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Q. Doctor, when the X-rays were reviewed, is that the first time that you are aware that there was actually a bullet in the skull? A. Well, I guess so. I felt something there, I didn't know what it was. I waited for the X-rays before I came to the conclusion that it was a bullet, I think. Q. Were there any FBI agents present at that time? A. There were two. Q. Do you remember who they were? A. It was Mr. Wood and I think it was Adams. I could check my. Yes, Mr. Adams. Q. What was their reaction? A. They were astounded, and surprised, and very angry that that was, that it had taken a second autopsy to find that. Q. Had you reviewed Dr. Brown's autopsy? A. It was not available at that time. I didn't see it until later. Q. Have you since reviewed it? A. I have, I have not seen it lately, or reviewed it lately. Q. Did you notice what Dr. Brown had said about the cause of death? A. Yes, I am aware of that. Q. What was that? A. He concluded the death was a result of exposure. JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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A. No, I did not. Q. What was your conclusion as to the cause of death? A. It was my conclusion that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. Q. Did you also in reviewing Dr. Brown's report notice what he said about the kidneys from the body? A. Yes, he had given a weight to describe them. When I examined the body, the kidneys were still in place, had not been removed from the body. Q. To weigh the kidneys you have to remove them? A. Yes. Q. So they had not been weighed? A. They had not been weighed. Q. You talked about the condition of the body. You are aware, of course, that the hands had been severed at the first autopsy? A. Yes, they were actually returned to me. I examined them, and then they were basically rejoined with the body. Q. Is removing the hands in a situation like this, was it a recognized protocol back at that point in time? A. It was. I think it was kind of the minority approach to things, but it was done and I had seen it mentioned as a technique in the teaching I had had at that time. It wasn't a practiced I used, but it was recommended by some authorities JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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Q. You mentioned that you had removed the bullet from the skull, what did you do with the bullet? A. I gave that to Investigator Wood. Q. From your examination of the body, and I recognize that it was quite some time before you actually examined it, but can you give us any opinion as to how far away the gun would have been from the head when the bullet was fired? A. In a general way I can. Q. What is your opinion? A. It was very close. There was black gunshot residue that surrounded the perforation that was in the back of the head. Basically that point on the back of the head and a little bit left of the center line there was gunshot residue. That only travels a short distance from the gun barrel and was very intensely deposited, so I would say the weapon was very, very close, maybe touching the hair just a very short distance. To know the specific distance you would have to test with that weapon and similar ammunition, but we are talking just a very short distance from the skin surface. MR. McMAHON: Thank you, that's all I have, Your Honor. THE COURT: Cross examine. CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. RENSCH: Q. Morning, Doctor. JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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Q. What is livor mortise. A. Livor mortise is the settling of blood that takes place after circulation ceases and gravity will pull the blood to one of the body surfaces, and it will settle and deposit there. Q. You have looked at the bullet that you took out of Ms. Pictou-Aquash's skull, did you not, sir? A. I did look at it, yes. Q. It had copper on it, didn't it? A. It had a copper coloring, they call a flash. Wasn't really a jacket around, but had some copper coloration to it. Q. In the course of the autopsy you also examined the vagina of Ms. Pictou-Aquash to take a look at it, did you not, sir? A. I did look at the genitalia, yes. Q. You noted the genitalia appeared normal? A. They did to me, yes. Q. You didn't find any other bullet holes or bullet wounds on this body, did you, sir? A. No, that was the only one. MR. RENSCH: Nothing further, thank you. THE COURT: Redirect. MR. McMAHON: No further questions. THE COURT: Thank you. Doctor, you may step down. JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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MR. MANDEL: The United States would call William Wood. WILLIAM WOOD, called as a witness, being first duly sworn, testified and said as follows: DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. MANDEL: Q. Sir, would you state your name, please? A. William B. Wood. Q. What is your current occupation? A. I am retired. Q. And what are you retired from, sir? A. