Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION
II. BACKGROUND
A. 1993 Park Police Investigation
B. 1994 Fiske Investigation
C. Congressional Inquiries
D. Appointment of the Independent Counsel
III. OVERVIEW
A. Scrutiny
B. OIC Personnel
C. Methodology
D. Report
IV. FACTUAL SUMMARY
A. Mr. Foster's Background and Activities on July
20, 1993
B. Fort Marcy
V. FORENSIC ANALYSES
A. Autopsy
B. Laboratory Analyses
1. Gun
a. Operation
b. Serial Numbers
c. Ammunition
d. DNA
e. Blood
f. Fingerprints
g. Marks on Body From Gunshot and Gun
(1) Gunshot Residue on Hands
(2) Indentation on Thumb
h. Summary: Gun
2. Clothing
a. Gunshot Residue
b. Bloodstain Patterns as Depicted in
Photographs From Scene
c. Blood Drainage After Movement From
Fort Marcy Park and Bloodstains on
Clothing at Autopsy
d. Mineral/Vegetative Material
e. Lack of Rips, Tears, or Scraping on
Clothing
f. Bone Chip
g. Pants Pocket and Oven Mitt
h. Hairs and Fibers
3. Eyeglasses
a. Blood
b. Gunpowder
c. Summary: Eyeglasses
4. Surrounding Area
a. Gunshot Residue in Soil
b. Possible Bloodstains on Vegetation at
Scene
5. Contents of Bodily Fluids
C. Review by Pathologists
VI. ISSUES RELATING TO EVIDENCE AT SCENE
A. Blood Transfer Stain
B. Quantity of Blood
C. Unidentified Persons and Cars
D. Car Locks
E. Neighborhood
F. Pager
VII. ISSUES RELATING TO CONDUCT OF INITIAL INVESTIGATION
A. Photographs
B. Keys
C. X-Rays
VIII. OTHER ISSUES
A. Gun Observations and Ownership
1. Observations of Gun at Scene
2. Ownership of Gun
B. Briefcase
1. Mr. Foster's Departure From the White House
2. Mr. Foster's Car at Fort Marcy
3. Park Police Communications With Secret
Service
4. Mr. Foster's Office at the White House
5. Mr. Foster's Briefcase
6. Summary: Briefcase
C. Notification
D. Search for Bullet
IX. STATE OF MIND
A. Dr. Berman's Analysis
B. Evidence
X. SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS
I. INTRODUCTION
In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 594(h), the Office of
Independent Counsel In re: Madison Guaranty Savings &
Loan Association (the OIC) files this summary report on
the 1993 death of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent W.
Foster, Jr.
On July 20, 1993, police and rescue personnel were
called to Fort Marcy Park in suburban Northern Virginia
They found Mr. Foster lying dead with a gun in his right
hand and gunshot residue-like material on that hand.
There were no signs of a struggle. There was a gunshot
wound through the back of his head and blood under his
head and back. The autopsy determined that Mr. Foster's
death was caused by a gunshot through the back of his
mouth exiting the back of his head. The autopsy revealed
no other wounds on Mr. Foster's body.
The police later learned that Mr. Foster had called a
family doctor for antidepressant medication the day
before his death. He had told his sister four days
before his death that he was depressed, and she had
given him the names of three psychiatrists. He had
written in the days or weeks before his death that he
"was not meant for the job or the spotlight of public
life in Washington. Here, ruining people is considered
sport."
Two law enforcement investigations -- the initial United
States Park Police investigation and a subsequent
investigation conducted under the direction of
regulatory Independent Counsel Robert B. Fiske, Jr. --
concluded that Mr. Foster committed suicide by gunshot
in Fort Marcy Park. Two inquiries in the Congress of the
United States reached the same conclusion. After
analysis of the evidence gathered during those
investigations, and further investigation including
adducing evidence before the federal grand jury in
Washington, D.C., the OIC likewise has concluded that
Mr. Foster committed suicide by gunshot in Fort Marcy
Park.
The OIC's conclusion is based on analyses and
conclusions of a number of experienced experts and
criminal investigators retained by the OIC. They include
Dr. Brian D. Blackbourne, a forensic pathologist who is
the Medical Examiner for San Diego County, California;
Dr. Henry C. Lee, an expert in physical evidence and
crime scene reconstruction who is Director of the
Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory;
Dr. Alan L. Berman, an expert suicidologist who
currently is Executive Director of the American
Association of Suicidology; and several experienced
investigators with extensive service in the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other law enforcement
agencies. These experts and investigators reviewed the
evidence gathered during the prior investigations and
conducted further investigation as necessary.
