JBC looking through magnified z-frames and it is during this article he positively identifies z234 as the frame he is hit. As we can see, he cries out "Oh, no, no, no" after z234. What is also clear from the Gif is JBC turning sharply to his right and crumpling in his seat.
It is immediately after this that JBC is pulled back by Nellie and, although it's not really discernable in the Z-film, I assume JBC says, "My God, they're going to kill us all"

Nellie Connally is mistaken in believing JBC cries out before being hit.

[Jack Nessan]

Trying to make sense of the various statements of the assassination made by John and Nellie Connally and how they fit with the Z-film, I've made a list specific points made by both:
After the first shot:

1)   JBC turns to the left
2)   Calls out "Oh, no, no, no" (at some point after this - "My God they're going to kill us all")
3)   Turns/recoils sharply to his right.
4)   Crumples/doubles up in his seat
5)   Is pulled back by Nellie

These things are shown clearly in the Z-film. Points 2, 3 and 4 happen almost together but they occur as described. Point 1 is interesting as there are only two times JBC turns to his left. One time is in the z160's and is caught in the Croft photo but cannot be the moment the Connally's are referring to. The other is between z229 and z234 and :



JBC is clear as to when he is hit:

"I was turning to look back over my left shoulder into the back seat, but I never got that far in my turn. I got about in the position I am in now facing you, looking a little bit to the left of center, and then I felt like someone had hit me in the back."

In this extreme close up we see JBC turning left until he is facing " a little bit to the left of center" : 



It is at this moment JBC says he is hit. JBC estimates z234 as the frame he is hit. The next thing we see in the Z-film is JBC crying out "Oh, no, no, no":



It should be noted that this Gif starts at z235, the very next frame after JBC claims he is hit. What is clear from this is that, according to JBC, he is hit and then cries out "Oh, no, no, no". He is consistent on this point apart from one quote from a Life Magazine interview:

“Between the time I heard the first shot and felt the impact of the other bullet that obviously hit me, I sensed something was wrong, and said, ‘Oh no, no, no.’ After I felt the impact I glanced down and saw that my whole chest was covered with blood.”

The irony is that the article this quote comes from concerns JBC looking through magnified z-frames and it is during this article he positively identifies z234 as the frame he is hit. As we can see, he cries out "Oh, no, no, no" after z234. What is also clear from the Gif is JBC turning sharply to his right and crumpling in his seat.
It is immediately after this that JBC is pulled back by Nellie and, although it's not really discernable in the Z-film, I assume JBC says, "My God, they're going to kill us all"

Nellie Connally is mistaken in believing JBC cries out before being hit.

Another choice. It is when JBC first realizes he has been hit. Reagan did not know he had been shot until he was on his way to the hospital. The bullet was a half of an inch from his heart. Also remember JBC never heard a third shot. Both Nellie and Jackie place it before a second shot.

Governor CONNALLY
.....I immediately, when I was hit, I said, "Oh, no, no, no." And then I said, "My God, they are going to kill us all." Nellie, when she pulled me over into her lap----

Mrs. CONNALLY. -----------------------------------As the first shot was hit, and I turned to look at the same time, I recall John saying, "Oh, no, no, no." Then there was a second shot…..
 
Mrs. KENNEDY. You know, there is always noise in a motorcade and there are always motorcycles, besides us, a lot of them backfiring. So I was looking to the left. I guess there was a noise, but it didn't seem like any different noise really because there is so much noise, motorcycles and things. But then suddenly Governor Connally was yelling, "Oh, no, no, no."
----------------------------
Mr. RANKIN. Do you have any recollection of whether there were one or more shots?

Mrs. KENNEDY. Well, there must have been two because the one that made me turn around was Governor Connally yelling……… And it used to confuse me because first I remembered there were three and I used to think my husband didn't make any sound when he was shot. And Governor Connally screamed………. And then I read the other day that it was the same shot that hit them both. But I used to think if I only had been looking to the right I would have seen the first shot hit him, then I could have pulled him down, and then the second shot would not have hit him…….. But I heard Governor Connally yelling and that made me turn around, and as I turned to the right my husband was doing this [indicating with hand at neck]. He was receiving a bullet. And those are the only two I remember. And I read there was a third shot. But I don't know. Just those two.