Mr. SPECTER. Would you state your full name for the record, please?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; Lyndal L. Shaneyfelt.
Mr. SPECTER. By whom are you employed?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. I am employed as a special agent of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
Mr. SPECTER. And how long have you been so employed?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Fourteen years.
Mr. SPECTER. What are your duties, in a general way?
Mr SHANEYFELT. I am assigned to the FBI Laboratory, as a document
examiner, and photographic expert.
Mr. SPECTER. During the course of those duties, have you had occasion
to make an analysis of certain movies which purport to have been taken
of the assassination?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; I have.
Mr. SPECTER. What movies have you examined?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. I have examined a roll of 8-mm. motion pictures made by
Mr. Abraham Zapruder of Dallas, Tex., that he took on November 22, of
the assassination of President Kennedy.
Mr. SPECTER. Can you outline in a general way how the movies taken by
Mr. Zapruder came into your possession?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; Mr. Zapruder, on realizing what he had in his
photographs, took them immediately to a local Dallas processing plant,
had them processed, and had three copies made. He turned two copies of
those movies over to representatives of the Secret Service.
The original and other copy he sold to Life magazine.
The FBI was given one of the copies by the Secret Service. The Secret
Service loaned a copy to us long enough for us to make a copy for our
use, which we did, and this copy is the one that I have been examining.
Mr. SPECTER. At any time in the course of the examination of the
Zapruder film, was the original of that movie obtained?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; it was. On February 25, Mr. Herbert Orth, who
is the assistant chief of the Life magazine photographic laboratory,
provided the original of the Zapruder film for review by the Commission
representatives and representatives of the FBI and Secret Service here
in the Commission building.
Mr. SPECTER. And what was the reason for his making that original
available?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Life magazine was reluctant to release the original
because of the value. So he brought it down personally and projected
it for us and allowed us to run through it several times, studying the
original.
Mr. SPECTER. Was that because the copies were not distinct on certain
important particulars?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct. The original had considerably more
detail and more there to study than any of the copies, since in the
photographic process each time you copy you lose some detail.
Mr. SPECTER. And subsequently, were slides made from the original of
the Zapruder film?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes. Since it was not practical to stop the projector
when using the original of the Zapruder film, because of the
possibility of damage to the film, Mr. Orth volunteered to prepare
35-mm. color slides directly from the original movie of all of the
pertinent frames of the assassination which were determined to be
frames 171 through 434.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you outline what you mean by frames, please?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes. In motion picture films, the actual motion
picture film consists of consecutive pictures that are made in rapid
succession, each one being a separate exposure. And as the camera runs,
it films these, and they are projected fast enough on the screen when
you do not have the sensation of them being individual pictures, but
you have the sensation of seeing the movement--even though they are
individual little pictures on the film. So each one of those little
pictures on the film is called a frame.
Mr. SPECTER. And how did you number the frames?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. I numbered the frames on the Zapruder film beginning
with No. 1 at the assassination portion of his film.
He did have on his film some photographs of a personal nature that we
disregarded, and started at the first frame of his motion picture that
was made there on Elm Street of the assassination.
Mr. SPECTER. And what was happening at the time of frame 1?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. At the time of frame 1, the police motorcycle lead
portion of the parade is in view, and that goes for several frames.
Then he stopped his camera, feeling that it might be some time before
the Presidential car came into view. Then when the Presidential car
rounded the corner and came into view, he started his camera again, and
kept it running throughout the route down Elm Street until the car went
out of sight on his right.
Mr. SPECTER. What other movies have been examined by you in the course
of this analysis?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. An amateur 8-mm. motion picture film made by a Mr.
Orville Nix of Dallas, Tex., has been examined. Mr. Nix was standing on
the corner of Houston and Main Streets, photographing the motorcade as
it came down Main Street and turned right into Houston Street.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you explain briefly how you ascertained the location
of Mr. Nix when he took those movies?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes. At the time Mr. Nix took his movies of the
motorcade coming down Main Street, he was standing on the corner, and
photographed them turning the corner and going down Houston Street.
Mr. SPECTER. You are now indicating the southwest corner of Houston and
Main?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; southwest corner. After he heard the shots, he
hurried down along the curb of Main Street, but did not remember
exactly where he was standing. On the basis of his motion pictures, we
were able to analyze the pictures using his camera, and on the 23d of
May of this year, during the survey, preparatory to the reenactment,
we reestablished this point by viewing pictures taken from his motion
picture camera, at varying angles across here, in order to reestablish
the point where he was standing, based on the relationship of this
street light to other items in the background of the photograph.
Mr. SPECTER. When you say this point, you mean the point of the Nix
position?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. And when you say this street light, you are referring to a
street lamp on the opposite side of Main Street?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you outline in a general way how you obtained the
copy of the Nix film?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes.
The Nix film was obtained as a result of a notice that the FBI gave to
processing plants in the Dallas area, that the FBI would be interested
in obtaining or knowing about any film they processed, that had
anything on it, relating to the assassination.