Dr. Blackbourne concluded that "Vincent Foster committed
suicide on July 20, 1993 in Ft. Marcy Park by placing a
.38 caliber revolver in his mouth and pulling the
trigger. His death was at his own hand." Dr. Lee
reported that "after careful review of the crime scene
photographs, reports, and reexamination of the physical
evidence, the data indicate that the death of Mr.
Vincent W. Foster, Jr. is consistent with a suicide. The
location where Mr. Foster's body was found is consistent
with the primary scene," that is, the location where he
committed suicide. Dr. Berman stated that "in my
opinion and to a 100% degree of medical certainty, the
death of Vincent Foster was a suicide. No plausible
evidence has been presented to support any other
conclusion." OIC investigators concurred, based on
investigation and analysis of the evidentiary record,
that Mr. Foster committed suicide by gunshot in Fort
Marcy Park.
II. BACKGROUND
A. 1993 Park Police Investigation
Because Mr. Foster's body was found in Fort Marcy, a
park maintained by the National Park Service, the United
States Park Police conducted the investigation of his
death. On the night of the death (July 20, 1993), Mr.
Foster's body was transported to Fairfax County Hospital
in Fairfax, Virginia. The next day, Dr. James C. Beyer,
Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, Northern Virginia
District of the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner, conducted an autopsy in the presence of an
assistant and four Park Police officers.
The FBI assisted the Park Police in certain aspects of
the ensuing death investigation, as did other federal
and Virginia agencies. Moreover, the FBI, at the
direction of the Department of Justice, opened a
separate investigation of possible obstruction of
justice after a note was reportedly found on Monday,
July 26, 1993, in Mr. Foster's briefcase at the White
House.
On August 10, 1993, the Department of Justice, FBI, and
Park Police jointly announced the results of the death
and note investigations. The Park Police concluded that
Mr. Foster committed suicide by gunshot in Fort Marcy
Park. Robert Langston, Chief of the Park Police,
explained:
The condition of the scene, the medical
examiner's findings and the information
gathered clearly indicate that Mr. Foster
committed suicide. Without an eyewitness, the
conclusion of suicide is deducted after a
review of the injury, the presence of the
weapon, the existence of some indicators of a
reason, and the elimination of murder. Our
investigation has found no evidence of foul
play. The information gathered from
associates, relatives and friends provide us
with enough evidence to conclude that Mr.
Foster's ... that Mr. Foster was anxious about
his work and he was distressed to the degree
that he took his own life.
Based on the evidence the FBI gathered in its
investigation, the Department of Justice did not seek
criminal charges for obstruction of justice relating to
the handling of the note.
B. 1994 Fiske Investigation
In 1992 and 1993, the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC)
examined the operations of Madison Guaranty Savings &
Loan, a defunct savings and loan in Little Rock,
Arkansas, that had been operated by James and Susan
McDougal. The McDougals also had been partners with
William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton in
an Arkansas real estate venture known as the Whitewater
Development Company. In October 1993, the RTC sent nine
criminal referrals to the United States Attorney's
Office in Little Rock concerning the activities of
Madison Guaranty.
Also in 1993, the FBI investigated the activities of
Capital Management Services, Inc., a small business
investment company in Little Rock that had been operated
by David L. Hale. Mr. Hale was indicted by a federal
grand jury in the Eastern District of Arkansas on
September 23, 1993.
Both the Hale prosecution and the Madison investigation
were transferred in November 1993 from the United States
Attorney's Office in Little Rock to the Fraud Section of
the Department of Justice in Washington. On December 20,
1993, the White House confirmed that Whitewater-related
documents had been in Mr. Foster's White House office at
the time of his death. On January 12, 1994, President
Clinton asked Attorney General Reno to appoint an
independent counsel, and on January 20, 1994, the
Attorney General appointed Robert B. Fiske, Jr., to take
over the investigation.
Mr. Fiske's jurisdictional mandate vested him with
authority to investigate whether any individuals or
entities committed federal crimes "relating in any way
to President William Jefferson Clinton's or Mrs. Hillary
Rodham Clinton's relationships with (1) Madison Guaranty
Savings & Loan Association, (2) Whitewater Development
Corporation, or (3) Capital Management Services." After
his appointment, Mr. Fiske took over both the Hale
prosecution and the continuing Madison investigation.
