Bone Fragment Discovery Raises Question of Evidence Tampering In Foster Death


About This Snippet

During the initial investigations into the Foster death, very little evidence supporting suicide was found.

During the course of Kenneth Starr's recent investigation into the Foster death, his chief forensic scientist, Dr. Henry Lee, claimed that he had discovered new evidence: a bone chip in the debris from Foster's clothes. 

Starr tells us that the DNA recovered from the bone chip was consistent with Foster's DNA, and used this as evidence to support the theory that Foster committed suicide at Fort Marcy Park.

However,  more than three years before Starr issued his report announcing this new evidence, the FBI Lab examined Mr. Foster's clothing and failed to find a bone fragment.  The FBI Lab examined the clothes thoroughly enough to if a few blond hairs,  some carpet fibers and small particles of mica, yet no bone chip is mentioned anywhere in the FBI Lab report.  Starr did not explain this discrepancy between Dr. Lee's findings and that of the FBI lab.

Starr's failure to explain this discrepancy between Dr. Lee's findings and that of the FBI lab raises the specter of evidence tampering.  Specifically, there are three possible explanations:
 

  1. The FBI overlooked the bone chip in the debris from the clothes, finding only a few blond hairs, some carpet fibers and a few small particles of mica. 
Or
  1. Dr. Lee was mistaken about the bone chip being found in the debris from the clothes. 
               Or
  1. Both findings were correct and the evidence was tampered with -- i.e. there was no bone chip in the debris from the clothes at the time that the FBI lab examined them, but the bone chip was in the debris at the time Dr. Lee examined them. 
By failing to explain the discrepancy between Dr. Lee's finding and the finding of the FBI lab Starr has raised, yet failed to answer, the question of evidence tampering in the violent and supposedly unattended death of Vincent Foster. 

 Background

In a violent and supposedly unattended death by gunshot, it is crucial to establish that the decedent actually died at the location where the body was found, so as to rule out possibility of foul play.
Page from Foster autopsy showing missing bone
Page 6 from the Foster autopsy report showing the purported exit wound 
(click for larger view)
During the early evening of July 20th 1993, the body of White House Counsel Vincent Foster was found lying on a berm in Fort Marcy Park Va. 

According to the official investigations into the Foster death,   Vince Foster placed a .38 caliber handgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.  The bullet is supposed to have exited the back of Foster's head.

However, no bone fragments were ever located at the death scene in spite of an intensive search.  Robert Fiske reported that sixteen FBI individuals from the FBI Lab searched the scene looking for a bullet or bone fragments and that no bullet nor bone fragments were recovered at the scene1.

Compounding the fact that no bone fragments were found are the facts that:

  • There are no autopsy x-rays to corroborate the wound shown in the autopsy drawing
  • The Park Police investigator at the death scene reported he probed Foster's head and "there was no big hole there.  There was no big blowout.  There weren't brains running all over the place ... I initially thought the bullet might still be in his head ... there's no big hole or big blowout in his head."2
  • An FBI Telex sent a few hours after the autopsy reported that "preliminary results indicated no exit wound"3
Taken together with the lack of a bone chip at the scene, these facts are strongly suggestive that the death may have occurred elsewhere or by other means.

 Starr finds New Evidence

Kenneth Starr's tells us that his investigation into the Foster death resulted in the discovery of new evidence.  Apparently, Starr's chief forensic expert, Dr. Henry Lee, examined Foster's clothes and found a bone chip. 

From pages 51 and 52 of the Starr report:

    Dr. Lee examined debris collected from Mr. Foster's clothing and reported that the debris was "found to contain a bone chip."[144]  Dr. Lee stated that DNA was extracted from this bone fragment and amplified, and the DNA profile generated for this bone sample was consistent with the DNA types of Mr. Foster.[145]  Based on his analysis of the evidence, Dr. Lee concluded that "[t]his bone chip originated from Mr. Foster and separated from his skull at the time the projectile exited Mr. Foster's head."[146]
Moreover, Starr uses the new evidence in his summary of conclusions to bolster his finding that the death was a suicide (emphasis added):

X.  SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS

 ...The available evidence points clearly to suicide as the manner of death.  That conclusion is based on the evidence gathered and the analyses performed during previous investigations, and the additional evidence gathered and analyses performed during the OIC investigation, including the evaluations of Dr. Lee, Dr. Blackbourne. Dr. Berman, and the various OIC investigators.