And, as a result of this, we learned of the Nix film and arranged to
obtain a copy of it.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you analyze any other film in connection with this
inquiry?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes. I analyzed a film that was 8-mm. motion picture
film taken by Mrs. Mary Muchmore of Dallas, Tex.
Mr. SPECTER. How did you obtain a copy of that film?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Our first knowledge of this came as a result of a
review of the book "Four Days" which covers the assassination period,
in which representatives of the FBI noted a colored picture taken from
a motion picture film that did not match either the Nix film or the
Zapruder film.
Once we established that, then we investigated and learned that it was
made by Mrs. Mary Muchmore, and was at that time in the possession of
United Press International in New York, and made arrangements for them
to furnish us with a copy of the Muchmore film. That is the copy that I
used for examination.
Mr. SPECTER. Where was Mrs. Muchmore standing at the time she took
those movies?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Mrs. Muchmore was standing along Houston Street,
close to the corner of Main, on the west side of Houston Street, and
photographed the motorcade as it came down Main, turned into Houston,
and proceeded down Houston. She says that when she heard the shots, she
panicked, and did not take any further pictures. But a review of her
film shows pictures of the assassination route, the motorcade going
down Elm Street, beginning just before the shot that hit the President
in the head, and continuing a short period after that.
Since she did not remember taking the pictures, we then, in the same
manner we established Mr. Nix's position, by checking the photograph in
relation to objects in the background, established her position along
this structure that is marked on the map and found that she had come
from the curb over to this point----
Mr. SPECTER. Indicating a position on Exhibit No. 883 marked "Muchmore
Position."
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
And this we established as her position when she photographed a portion
of the assassination--motorcade.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you elaborate just a bit more on how you ascertained
that position from fixed points in the background of the movie?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; we took a frame of the motion picture that is
close to the beginning and a picture that is close to the end, and made
a still photograph of those. We then establish a position and try to
line up the relationship of objects close to where we are standing with
objects in the background, so that they are in relation to each other
as they are in the picture.
Then we take the other picture from farther along the motion picture
film, and do the same thing, and where those two lines intersect is
where she had to be standing.
Mr. SPECTER. You draw two straight lines through two objects that you
line up on each of those pictures, and the intersection point of those
two lines is the calculated position of the camera.
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
Mr. SPECTER. And was that same system used to ascertain the position of
Mr. Nix?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
Mr. SPECTER. And how did you ascertain the position of Mr. Zapruder?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Mr. Zapruder's position was known, as he was on the top
of the abutment along Elm Street--he stated that he was standing on the
abutment. And there is relatively no room to move around there, other
than to stand there. It is about 2 feet wide by 3 to 4 feet deep.
(At this point, Representative Ford entered the hearing room.)
Mr. SHANEYFELT. And aside from that, we checked that position against
his photographs and determined that that was in fact correct.
Mr. SPECTER. Was the position of Mr. Zapruder confirmed through the use
of any other film?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; in Mr. Nix's motion picture films you can see Mr.
Zapruder standing on the abutment.
Senator COOPER. May I ask a question there?
After you had made those calculations to establish the position of
Mrs. Muchmore and Mr. Nix and Mr. Zapruder, did you then identify
those positions to the three and ask them whether or not it
corresponded--your findings corresponded with their recollection as to
where they were standing?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. We did not do that; no. Mr. Nix, I might say, did state
that he went down along this side--the south side of Main Street, along
the curb, and it generally conforms to where he stated he went, but he
could not place the exact position. We did, by this study.
Senator COOPER. Mr. Zapruder's position was established by another
photograph?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
Mr. DULLES. Do I understand you correctly that Mrs. Muchmore didn't
realize she had taken the later pictures that appear?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. According to her statement, she said after hearing the
shots, she panicked, and didn't take any more pictures.
Mr. DULLES. You think she did?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. On the film there are pictures.
Mr. SPECTER. Was the position of Mrs. Muchmore and Mr. Nix ascertained
through a geometric calculation, lining up various points as you have
just described?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Well, it is actually a geometric calculation, although
no strings were drawn or no lines were drawn. It is a matter of
standing in a position out there with Mr. Nix's camera, and viewing the
two different photographs we had selected, until we arrived at a point
that matched.
Mr. SPECTER. Was there reasonable mathematical certainty in that
alinement, within the limits of your observations of their pictures?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. Did Mr. Zapruder himself point out his location on the
abutment as depicted on Exhibit No. 883?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
Mr. SPECTER. Now, how many occasions were you a participant in an
analysis of these various films which you have just described?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Seven.
Mr. SPECTER. And when was the first time that you were a participant in
such an analysis?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. On January 27, 1964.
Mr. SPECTER. And who else has been with you at the time you analyzed
those films--just stating in in a general way without identifying each
person present on each of the occasions?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. On most occasions, Mr. Gauthier of the FBI was present,
I was present, Mr. Malley of the FBI was present. Inspector Kelley from
Secret Service, and Mr. John Howlett from Secret Service.
Representatives of the Commission were always present--normally Mr.
Redlich, Mr. Specter, or Mr. Eisenberg were present.
On several occasions Mr. Ball and Mr. Belin were present. Mr. Rankin
was present on some occasions.