Mr. Fiske also opened a new investigation of Mr.
Foster's death, utilizing FBI resources and a panel of
distinguished and experienced pathologists. On June 30,
1994, Mr. Fiske issued a report concluding that "the
overwhelming weight of the evidence compels the
conclusion . . . that Vincent Foster committed suicide
in Fort Marcy Park on July 20, 1993."
C. Congressional Inquiries
On February 24, 1994, Congressman William F. Clinger,
Jr., then the Ranking Republican on the Committee on
Government Operations of the United States House of
Representatives, initiated a probe into the death of Mr.
Foster. Mr. Clinger's staff interviewed emergency rescue
personnel, law enforcement officials, and other persons
involved in the Park Police investigation of Mr.
Foster's death. Mr. Clinger's staff obtained access to
the Park Police reports and to photographs taken at the
scene and at the autopsy. Mr. Clinger issued a report
on August 12, 1994, concluding that "all available facts
lead to the undeniable conclusion that Vincent W.
Foster, Jr. took his own life in Fort Marcy Park,
Virginia on July 20, 1993."
The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs conducted an inquiry into the Park
Police investigation of Mr. Foster's death. The
Committee concluded its inquiry with a report issued on
January 3, 1995, stating that "the evidence
overwhelmingly supports the conclusion of the Park
Police that on July 20, 1993, Mr. Foster died in Fort
Marcy Park from a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the
upper palate of his mouth." The additional views of
Senators D'Amato, Faircloth, Bond, Hatch, Shelby, Mack,
and Domenici stated that "we agree with the majority's
conclusion that on July 20, 1993 Vincent Foster took his
own life in Fort Marcy Park."
D. Appointment of the Independent Counsel
On August 5, 1994, after enactment of the Independent
Counsel Reauthorization Act of 1994, the Special
Division of the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit appointed Kenneth W. Starr
as Independent Counsel In re: Madison Guaranty Savings &
Loan Association. The OIC was given jurisdiction to
investigate and prosecute matters "relating in any way
to James B. McDougal's, President William Jefferson
Clinton's, or Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton's
relationships with Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan
Association, Whitewater Development Corporation, or
Capital Management Services, Inc."
Due to continuing questions about Mr. Foster's death,
the relationship between Mr. Foster's death and the
handling of documents (including Whitewater-related
documents) from Mr. Foster's office after his death, and
Mr. Foster's possible role or involvement in other
events under investigation by the OIC, the OIC reviewed
and analyzed the evidence gathered during prior
investigations of Mr. Foster's death and conducted
further investigation.
III. OVERVIEW
A. Scrutiny
The gunshot death of a high-ranking White House lawyer
who had been a law partner of the First Lady of the
United States and friend to both the President and the
First Lady was bound to be heavily scrutinized -- and it
has been. Many persons have publicly identified specific
issues regarding Mr. Foster's death that, in their view,
might raise broader questions about the ultimate
conclusion that Mr. Foster committed suicide in Fort
Marcy Park. Those questions have arisen and to some
extent persisted for many of the same reasons that
numerous suicides are questioned. In this case, as in
many suicides, no identified eyewitness saw Mr. Foster
commit suicide, and Mr. Foster apparently did not leave
a suicide note (that is, a note that specifically refers
to or contemplates suicide).
The primary issues that have been raised regarding the
cause and manner of Mr. Foster's death can be grouped
into several broadly defined categories: (1) forensic
issues; (2) apparent differences in statements of
private witnesses, Park Police personnel, and Fairfax
County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) personnel
regarding their activities and observations at Fort
Marcy Park on July 20; (3) physical evidence (such as
the fatal bullet) that could not be recovered; and (4)
the conduct of the Park Police investigation and the
autopsy.
B. OIC Personnel
To ensure that these issues were fully considered,
carefully examined, and properly assessed in analyzing
the cause and manner of Mr. Foster's death, the OIC
retained a number of experienced experts and criminal
investigators. The experts included Dr. Brian D.
Blackbourne, Dr. Henry C. Lee, and Dr. Alan L. Berman.
