Archive of Forensic Criminologist, John Murdock. Longtime Head of the Contra Costa County Crime Laboratory. He was a highly regarded firearm and toolmark examiner.

The archive includes his forensic reports on numerous cases, forensic photographs, early UC Berkeley Graduate School of Criminology reports and theses, and works from his reference library.

Includes:

Murdock's forensic reports and documents on murder cases. Approx. 200 handwritten, printed, and photocopied pages bound in a white 3-ring binder, 2016-2018

1977 Report of Thomas F. Kranz on the Assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, based on a reexamination of forensic evidence. John Murdock / Criminalist is stamped on the front cover. Paper covers, 60 pages.

Items related to the LAPD Ricky Ross murder case in which Murdock was brought in as an outside expert. Includes reprints of original photographs showing bullets and guns along with handwritten descriptive notes, plus photocopied reports, some with Murdock's manuscript notes and yellow highlighting. The items are in a folder.

Thick forensics report on the 1975 murder of a 20 year old male in Port Chicago, Contra Costa County. Manuscript, photocopied, drawings, etc. Bound in a binder. The cover states "W. Patsel - Lab Reports and Notes".

Transcript of a murder trial, sent to Murdock by a defense attorney who asked for Murdock's opinion on the prosecution's forensics report. The transcript is signed by John Murdock and dated 4/22/85.

Twenty-eight original 8x10 photographs of a meth lab. The lab was a complete mess. There are manuscript comments by investigators on a couple of the photos.

TWELVE reports, papers and theses, by John Murdock while a graduate student at UC Berkeley's Dept. of Criminology, 1965-1969. Original typescripts, carbon copies, and photocopies, many signed. Some of the works are: The Individuality of Gun Barrels; Tool Manufacture from a Criminalists Point of View; Empirical Approach to Tool Mark Analysis; The Effect of Crowning on Gun Barrel Individuality; Toolmark and Firearm Individualization as Affected by Manufacturing Methods; etc. Also includes a typescript of a final exam, and a lined notebook filled with manuscript notes.

Manuscript notes and photopied documents from a 1975 FBI class Murdoch attended titled: MICROSCOPY OF HAIR. Approx 200 pages in binder. Includes an original photograph of the class.

TWELVE BOOKS from the forensics library of John Murdock, most with his ownership signature. Includes: Bomb Investigations, National Bomb Data Center, FBI; Methods for the Restoration of Obliterated Serial Numbers; The Bastard Bullet [Kennedy Assassination Forensics]; Shooting Crime Scene Processing and Reconstruction / Seminar; Cartridge Identification / INTERPOL; The Sheriff's Review - Contra Costa County - 1963 and 1972; Chromatography in the Identification of Barbituric Acid Derivatives; Calvin Goddard: A History of Ballistics Identification; Ames On Forgery - Its Detection; and two trade catalogs: BONE CLONES - Osteological Reproductions; LEICA FS C The Next Generation of Forensic Comparison Instruments.

All from the estate of John Murdock.

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

******John E. Murdock, b.1938 d.2025, Chief of the Contra Costa County Forensic Services Division (crime laboratory) for many years. 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.******

INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS NOTE: The archive is heavy &

will be expensive to ship overseas.

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."******

MEDICAL and SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS in the CHRISTIE CASE, by FRANCIS E. CAMPS, M.D. Lecturer in Forensic Medicine at the London Hospital Medical College.

Published by Medical Publications Limited, London and New York, 1953. First edition.

SIGNED and INSCRIBED by the author, Francis Camps, on the front free endpaper.

Copy of JOHN E. MURDOCK, noted Forensic Science Investigator, with his signature at the top of the front pastedown.

Hardcovers, green cloth covered boards, gilt titles to the spine, 6x9 inches, xxiii + 244 pages. ILLUSTRATED "With 47 Diagrams and Photographs and 6 Coloured Plates".

GOOD condition: The covers have some small white spots, there is a bit of wear to the spine ends and corner tips, and the spine gilt is faded but legible, otherwise the covers are solid and well bound. Internally the pages are very nice, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

SCARCE book, especially so with the Signature and Inscription of the author and forensic witness Francis Camps, and the association to criminologist John E. Murdock.

About FRANCIS CAMPS and the CHRISTIE MURDER CASE (from Wikipedia):

******Francis Edward Camps, b.1905 d.1972, was an English pathologist noted for his work on the cases of serial killers John Christie and John Bodkin Adams. He was professor of Forensic Medicine at the London Hospital Medical College, and President of the International Association of Forensic Scientists. He was the author of many papers on forensic medicine.

