Tippit Murder-Ballistics and Forensics

Dr. Ray Banister, Sr., wrote his name inside the front cover of the Homicide Investigation manual.

My Grandfather’s homicide investigation manual, titled, “Homicide Investigation, “ by LeMoyne Snyder, is a rich resource despite being printed 80 years ago. We know much more about forensics than we used to, and this gives us a baseline as to what was known before the assassination, though a manual printed closer to 1963 would be a closer reference.

It has a very striking dedication:

Dedication from “Homicide Investigation.”

For those that were confused by a few terms, the “bullet” refers to the part of the pistol round that flies out of the barrel when fired, and the “shell casing” is the brass case that holds the bullet, powder and primer. The primer is the part of the shell that ignites the powder when you pull the trigger.

Bill talked about marks left by the firing pin on the primer and shell casing. There was an example in the book. The primer is the round piece in the center of the end of the shell casing below:

Tool marks on primer/shell casing.

I hope this helps you visualize what he was talking about!