Dr. Blackbourne has been County Medical Examiner for San
Diego County, California, since 1990. He was Chief
Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
from 1983 to 1990; Deputy Chief Medical Examiner in
Washington, D.C., from 1972 to 1982; and Assistant
Medical Examiner in Metropolitan Dade County, Florida,
from 1967 to 1972. He has taught and written widely, and
has testified in court on numerous occasions. He has
performed over 5,500 autopsies, over 700 of which have
involved gunshot wounds. The autopsies have included
over 800 homicides and over 700 suicides. He is a Fellow
of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and a
member of the National Association of Medical Examiners.
Dr. Lee has served as Director of the Connecticut State
Police Forensic Science Laboratory since 1980. He has
numerous professional affiliations and has served as a
consultant to a variety of organizations. He has
received over 400 awards and commendations, including a
1986 Distinguished Service Award and a 1994
Distinguished Fellow Award from the American Academy of
Forensic Sciences. He has been qualified in many state
and federal courts as an expert witness or an expert
involved in forensic science, forensic serology,
bloodspatter analysis, crime scene investigation, crime
scene profiling, crime scene reconstruction,
fingerprints, imprints, and general physical evidence.
He has written or edited many books and articles,
including Physical Evidence (1995), Crime Scene
Investigation (1994), Physical Evidence and Forensic
Science (1985), and Physical Evidence and Crime Scene
Investigation (1983).
Since 1995, Dr. Berman has been Executive Director of
the American Association of Suicidology. He was
President of that Association in 1984-85. From 1991 to
1995, he was Director of the National Center for the
Study and Prevention of Suicide. Since 1971, he has
engaged in the private practice of psychotherapy and
psychological consultation. In 1982, he received the
Edwin S. Shneidman Award for outstanding contribution in
research by the American Association of Suicidology. He
has taught and written extensively on the subject of
suicide, and has testified before committees of the
United States House of Representatives and the United
States Senate. He is a Distinguished Adjunct Professor
of Psychology at the American University in Washington,
D.C., and was a tenured professor in the Department of
Psychology from 1979 to 1991. He was co-editor of
Assessment and Prediction of Suicide (1992). He has been
a Consulting Editor of the journal Suicide and Life
Threatening Behavior since 1981.
OIC investigators who worked with these outside,
independent experts included an FBI agent detailed from
the FBI-MPD Cold Case Homicide Squad in Washington, D.C.
Agents with the Cold Case Squad work with MPD homicide
detectives in reviewing and attempting to solve
homicides that have remained unsolved for more than one
year. Another OIC investigator has extensive homicide
experience as a detective with the MPD in Washington,
D.C., for over 20 years. Two other OIC investigators
assigned to the Foster death matter have experience as
FBI agents investigating homicides of federal officials
and others.
C. Methodology
The OIC devoted substantial effort to gathering,
examining, and analyzing evidence to render as
conclusive a determination as possible of the cause and
manner of Mr. Foster's death. In this kind of
investigation -- a reconstruction based in part on
evidence gathered and tested during prior investigations
-- the important information in assessing the cause and
manner of death includes testimonial, documentary, and
photographic evidence relating to the scene and the
autopsy; physical and forensic evidence gathered at the
scene and the autopsy; a variety of tests and analyses
of the evidence; and testimonial and documentary
evidence revealing the decedent's activities and state
of mind in the days and weeks before his death.
In particular, the OIC obtained information gathered
during the prior investigations of Mr. Foster's death,
including physical evidence; photographs taken at the
scene and the autopsy; and incident reports, interview
reports, and other documents produced or gathered by the
Park Police, the FCFRD, the FBI, and Mr. Fiske's Office.
The OIC questioned the known and identified civilian
witnesses who were in Fort Marcy Park in the late
afternoon of July 20, the Park Police and FCFRD
personnel who responded to Fort Marcy Park, and the
medical personnel who were involved in the Foster
matter. Many of these persons were questioned before the
federal grand jury.
As to forensic information, the OIC attempted to obtain
certain physical and forensic evidence in addition to
that which had been gathered in prior investigations.
Experts retained by the OIC reviewed and examined the
evidence. Dr. Lee reviewed and studied scene and autopsy
photographs and documentation; studied, re-examined, and
tested physical evidence; reviewed FBI Laboratory tests
and the autopsy results; met with FBI Laboratory
personnel and Dr. Beyer, the medical examiner who
conducted the autopsy; and toured and examined the Fort
Marcy Park scene. Dr. Lee submitted a report summarizing
his work on the physical and forensic evidence and
setting forth his analysis.
