Large Forensic Photograph of the bullet shot by Sirhan Sirhan in the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy. There were questions regarding the initial 1968 LAPD forensic results of the testing of the bullet, so in 1975 a new forensic examination panel was appointed consisting of some outside forensic bullet experts, including Charles Morton.

Large High-Magnification Forensic Photograph of the Sirhan Sirhan bullet that killed Robert Kennedy, mounted in a 24x14 inch frame that has 3/4 inch wooden edges and a glass front. The backside of the frame is covered with brown paper.

Charles Morton, one of the lead investigators in the reexamination, sent this to a colleague, John Murdock. John Murdock was Chief of the Contra Costa County Forensic Services (Crime Lab) for many years, and was often brought in by outside police departments as a forensic expert. Charles Morton and John Murdock both worked in the San Francisco Bay Area, and often consulted each other.

The following is hand-written on the frame's paper covered backside:

"BULLET removed from the body of ROBERT KENNEDY - shot by / SIRHAN SIRHAN - rec'd by / John Murdock from / Chuck Morton - 1976".

NEAR FINE condition, a small push to the paper covering on the frame's backside, otherwise great. The photograph looks fine, but has not been inspected outside of the frame.

Comes from the estate of JOHN MURDOCK, Chief of the Contra Costa County Forensic Services Division.

About JOHN E. MURDOCK (from an online obituary, and elsewhere on the Internet):

******John E. Murdock, b.1938 d.2025, was Chief of the Contra Costa County Forensic Services Division (crime laboratory) for many years. He was an expert firearm and toolmark examiner. Though Murdock worked on many high profile criminal cases, he was most proud of his work on two cases for the Innocence Project, where his expertise helped secure the release of Patrick Pursley (who had spent 25 years in prison) and Bryan Foshay (who had spent 9 years in prison) following their wrongful convictions for murder based on misleading forensic evidence. The Pursley case was the first in the United States to allow post conviction firearms testing.

John Murdock was an Emeritus Member of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD), a Life Member of the California Association of Criminalists (CAC), a Distinguished member of The Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE), and a member of numerous other forensic science organizations. He also authored over 30 scientific articles and taught many classes and workshops on the subjects of crime scene investigation and firearm and toolmark examination.*****

About the ROBERT KENNEDY ASSASSINATION GUN FORENSICS REEXAMINATION (from the LA Times and Wikipedia):

******"There is a nickname in our profession," one specialist said, for mistakes in which an investigator is too quick to "make" a gun. It is "Wolferism," a reference to DeWayne Wolfer, a one-time LAPD criminalist who misread evidence in the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles in 1968.

In 1975, a Los Angeles judge convened a panel of forensics to examine ballistic evidence. Among them was CHARLES MORTON, a criminalist from Oakland. The panel found that the three bullets that hit Kennedy were all fired from the same gun, but could not find a match between these bullets and Sirhan's revolver. They accused DeWayne Wolfer, the lead crime scene investigator who had testified at trial that a bullet taken from Kennedy's body was from Sirhan's revolver, of running a careless investigation. The forensic experts urged further investigation. An internal police document, which was later released, concluded that "Kennedy and Weisel bullets not fired from the same gun" and "Kennedy bullet not fired from Sirhan's revolver."******