Dr. Paul Leeland Kirk, professor of Criminalistics and forensic expert for the Sheppard defense team, stated in his affidavit that he examined the crime scene, various pieces of evidence held by the prosecutor and police, as well as blood samples collected and mailed to him. His investigation began on January 22, 1955 and continued for several months. Dr. Kirk used blood spatter analysis to conclude, among other things, that:
- The murderer was left-handed (Dr. Sam Sheppard was right-handed)
- Injuries to the victim's teeth indicate that the victim had bitten the attacker's hand
- A large bloodstain on the closet door was likely from the attacker's bloody hand
- Testing of the blood stain showed it did not match that of Sam or Marilyn Sheppard, so the attacker must have been a third person
- The murder weapon was a cylindrical object, such as a pipe or flashlight, not a surgical instrument, as asserted by the Coroner
- The physical evidence demonstrated that the crime was a sexual assault
The following photographs were submitted in support of Dr. Kirk's Affidavit. Kirk also explains his investigation in his 1966 trial testimony.
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Kirk Photo 09: Blood Spatter on Victim's Bed Sheets
Utilizing the spots on the defendant's bed, it was noted that all those with elongated patterns had originated at a single center of origin that corresponded to exactly the region of Marilyn Sheppard's mattress on which the blood intensity was greatest and which was occupied by her head at the time she was found. It can therefore be stated with certainty that her head was in essentially the same position during all of the blows from which blood was spattered on her bed. This distribution is illustrated in photographs 7 through 11.
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Kirk Photo 10: Blood Spatter on Victim's Bed Sheets
Utilizing the spots on the defendant's bed, it was noted that all those with elongated patterns had originated at a single center of origin that corresponded to exactly the region of Marilyn Sheppard's mattress on which the blood intensity was greatest and which was occupied by her head at the time she was found. It can therefore be stated with certainty that her head was in essentially the same position during all of the blows from which blood was spattered on her bed. This distribution is illustrated in photographs 7 through 11.
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Kirk Photo 11: Blood Spatter on Victim's Bed Sheets
Utilizing the spots on the defendant's bed, it was noted that all those with elongated patterns had originated at a single center of origin that corresponded to exactly the region of Marilyn Sheppard's mattress on which the blood intensity was greatest and which was occupied by her head at the time she was found. It can therefore be stated with certainty that her head was in essentially the same position during all of the blows from which blood was spattered on her bed. This distribution is illustrated in photographs 7 through 11.
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Kirk Photo 12: South Wall Blood Spatter
Blood spots on the south wall were of more than one origin. Many of them were direct spatter from impact, and these aligned also with the position of Marilyn Sheppard's head when found. Others were thrown at a flat angle to the wall and did not originate from impact splatter, but impinged tangentially to the arc of the weapon.
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Kirk Photo 13: East Wall (Door) Spatter
Blood spots on the east wall were exceptional in their indications. Nearly all of them contrasted sharply with other spots in the room in that they were placed by low-velocity drops. Most of the them impacted the wall nearly at right angles to it as is clearly demonstrated from their essentially round shape.
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Kirk Photo 14-A: Blood Spot (Door)
Blood removed from the mattress, unquestionably the blood of the victim, was grouped and found to be devoid of A and B factors. The blood was readily soluble in distilled water, and agglutination after treatment with anti-serum and cells was immediate compared with controls of anti-serum and cells alone. The same results were found with a second and rather large spot (1/2" diameter) from the same door panel as the very large spot in this photo. There was no sign of delayed agglutination, and solubility of the blood was excellent. Grouping of the large spot was performed simultaneously with the same sera and cells and in identical manner. Several differences were immediately apparent: the blood from the very large spot was definitely less soluble than that from the smaller sport or from controls from the mattress. In running the agglutination tests, in every instance and with tests for both A and B factors, agglutination was much slower and less certain than the controls. The fact that delayed agglutination occurred indicated clearly that this blood was also O group, but its behavior was so different as to be striking. These differences are considered to constitute confirmatory evidence that the blood of the large spot had a different individual origin from most of the blood in the bedroom.
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Kirk Photo 14: East Wall (Door) Spatter
These drops, with low velocity and mixed pattern of impact (predominantly horizontal), could not have originated in the same manner as the remainder of the blood in the room and gives the clue to the entire pattern of the event. Extensive experiments show that probably nearly all of the blood drops on the east wall were thrown there by the back-swing of the weapon used, since this is the only method by which low-velocity drops could have reached that wall, and it is the only way in which they would have been predominantly at right angles in impact direction.
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Kirk Photo 15: Blood Spatter
Extensive experiments show that probably nearly all of the blood drops on the east wall were thrown there by the back-swing of the weapon used, since this is the only method by which low-velocity drops could have reached that wall and been predominantly at right angles in impact direction. It can be stated very positively that they did not originate as impact spatter, which is the source of most of the drops that impacted other parts of the room. The low and triangular distribution of the drops on the two doors corresponds with the swing of the weapon, which started low in left-hand swing, rising through an arc, and striking the victim with a sidewise angular blow rather than one brought down vertically. The absence of blood on the ceiling at the time when blood was thrown in other directions from the weapon demonstrates that no vertical "chopping" blows were used. A swing similar to that used with a baseball bat by a left-handed batter is the only one consistent with the blood spot distribution.