Dr. Blackbourne reviewed the relevant reports and the
scene and autopsy photographs; reviewed microscopic
slides; examined the Fort Marcy Park area; and
interviewed Dr. Beyer, Dr. Haut (the medical examiner
who responded to the Fort Marcy scene on July 20), and
FBI and Virginia laboratory personnel. Dr. Blackbourne
prepared a report summarizing his work on the forensic
issues and setting forth his analysis.
As to information regarding Mr. Foster's activities and
state of mind before his death, the OIC both
re-interviewed certain persons who had been interviewed
during prior investigations and interviewed persons not
previously interviewed. These individuals included a
variety of family members, friends, and associates who
could potentially shed light on Mr. Foster's activities
and state of mind. The OIC reviewed documents gathered
in prior investigations, and sought and reviewed new
documents.
The OIC provided Dr. Berman with relevant state-of-mind
information (the bulk of which consisted of interview
reports and transcripts), which he studied and analyzed.
Dr. Berman submitted a report to the OIC summarizing his
work and providing his analysis.
The OIC legal staff in Washington, D.C., and Little
Rock, Arkansas, participated in assessing the evidence,
considering the analyses and conclusions of the OIC
experts and investigators, and preparing this report.
D. Report
This report will describe the factual background; the
forensic evidence and analyses, including the autopsy
findings; the analysis of Dr. Lee; and the analyses and
reports prepared by Dr. Blackbourne and the pathologists
retained by Mr. Fiske's Office. Above all, the Foster
death case is a forensic matter, and the forensic
evidence and analyses provide the foundation for the
ultimate conclusion. The report then will discuss
investigative work conducted with respect to other,
specific issues. Finally, the report will summarize Dr.
Berman's conclusions regarding Mr. Foster's state of
mind.
The OIC has filed this summary report with the Special
Division of the United States Court of Appeals. Because
of the secrecy restrictions of Federal Rule of Criminal
Procedure 6(e), the OIC has not submitted the report to
the Congress or released it directly to the public. The
Special Division retains discretion to authorize public
release of this report, and the OIC has prepared the
report with the assumption that the Special Division,
consistent with past practice, would see fit to
authorize public release. While some descriptions of
forensic evidence are necessarily graphic, the OIC has
sought to comply with the 1994 Independent Counsel
Reauthorization Act regarding the contents of reports.
Some of the best evidence of the condition of Mr.
Foster's body at the time of his death is contained in
photographs taken by Park Police officers at Fort Marcy
Park and in photographs taken at the autopsy. However,
based on traditional privacy considerations, this report
does not include death scene or autopsy photographs. The
potential for misuse and exploitation of such
photographs is both substantial and obvious.
IV. FACTUAL SUMMARY
A. Mr. Foster's Background and Activities on July 20,
1993
Vincent W. Foster, Jr., was born on January 15, 1945, in
Hope, Arkansas, to Alice Mae and Vincent W. Foster. He
had two sisters, Sheila and Sharon. He was graduated
from Hope High School in 1963 and from Davidson College
in 1967. He married Elizabeth (Lisa) Braden in 1968, and
they had three children, two boys and a girl. Mr. Foster
was graduated first in his class from the University of
Arkansas School of Law in 1971, where he was Managing
Editor of the Law Review. He joined the Rose Law Firm in
Little Rock in 1971 as an associate, and he became a
Member of the Firm in 1974. Mr. Foster left the Rose Law
Firm and moved to Washington in January 1993 to serve as
Deputy White House Counsel. He initially lived in
Washington with his sister Sheila Anthony and her
husband Beryl Anthony. Mrs. Lisa Foster moved to
Washington in early June 1993, and the family lived in a
house in the Georgetown section of Washington.
On the morning of Tuesday, July 20, 1993, six months
into the Clinton Administration, Mr. Foster drove his
gray Honda Accord to the White House from the house in
Georgetown where he and his family were living. After
dropping off his older son and his daughter on the way
to work, Mr. Foster arrived at the suite on the second
floor of the White House's West Wing where White House
Counsel Bernard Nussbaum and Mr. Foster had offices.
Three assistants (Mr. Nussbaum's assistants Betsy Pond
and Linda Tripp and Mr. Foster's assistant Deborah
Gorham) and an intern (Thomas Castleton) had desks in
the outer office of the suite.
According to the testimony of a number of witnesses, Mr.