Camps gave critical evidence during the 1953 trial of John Christie, providing the court with a detailed report on the bodies found at 10 Rillington Place. Camps' report showed a consistent pattern of attack by Christie. His forensic evidence left little doubt that Christie murdered the victims and that Timothy Evans, who had been convicted and hanged for two of the murders, was innocent.

The Christie case was the most prominent of a series of miscarriages of justice which ultimately led to the abolition of capital punishment for murder in England, Wales and Scotland in 1965.******

About JOHN E. MURDOCK (from an online obituary):

******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.******

About JOHN CHRISTIE - Serial Killer (from Wikipedia):

******John Reginald Halliday Christie, b1899 d.1953, was an English serial killer who murdered at least eight people - including his wife Ethel - by strangling them inside his flat at 10 Rillington Place, Notting Hill, London. The bodies of three of his victims were found in a wallpaper covered kitchen alcove soon after he had moved out of Rillington Place during March 1953. The remains of two more victims were discovered in the garden, and his wife's body was found beneath the floorboards in the front room. Christie was eventually arrested and convicted of murder, for which he was hanged.

Two of Christie's victims were Beryl Evans and her baby daughter Geraldine. In 1950 Timothy Evans was charged with those murders, found guilty and hanged. Christie was a key prosecution witness in the Evans trial. When his own crimes were discovered three years later, it became evident that Christie's murders included Beryl Evans and her daughter, and that the police mishandling of the original inquiry allowed an innocent man to be hanged and Christie to escape detection, enabling him to commit a further four murders.******

Group of FOUR VOLUMES pertaining to the PARKMAN-WEBSTER MURDER TRIAL - with SIGNATURES, INSCRIPTIONS and ASSOCIATIONS. The volumes are:

(1) REPORT OF THE CASE OF JOHN W. WEBSTER, Doctor of Medicine of Harvard University...INDICTED for the MURDER OF GEORGE PARKMAN, M.A. Harvard University, Doctor of Medicine... by GEORGE BEMIS, Counsel in the Case. Published by Charles C. Little, 1850. First edition. This book has the following signatures and associations:

* PARKMAN SIGNATURE: Laid in is a printed announcement SIGNED BY DR. GEORGE PARKMAN, the murder victim. The announcement was for an annual meeting of the Boston Society for Medical Improvement. PARKMAN SIGNED the announcement as Secretary for the Society.

* SIGNATURE of JUSTICE SHAW (the Judge in the Case): Clipped note SIGNED BY JUSTICE LEMUEL SHAW tipped in. Clipped from a manuscript letter. The clipped section is 2.5x6 inches.

* PRESENTATION INSCRIPTION of the ATTORNEY GENERAL / PROSECUTOR (John H. Clifford): INSCRIBED by the ATTORNEY GENERAL on a blank front endpaper to THOMAS GILL (court reporter for the Boston Post): "Thomas Gill / with respects of the / Attorney General". The Attorney General of Massachusetts was JOHN H. CLIFFORD, who PROSECUTED the WEBSTER-PARKMAN case.

* Ownership SIGNATURE of JOSEPH W. P. FROST, b.1923 d.2008, in pencil at the top of the recent front free endpaper. Joseph W. P. Frost, b.1923 d.2008, was a cousin of Robert Frost. Robert Frost and his cousin Joseph William Pepperrell Frost were close friends and maintained a strong bond throughout their lives.

CONDITION: Professionally rebound in hardcovers. Internally, there is white tape reinforcement to the inner hinges, offsetting and foxing to the original blank endpapers, some foxing and toning here and there throughout. Overall a solid, clean copy. The signatures and the laid-in and tipped-in documents are bright and clear.

(2) REPORT OF THE CASE OF JOHN W. WEBSTER, Doctor of Medicine of Harvard University...INDICTED for the MURDER OF GEORGE PARKMAN, M.A. Harvard University, Doctor of Medicine... by GEORGE BEMIS, Counsel in the Case. Published by Charles C. Little, 1850. First edition. This book has the following attribute / association / signature:

* INSCRIBED by the AUTHOR to PROF. JEFFRIES WYMAN: "Prof. Jeffries Wyman / with the respects of the / Reporter." Professor Jeffries Wyman was an expert forensic science witness in the case. The "Reporter" is the Author, GEORGE BEMIS, who acted as co-counsel to the prosecution, and also acted as a Court Reporter during the trial. This book encompasses his notes on the case. There are some pencil margin marks and a bit of marginalia, possibly in the hand of Wyman.