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Q. Were you a Special Agent with the FBI? A. Yes, sir, I was. Q. How long were you employed in that capacity? A. Thirty-one years. Q. What years was that, sir? A. From 1966 to 1997. Q. Sir, did you spend some of those years operating out of, in Rapid City, South Dakota? A. Yes, sir, I did. Q. Can you tell me what years you were in Rapid City? JERRY J. MAY. RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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Q. As part of your duties did you investigate federal crimes occurring on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you become involved in the investigation of the death of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash? A. Yes, sir, I did. Q. Can you tell me when you first became involved in that, sir, if you recall? A. In, it was in February of 1976. Q. How did you become involved? A. I was assigned the case, and the original case agent was Agent Dealing, and I was assigned the case after him, and was assigned to conduct the investigation concerning her death. Q. At the time you originally were assigned to the case, had there been an identification made? A. Not at that time, no. Q. Can you tell us then the sequence of events as to what happened in terms of how the identification was made? A. The identification was made from the hands that, of the victim after they had been removed at the first autopsy by Dr. Brown. And turned over to Agent Munis, and the identification division, through fingerprints obtained, that the identification division identified the remains as those of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash. And when we found that identity out, JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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the body. Q. Why was that, sir? A. Because the, for one thing, I did not believe that, the original cause of death being given as exposure, I didn't believe that that would be the truth, and I wanted to have the body re-examined, and applied for the Court Order and was granted that by Judge Bogue, and the body was exhumed, and the second autopsy was performed. Q. Now had you had previous experience with Dr. Brown as a pathologist? A. Not personally, no. I know that he had been conducting autopsies for cases on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for a number of years, and I was not personally acquainted with the man. Q. After the exhumation order was received from Judge Bogue, what steps took place next? A. I went down to the reservation with two other agents, and on March the 11th of 1976, and the BIA was using a backhoe to dig for remains that they had been buried at a cemetery across from Holy Rosary Mission. Q. Can I ask you if you know, sir, why were the remains buried before the body was identified, or that all effort had been exhausted? A. That I do not know. We requested that the body not be JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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Q. What took place at Holy Rosary then, sir? A. At the exhumation, after the body was exhumed it was placed on a flat bed truck of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and taken to the Pine Ridge hospital and then taken into the morgue, and Dr. Peterson was present, and myself and Special Agent Gary Adams were present during the autopsy. Q. How was it that Dr. Peterson was selected as the individual to perform the autopsy? A. To the best of my recollection I believe that we had been contacted by Bruce Ellison, and he had wanted to have an independent pathologist examine the body. And I don't recall if we had selected or if Mr. Ellison and his office had selected Dr. Peterson, but Dr. Peterson was acceptable to us, because I knew that he was the medical examiner in Hennepin County, and has a good reputation as a good and thorough pathologist. Q. What took place then when the second autopsy was conducted, sir? A. The first thing that was done was Dr. Peterson had X-rays taken, and I was not in the room when the X-rays were taken, of course, but after the X-rays were taken and the film was developed, then he determined that there was a piece of metal in her head around the left eye socket. Q. Was he able to extract that piece of metal? JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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Q. Did he provide it to you? A. Yes, sir, provided it to me, and I gave him a receipt for it. Q. Were you able to visually identify that item? A. Yes, sir. Q. Could you generally tell what it was looking at it? A. Yes, sir. (Exhibit 33 marked For identification.) BY MR. MANDEL: Q. Sir, I have provided you with what has been marked Exhibit 33, I will ask you if you can identify that item? A. Yes, sir, that appears to be the piece of metal that was taken out of the head of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash, her remains. Q. Sir, what did you do with that item? A. After giving him a receipt, then I placed it in this box. Q. Did you place your initials on the box? A. Yes, sir, I did. Q. Are they still there? A. Yes, sir, they are. Q. Other than that Exhibit sticker that I put inside the box that shows Exhibit 33, does that appear to be in pretty JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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A. Yes, sir, it does. Q. After obtaining that bullet, what action did you take next? A. I had taken the hands with me down to the autopsy, and the hands were turned over to Dr. Peterson for inclusion back with the body at the conclusion of the autopsy, and I also, the body was turned over to Bruce Ellison, and then I gave Mr. Ellison a receipt, or he gave me a receipt for that. MR. MANDEL: Your Honor, I offer Exhibit 33 at this MR. RENSCH: No objection. THE COURT: Exhibit 33 is received. BY MR. MANDEL: Q. Was the body re-interred after that to your knowledge? A. Yes, sir, it was. Q. Where was that, if you know? A. I do not know. Q. In terms of the investigation of this case, can you tell us what actions you took initially at that time to pursue the investigation? A. Well, just we contacted as many people as we could find that, attempting to interview various people that we knew that Ms. Aquash had associated with. And many of those people were not interested in speaking with us, and we just kept running JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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couldn't get very many people to talk to us. And we could not, we had a very difficult time tracing her activities from the last time that she