CAUTION - EXTREMELY GRAPHIC PHOTOS

JFK Assassination Evidence: Autopsy Photos and Xrays

For research purposes only.

President Kennedy's Autopsy was carried out at Bethesda Naval Hospital on November 22-23, 1963. The official autopsy photographs have never been published.

On November 23, 1963, James K. Fox, the Secret Service photographic expert, was given the autopsy film holders by JFK's personal physician, Admiral George Burkley, and told to develop them. At that time he made three sets of black and white autopsy photo prints at the Secret Service lab. On November 27, 1963, additional official copies were made at the Naval Processing Center.

While having the photos in his possession, Agent Fox made a set for himself and later in 1981, those pictures were given to JFK researcher Mark Crouch by Fox, with the stipulation that Crouch not release them or source them while Fox was alive. Fox died in 1987 and the following year writer David Lifton published photographed copies of them in "Best Evidence" (1988 Carrol & Graf Reprint) with mention of Fox and Crouch in the Afterword. Crouch retired from research in 1993 and gave the photos to researcher Walt Brown, who continues to make them available to researchers.

In 1992, the official autopsy photos were specifically exempted from the JFK Records Act and have not been released. ARRB Senior Staffer Doug Horne stated that after viewing digital copies of the original photos, he noted the Fox unofficial photos are cropped differently and are degraded as compared to the originals in the National Archives but are basically the same. Some photos taken at the autopsy are not now a part of the official collection and are missing. Horne's further, specific comments on the photos are available here. (1998 JFK Lancer Conference)

The color photos were obtained by JFK researcher and amateur photographer Robert Groden who served as an upaid consultant to the House Select Committee on Assassinations. Groden photographed the color autopsy photos without permission. Groden was paid by "The Globe" tabloid at their 1991 printing of those photos and has also published them in his books.

The photos below on our website are the Lifton copies named as he included them in his book, "Best Evidence". The X-rays are exhibits from the HSCA hearings and were obtained by JFK Lancer from the National Archives.

for larger sized photos go here

President John Kennedy Fox Autopsy Photo Set and X-Rays JFK Lancer