The medical record and the missing pages
I begin with autopsy files because they are meant to be the least mutable evidence in any killing. In the case of President John F Kennedy the official autopsy at Bethesda has long been contested. The Warren Commission and later the House Select Committee on Assassinations reached different conclusions about the number of gunmen and the likely trajectories. I rely on the National Archives collection for the Warren Commission report and the HSCA material, and I note that some records remained redacted or only partially released as recently as 2017 and 2018. When primary notes are missing or altered the whole medical narrative becomes open to challenge. I make no claim about motive from that alone. I point to it as an evidential gap.Film, audio and conflicting timelines
Moving evidence is often decisive. The Zapruder film became central to later analysis of the JFK shooting. The House Select Committee used acoustic evidence and frame analysis to suggest a probable second gunman. Critics such as Vincent Bugliosi and Gerald Posner have pushed back in substantial books. I credit those historians for their work while noting that the acoustic files, the original film copies and witness timings were handled inconsistently by different agencies. Where chain of custody for such items is unclear we mark that as a forensic anomaly. The FBI Vault holds many of the original files and I have cross referenced their release logs.Witness statements and lost interviews
Witness testimony changes over time. In the Olof Palme murder many statements were taken and then later disputed. The Swedish prosecution archived a large file but numerous contemporaneous notes were reportedly loose and in some cases missing from press archives. The 2020 closure naming Stig Engström as the probable killer remains contested by some researchers and by surviving witnesses. I treat those disputes as material. Where a prosecutor closes a case while admitting gaps, we must highlight the undone work.Disputed ballistics and audio analyses
Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr cases also show forensic oddities. In RFK's shooting there were debates about the number of shots and angles. In the MLK case autopsy and forensic reports were bundled into long federal reviews made public through the FBI Vault and later scholars. David Garrow and other historians used those files to build a narrative. I rely on their published work and on the archived documents. When labs used differing standards over time or when physical evidence cannot be reexamined because it is lost or sealed, the forensic trail becomes contested.Why these anomalies matter
For the conspiracy minded reader forensic anomalies are not proof of a conspiracy. They are, I believe, the raw material for enquiry. I track timelines, point to specific documents and note where records are sealed, destroyed or disputed. Where an archive has closed files I report that fact. Where historians disagree I name them and link to their work. Our team will continue to seek declassified material and to flag discrepancies for independent experts to test. Sign up to our newsletter for daily briefs. References and sources: National Archives JFK Assassination RecordsHouse Select Committee on Assassinations Final Report
FBI Vault: JFK assassination files
FBI Vault: Martin Luther King Jr files
BBC: Olof Palme case closed 2020
Vincent Bugliosi, Reclaiming History
David J Garrow, Bearing the Cross