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(I) Were the five bullets fired from Police Revolver 4894?
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Cimino, with his Assistant, Nicoll, attended the scene. After the revolver was dusted for fingerprints, he has kept it in his custody. In the condition when it first came into Cimino's custody, the revolver contained one live round and five spent cartridges. Mr. Cimino was able to recover three cartridges at the scene. Later, two cartridges obtained in post-mortem from MacLennan's body, were delivered to Cimino by Death Enquiry Police Constable 6924. Cimino had conducted a number of firing tests and determined:--
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(1) that the five cartridges found in the revolver were in fact fired from the same revolver;
(2) that the following three bullets were fired from that same revolver, namely, (i) the bullet found in the clothing at MacLennan's back, (ii) the bullet on the floor found beneath the light switch, and (iii) one bullet found in MacLennan's body during post-mortem; and
(3) that the other two bullets were so distorted that it was impossible to determine whether or not they were fired from the revolver. These two bullets were: (i) the bullet embedded in the drawer in MacLennan's room, (ii) one bullet found in MacLennan's body during post-mortem (it is more likely to have been the bullet embedded in the ninth thoracic vertebra).
Prescott, who came in August 1980, to give evidence, also conducted the same firing tests with the same results.
(II) Were the five shots contact shots?
122. All three Experts were unanimous in their opinion that the holes found in MacLennan's clothing and his body were all consistent with those made by contact shots, namely, shots fired from a weapon with the muzzle in contact with the garments. Contact shots are characterized by a black ring around the point of impact, and such rings can clearly be seen on MacLennan's body as well as his clothing. Prescott confirmed this point by chemical and comparison tests. He tested both the shirt and the pullover for gun powder residue and found that the residue was distributed in a manner which was completely consistent with contact discharge of a firearm. He fired revolver 4894 into a piece of white cloth to determine the distribution of residue and found the same to be consistent with the distribution he had found on the pullover and the shirt.
(III) Is it possible to self-inflict five gun-shot wounds?
123. Revolver 4894 was a standard issue police revolver, with a trigger pressure of about three pounds if it were cocked (single action) or ten pounds if it were uncocked (double action). Major Mead, who agreed generally with these trigger pressures, said in evidence that it would not be particularly difficult to fire the gun. It was possible to fire shots in two to three seconds. In the circumstances, Inspector MacLennan would have sufficient time to fire the remaining four shots even if the first one proved fatal, for he would not become instantly unconscious or otherwise immobilized. This would be achieved by pressing and steadying the muzzle of the firearm against the body, holding the butt with one or both hands and operating the trigger with the thumb, whichever hand was naturally used.
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Even if it were possible to pull the trigger within the time during which consciousness remained, the next question was whether or not the force from the firing of the weapon, i.e. the recoil, would be such as to throw the body, alternatively, would the gun virtually leap from the hands of the firer? The answer to this question, as provided by both Prescott and Mead, is that revolver 4894, produced very little recoil and would certainly not throw a person. The explanation lies in the fact that after a bullet is fired into the body, its energy is transferred to the body. The bullet from a .38 S&W would transfer insufficient energy to throw the body. The impact would cause the injured person to sway only slightly, particularly if he is a heavy man like MacLennan who weighed about 180 lbs.
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Energy is measured in terms of half the product of the mass of the bullet and the square of the velocity of the bullet. As will be seen from two graphs (Plate 33), a slight increase in velocity would increase the energy more than it would be for a slight increase in mass. The mass and velocity of the bullet used in revolver 4894 would be considered low when compared with the pistols and rifles most commonly used (see Plate 34). Mead's opinion was that even if a body were hit by a high-powered or high-energy rifle, the body would not be thrown. He demonstrated his point quite forcefully by firing into two blocks of gelatine (simulating the texture of human body) weighing about 35 pounds, and suspended by wires. Mrs. Elsie Elliott in her evidence in effect denied the validity of such tests. She said: "And the difference, of course, between a piece of gelatine and John MacLennan is that John MacLennan had blood, bones and feelings.' She offered no other reasons for not accepting Major Mead's tests. He first fired revolver 4894 and found that the movement was barely two to three inches. He fired into another block of the same weight with a .45 calibre pistol and found the swing to be not far different. The blocks of gelatine were roughly 1/5 to 1/6 of MacLennan's weight. (Photographs of Mead's test are at Plates 34 and 35). In view of the fact that MacLennan would not be freely suspended, the impact created by any of the bullets from revolver 4894 would create even less movement. It would certainly not throw him, nor would the weapon leap from his hands.
"33
33 See Mrs. Elliott's evidence at Transcript page 11262.
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