* ASSOCIATION to the FORENSIC SCIENCE EXPERT JEFFRIES WYMAN. From Wikipedia: "Jeffries Wyman, b.1814 d.1874, was an American anatomist, curator, and professor. He taught anatomy at Harvard Medical School. In 1850, Wyman was called to testify for the prosecution in the Parkman-Webster murder case. His testimony contributed to the belief that the bones belonged to Parkman."

CONDITION: Original cloth covered boards, blind embossed designs on the front and rear boards, hinges are cracking but holding, foxing heavy on endpapers then just a bit throughout; there are pencil margin marks noting places where Prof. Wyman is mentioned.

(3) ILLEGALITY OF THE TRIAL OF JOHN W. WEBSTER, by Lysander Spooner. Published by Bela Marsh, Boston, 1850. Booklet, wrappers, 16 pages. Covers are toned and starting to split at the spine, folds are tender but holding, inner pages are nice, bright and clean.

(4) THE TRIAL OF PROF. JOHN W. WEBSTER Indicted for the MURDER of DR. GEORGE PARKMAN... Published by Redding & Company, Boston, 1850. Booklet, 56 pages, double columns of very small print. The covers are worn and the spine is splitting. Internally, the pages are creased at the corners, have some spotting and soiling, but are overall bright, clean, clear and legible.

THE TRIAL OF LEO FRANK : Reuben R. Arnold's Address To The Court In His Behalf. Introduction by Alvin V. Sellers.

BAXLEY, GEORGIA: Classic Publishing Co., 1915. FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING, with the date 1915 on the title and copyright pages, and "The Trow Press, New York" on the copyright page.

Printed wrappers, 5.25x8 inches, frontispiece, 69 pages plus two pages of Publisher's ads at the rear.

GOOD condition, the spine folds are tender and pulling from the textblock but holding, internally the pages are just lightly used, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. A nice, complete, presentable copy.

LEO FRANK, a Jew, was tried and convicted for the 1913 murder of 13 year old Mary Phagan who worked at the factory where Frank was a superintendent. Frank was convicted based substantially on the testimony of Jim Conley, an African-American who worked as a janitor at the factory. Frank appealed his conviction and his last appeal was denied in April 2015. He was sentenced to life in prison. A few months later Leo Frank was pulled from his cell by an armed mob and lynched.

From Wikipedia: "Leo Frank and his lawyers made a series of unsuccessful appeals; their final appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States failed in April 1915. Considering arguments from both sides as well as evidence not available at trial, Governor John M. Slaton commuted Frank's sentence from capital punishment to life imprisonment. The case attracted national press attention and many reporters deemed the conviction a travesty. Within Georgia, this outside criticism fueled antisemitism and hatred toward Frank. On August 16, 1915, he was kidnapped from prison by a group of armed men, and lynched at Marietta, Mary Phagan's hometown, the next morning."

Anti-semitism and racism infested the trial of Leo Frank and continues to infest it today. Many historians believe Leo Frank was innocent and that Jim Conley was the real murderer, while others believe that trying to blame Conley is ongoing racism.

"Leo Frank's case spurred the creation of the Anti-Defamation League and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan." - Wikipedia

You can read all about Leo Frank, Mary Phagan, Jim Conley, and the trial on Wikipedia and numerous Internet sites.

This book, published in the year of Leo Frank's lynching, is quite rare. From the "Leo Frank Case Archive" site:

******The Trial of Leo Frank, Reuben R. Arnold's Address to the Court on his Behalf. Introduction by Alvin V. Sellers. Classic Publishing Co., Baxley GA. Copyright, 1915 by Alvin V. Sellers and The Trow Press, New York. Booklet format, 69 pages and published in 1915. Original booklets are extremely rare and difficult to find.******

About Leo Frank (from Wikipedia):

******Leo Max Frank, b.1884 - d.1915, was an American factory superintendent and lynching victim. He was convicted in 1913 of the murder of a 13-year-old employee, Mary Phagan, in Atlanta, Georgia. Frank's trial, conviction, and unsuccessful appeals attracted national attention. His kidnapping from prison and lynching became the focus of social, regional, political, and racial concerns, particularly regarding antisemitism. Modern researchers generally agree that Frank was wrongly convicted.

The African American press condemned the lynching, but many African Americans also opposed Frank and his supporters over what historian Nancy MacLean described as a "virulently racist" characterization of Jim Conley, who was Black.******