... Dr. Lee found gunshot residue in a sample of the soil from the place where Mr. Foster was found.  He also found a bone chip containing DNA consistent with that of Mr. Foster in debris from the clothing.  Dr. Lee observed blood-like spatter on vegetation in the photographs of the scene. 

Starr's  newly discovered evidence, used to bolster his suicide finding, contradicts the findings of the FBI Lab.  More than three years before Starr issued his report announcing this  new evidence, the FBI Lab examined Mr. Foster's clothing and failed to find a bone fragment. 

The FBI Lab's examination of the clothes was sufficiently detailed enough to find a few blond hairs, some carpet fibers and a few small pieces of mica -- yet no bone chip is mentioned anywhere in the FBI Lab report. 

Given the fact that sixteen FBI Lab personnel had earlier searched the death scene looking for a bullet or bone fragment, is reasonable to believe that had the FBI forensic scientists discovered a bone fragment they would have reported it. 

The FBI Lab report of 5/9/94 makes no mention of a bone fragment at all.  All the FBI Lab reported finding in Foster's clothes was some hairs, carpet fibers and 'small particles of mica' [1898]:
 

    HAIRS AND FIBERS

          Blond to light brown head hairs of Caucasian origin which are dissimilar to head hairs in the K2 [Foster's hair] known head hair sample from Vincent Foster were found in the debris removed from the Q9 T-Shirt, the Q11 through Q11a pants and belt and the Q12 through Q15 socks and shoes.  These hairs have been mounted on glass microscope slides and will be preserved for possible future comparisons.

          No other hairs which were dissimilar to the known hairs of the deceased and which were suitable for significant comparison purposes were found in the debris from specimens Q4, Q5, Q8 through Q15 or Q31 through Q31C.

          Carpet type fibers of various colors were found in the debris from specimens Q4, Q5, Q8, Q10 through Q15, Q31B and Q31C.  These colors include white, tan, gray, blue, red and green.  These fibers will also be preserved for possible future comparisons.  It was also noted that a number of red/dark pink wool fibers were found in the debris from specimens Q9, Q12 through Q15, Q31A and Q31C.  The sources of these wool and carpet fibers of their possible significance is unknown to the Laboratory.
     

[1899 - 1900]:
... However, a few, small particles of mica were observed in the debris from the clothes the victim was wearing when he was discovered by law enforcement authorities ...
The Spectre of Evidence Tampering

There are three possibilities:

  1. The FBI overlooked the bone chip in the debris from the clothes, finding only a few blond hairs, some carpet fibers and 'a few small particles of mica' 
    2. Or
  2. Dr. Lee was mistaken about the bone chip being found in the debris from the clothes.
    3. Or
  3. Both findings were correct and the evidence was tampered with -- i.e. there was no bone chip in the debris from the clothes at the time that the FBI lab examined them, but the bone chip was in the debris at the time Dr. Lee examined them. 
By failing to explain the discrepancy between Dr. Lee's finding and the finding of the FBI lab Kenneth Starr raised the specter of evidence tampering in the violent and supposedly unattended death of Vincent Foster.


    1: Fiske's report on Foster death, page 48:
       On April 4, 1994, sixteen individuals from the FBI Lab went to Fort Marcy Park to conduct a search in the area where Foster's body was found.  The purpose of the search was to attempt to find a bullet, bone fragments from Foster's skull, the presence of blood in the soil beneath the location of Foster's body when found, and any other evidence relevant to Foster's death.
     Fiske's report on Foster death, page 47:
       FBI Lab personnel excavated to a depth of approximately eighteen  inches, searching the soil through various screening methods. No bone fragments or bullets were found.
    2: Inspector Rolla's deposition of July 21, 1994 [401]
    3: A Scan of page 3 of thethe FBI Telex may be viewed by clicking here
       
    Citations in brackets are to page numbers of the two 1994 Senate Whitewater Hearings Volumes [S. Hrg. 103-889, Volumes I & II] and of the 1994 Report Volume [Rept. 103-433, Volume I].
     
     jc huntington
     10/98

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