had been known to be alive by us. Q. Was this kind of running in to a brick wall a common problem in investigations down on Pine Ridge back at that time? MR. RENSCH: That's a leading question, Your Honor. THE COURT: Sustained. BY MR. MANDEL: Q. Was it unusual to have difficulty getting cooperation in an investigation down there? A. It was very common at that time, specially in connection with a matter such as this where she had ties to the American Indian Movement, and also to the Wounded Knee Legal Defense-Offense Committee. Q. Sir, did you conduct a further investigation at the crime scene at any point? A. Yes, sir, I did. Q. Were you out there initially when the body was found? A. No, I was not. Q. But were you, how were you able first of all to determine that you were at the correct scene when you went back to look at it? A. Well, for one thing I think probably Nate Merrick may JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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may have pointed it out to me. I don't remember exactly who had shown us exactly where it was, but it would have been some of the law enforcement personnel that were involved in the initial crime scene. Q. Can you tell us what further efforts you made at the crime scene itself, sir? A. Myself and three other agents went out with, and did a re-examination of the crime scene. That was on March the 15th, four days after the second autopsy. And at that time once we had found that she had been shot, then we took a metal detector with us and examined the crime scene up on top of the ravine and then down below where her body had been found. Examined the entire area with the metal detector, and also visually looking for other items of evidence. Q. With the use of the metal detector were you able to locate either any expended cartridges or any other bullets that had been fired? A. We found nothing, no form of metal at all anywhere in the area. Q. Based on the investigation did you have any conclusion as to where the shooting had taken place? A. Would you repeat that again, sir? Q. I guess what I am asking is did you believe the shooting had taken place where the body was found ultimately, or at JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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A. It was our theory she had probably been shot above and pushed over the edge of the ravine. Q. But I guess at that point that was just a theory? A. Yes, sir, it was, because there was no way for us to tell, because the body was very badly decomposed when found, and mummification had set in. And the length of time that it takes for that to occur, we wouldn't, I mean many times drag marks or any blood stains or anything that would have been in the area would have been gone due to weathering. Q. Did you take other actions after that in this investigation, sir? A. Just the normal investigative routines. Q. During the course of the time you were assigned to the case did you ever get it to the point where there was enough evidence to bring charges against any individual? A. No, sir. MR. MANDEL: I have no further questions. Your Honor. THE COURT: You may cross examine. MR. RENSCH: Thank you. Your Honor. CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. RENSCH: Q. What day did you folks take out the metal detector to where this body was found and examine the area? A. It was March the 15th. JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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the metal detector? A. I don't recall the exact amount of time that we were out there. Q. Roughly? A. I am guessing we probably spent three or four hours out there at least. Q. Who were you with? A. I was with Special Agent John McCarty, George Haffner and Edman Bean. Q. Who was operating the metal detector? A. I do not recall who operated that, it was not me. Q. What area was searched? A. The area immediately above where the body was found, and probably as best I can recall we probably would have gone 25 to 50 feet out, and all the way back to the road. And then the area down where her body was found and the adjacent area to that going up. I don't recall how far. Q. So you searched the area immediately around her body to see if you could find any metal, is that right? A. Yes, sir, and extending out a ways, yes, sir. Q. Do you have any notes or reports concerning how far out you went? A. I have a, just my report notes. Not that says how far we went out, no. JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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A. Bruce Ellison is an attorney that was representing the Wounded Knee legal Defense-Offense Committee. Q. When he was talking to your office about getting Ms. Pictou-Aquash's body exhumed, did he make any representations about being a lawyer for the family? A. At some point he did make mention that he was. When I gave him the remains, he said that he represented the family at that time. Q. Isn't it true, sir, that he initiated efforts to get this body exhumed? A. No, sir, it is not. Q. When did you initiate efforts to get the body exhumed? A. I don't recall the exact date. It was when we found out, when we received information from the identification division, from that moment on is when we started our efforts to get the Court Order. Q. Your duties as a Special Agent in 1975 in this area included what, sir? A. Just investigating crimes on an Indian Reservation, on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation specifically. Q. Did you also include among your duties the cultivation of informants within the American Indian Movement? A. Within my duties as a Special Agent of the FBI, as with any law enforcement agency, is to gather information in any JERRY J. MAY, RPR, CM 400 South Phillips Avenue, #305A
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