(Testimony of Paul Morgan Stombaugh)
Mr. Dulles.
(Commission Exhibit No. 671 was marked, and received in evidence.)
Mr. Eisenberg.
Could you briefly discuss this exhibit?
Mr. Stombaugh.
Exhibit 671 is similar to Exhibit 672 in that both contain two photographs. The photograph on the left is an overall shot of Oswald's limb hairs.
Mr. Eisenberg.
That is the known?
Mr. Stombaugh.
That is the known from Oswald.
The photograph on the right contains photographs of two hairs, in this same photograph, the hair on the right being a limb hair from Oswald, and the hair on the left being a hair removed from the blanket.
Mr. Eisenberg.
What is the magnification there, Mr. Stombaugh?
Mr. Stombaugh.
The magnification of these is approximately the same as in the previous submission, the one on the right being approximately 400 diameters and the one on the left 100 diameters.
Now, the one on the right is a limb hair. A limb hair is much smaller in diameter than a pubic hair. That is why there will appear to be some slight change in the size of these hairs.
I compared the limb hair from the blanket with the limb hair from Oswald which matched in all observable microscopic characteristics. The characteristics I found in this match were the color of the hair was light brown through its entire length, and the width of the hair shaft or the diameter was very fine. There was no fluctuation that one could readily see. The diameter of the hair shaft remained constant to the tip, where it diminished down to a point.
The tips of the hairs were very sharp and no abrasion was noted. In other words, the tips of these limb hairs were not rounded as one ordinarily finds. This would indicate the hairs were very tough, the same as the pubic hairs were.
Mr. Eisenberg.
Are you describing now the known hairs?
Mr. Stombaugh.
These are known hairs and the match I made; both.
Mr. Eisenberg.
All right.
Mr. Stombaugh.
The scales were of medium size, had very slight protrustion, and there was very slight gapping in the pigmentation located in the cortex right against the cuticle of the hair. There was a fair amount of cortical fusi equally distributed throughout the hair shaft.
This is not unusual in itself, but the amount of cortical fusi that I did find present is unusual.
The medulla was discontinuous, granular, very bulbous, and very uneven. It was not a constant, smooth straight line such as one might find over here in this pubic hair on 672.
There was nothing unusual noted about the root area of these hairs.
Mr. Eisenberg.
And again you are describing the characteristics of both hairs, and they were identical in all these characteristics?
Mr. Stombaugh.
That is correct.
Mr. Eisenberg.
Were there any characteristics in which they were not identical?
Mr. Stombaugh.
No; not on the limb hair, as I found it matched. I did find limb hairs and pubic hairs and head hairs in this blanket which were dissimilar to Oswald's and definitely did not come from him but the hairs I have talked about here matched in all microscopical characteristics.
Mr. Eisenberg.
The other hairs, Mr. Stombaugh, could you make a determination as to race?
Mr. Stombaugh.
Yes; they were all Caucasian.
Mr. Eisenberg.
Could you make a determination as to sex or age?
Mr. Stombaugh.
No; it is not possible to determine sex or age from an examination of a hair.
Mr. Eisenberg.
Could you make a determination as to the number of individuals who had contributed these hairs?
Mr. Stombaugh.
No; I couldn't. You would have to have a hair sample from any suspected person, and hairs vary tremendously. Even on the same individual head hairs from the same individual can vary from one head area to another.
I have found as many as 12 to 15 different types of hair on the same person's head.
|
