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 24: Bloody Footprint - Transport of Blood by Shoes Experiment
Tests of the distance through which blood can be carried on bottom of shoes was performed by stepping repeatedly in a region of heavy blood spots on a floor until the shoe soles were thoroughly blood-smeared. The subject then walked normally along a strip of wrapping paper until no more visible blood could be seen on the paper. The last footprint showing any visible trace of blood occurred 50 feet from the origin. Photograph No. 24 shows the first shoe print. Minute amounts of blood detectable chemically may naturally be carried further than the last visible print. The important aspect of this experiment is that the bloody footprint is not a series of drops or spots as claimed in the Sheppard house, but rather a diffuse area of thin deposit, retaining a semblance of the shape of the shoes' contact with the surface. It must also be remembered that the murderer may have stepped in very little blood as compared with the rather large amount used in this experiment.
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Kirk Photo 25: Blood on Bottom of Shoe: Wash-off Experiment
In order to determine the likelihood that all blood would be washed from Sam Sheppard's shoes by his alleged washing in the lake, a shoe with leather sole and stitching was daubed with about two dozen spots of freshly shed human blood.
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Kirk Photo 26: Blood on Bottom of Shoe after Wash-off
The shoe was allowed to stand for 35 minutes to allow complete soaking of the blood into the leather and complete drying, which actually required a very short time. The shoe was then immersed in water and forced back and forth in the water to simulate the washing action of water movement for five minutes, after which some of the spots had disappeared and all reduced in size, but 16 spots could still be observed with the eye. Because the treatment did not apply mechanical action to remove the blood spots as would walking, the wet spots were rubbed vigorously with paper toweling until no actual spots could be seen as such. The shoe was then returned to fresh water for five more minutes, after which it was removed and allowed to dry.
Inspection with magnification revealed that blood was still visible in three places, twice where it had soaked into the stitching; the largest visible quantity was in a small cut in the sole of the shoe.
This experiment shows that blood adheres to surfaces into which it can soak with considerable tenacity as previously shown with clothing and in contrast to the behavior on smooth, non-absorptive surfaces such as metal watch bands. It is very probable that even the visible blood would have disappeared with walking, but certainly not to a point at which chemical blood test methods would not have revealed its original presence.
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Kirk Photo 27: Blood Spatter on Clothes Experiments
In this series of experiments… a wide variety of objects of various sizes, shapes, weights, and configurations were used to spatter far more blood than was spattered in the commission of the Marilyn Sheppard murder. During the entire series of experiments, the same set of coveralls was worn without washing or disturbing any of the deposited blood on that garment. The appearance of the garment is shown in photographs No. 27, 28, and 29.
The amount of blood that was spattered backward was uniformly less than that spattered sidewise or forward, even though the blows were delivered in a number of ways and under all the variations listed above. While the amount of blood is definitely significant, it shows that the murderer could have escaped without having accumulated enough blood to drip or leave any blood trail whatever from that source.
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Kirk Photo 28: Blood Spatter on Clothes Experiments
In this series of experiments… a wide variety of objects of various sizes, shapes, weights, and configurations were used to spatter far more blood than was spattered in the commission of the Marilyn Sheppard murder. During the entire series of experiments, the same set of coveralls was worn without washing or disturbing any of the deposited blood on that garment. The appearance of the garment is shown in photographs No. 27, 28, and 29.
The amount of blood that was spattered backward was uniformly less than that spattered sidewise or forward, even though the blows were delivered in a number of ways and under all the variations listed above. While the amount of blood is definitely significant, it shows that the murderer could have escaped without having accumulated enough blood to drip or leave any blood trail whatever from that source.
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Kirk Photo 29: Blood Spatter on Clothes Experiments
In this series of experiments… a wide variety of objects of various sizes, shapes, weights, and configurations were used to spatter far more blood than was spattered in the commission of the Marilyn Sheppard murder. During the entire series of experiments, the same set of coveralls was worn without washing or disturbing any of the deposited blood on that garment. The appearance of the garment is shown in photographs No. 27, 28, and 29.
The amount of blood that was spattered backward was uniformly less than that spattered sidewise or forward, even though the blows were delivered in a number of ways and under all the variations listed above. While the amount of blood is definitely significant, it shows that the murderer could have escaped without having accumulated enough blood to drip or leave any blood trail whatever from that source.
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Kirk Photo 30: Wooden Block Simulating Skull Experiments
In order to determine the nature and appearance of blood spots resulting from spatter under different conditions (from throw-off by objects simulating weapons and similar questions), a considerable series of experiments were conducted. A wooden block was taken as approximating the hardness of a skull. Over it was placed a layer of sponge rubber 1/8" thick, which approximates the thickness of the subcutaneous layer of the forehead and scalp. Over this was placed a sheet of polyethylene plastic to simulate the skin, which is impermeable to liquids. The arrangement was placed on a stool on wrapping paper to collect blood spatter.
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Kirk Photo 31: Metal Bars Used as Weapons in Experiments
Three metal objects used as weapons in experiments: the shortest is a 1" x 15" steel bar, the second is a brass rod about 20" long and bent on the end to an approximate right angle, and the longest and heaviest is a brass bar 3/8" x 2'.