Foster attended the morning Rose Garden ceremony
announcing the nomination of Louis J. Freeh to be
Director of the FBI. According to Ms. Tripp and Ms.
Pond, at about 12:00 or 12:30 p.m., Mr. Foster asked
them for lunch from the White House mess.
After eating lunch in his office, Mr. Foster left the
Counsel's suite. He was seen leaving by Ms. Tripp, Ms.
Pond, and Mr. Castleton. The OIC, like the other
investigative bodies before us, has not learned of or
located anyone who definitively saw Mr. Foster from the
time he left the White House until near 6:00 p.m., at
which time a private citizen found Mr. Foster dead in
Fort Marcy Park.
B. Fort Marcy
Fort Marcy was constructed as a Civil War earthwork
fortification. It is located between the George
Washington Memorial Parkway (GW Parkway) and Chain
Bridge Road in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.,
approximately 6.5 miles by car from downtown Washington.
The GW Parkway, on which there is virtually constant
automobile traffic, runs along the Virginia side of the
Potomac River from Mount Vernon to the Capital Beltway.
Several bridges connect the Parkway (or roads leading
to the Parkway) to Washington. A parking lot for the
park is adjacent to the outbound side of the GW Parkway.
Inside the park, as of July 1993, were two cannons --
one closer to the GW Parkway and a second (the one near
which Mr. Foster was found) closer to Chain Bridge Road.
That second cannon is approximately 200 yards from the
parking area.
Thirty-one witnesses, 19 of whom observed Mr. Foster's
body, have provided relevant testimony about their
activities and observations in and around the Fort Marcy
Park area on July 20, 1993. They include:
6 private citizens (one of whom discovered and
observed Mr. Foster's body);
13 Park Police personnel (9 of whom observed Mr.
Foster's body);
11 Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department
(FCFRD) personnel (8 of whom observed the body);
and
Dr. Haut, the doctor representing the Medical
Examiner's Office who responded to the scene and
examined the body.
Between about 2:45 and 3:05 p.m., a citizen (C1) driving
outbound on GW Parkway saw "a dark metallic grey,
Japanese sedan" occupied by a single, white male
abruptly enter Fort Marcy Park. C1 said in his initial
1993 statement to the Park Police that the license plate
was from Ohio or Arkansas. Months later, on April 18,
1994, during Mr. Fiske's investigation, C1 was shown
photographs of Mr. Foster's car. C1 stated that the car
in the photographs looked "similar" to the car he
recalled, but that the license plate on it differed from
that which he recalled.
Another citizen (C2) drove his rental car into the Fort
Marcy parking lot at approximately 4:30 p.m. While
there, C2 saw one unoccupied car, which he described as
a "rust brown colored car with Arkansas license plates."
C2 also saw another nearby car; that car was occupied by
a man who exited his car as C2 exited his own car. C2
described this man as having "a look like he had a ...
an agenda," although "everything I based my observation
of this guy, was from my gut, more than anything else."
C2 and the man did not speak to one another. C2 went
into the park to urinate, and the other man had
reentered his car by the time C2 returned to the parking
lot. C2 then left the park in his car.
A man (C3) and woman (C4) pulled into the Fort Marcy
parking area in C4's white Nissan at about 5:00 p.m. and
were still at Fort Marcy when police and rescue
personnel arrived shortly after 6:00 p.m. While C3 and
C4 were at Fort Marcy, another citizen (C5) drove his
white van into the parking lot to urinate. C5 said that
he exited his van, and while walking through the park,
found Mr. Foster's body near the second cannon, the
cannon closer to Chain Bridge Road. C5 then left Fort
Marcy and drove approximately 2.75 miles further
outbound on the GW Parkway to a parking area near GW
Parkway Headquarters; there, C5 reported the dead body
to two off-duty Park Service employees who called 911.
Numerous Park Police and FCFRD personnel then responded
to Fort Marcy Park.
In the initial response, two groups of FCFRD personnel,
as well as Park Police Officer Kevin Fornshill, arrived
at Fort Marcy Park at approximately the same time --
about 6:10 p.m. They then split into teams to search the
park. Officer Fornshill and FCFRD personnel George
Gonzalez and Todd Hall composed one group; FCFRD
personnel Richard Arthur, James Iacone, Jennifer Wacha,
and Ralph Pisani formed the other. The Fornshill-Hall
Gonzalez group first reached the body of Mr. Foster, and
the other group joined them soon thereafter.
Twelve additional Park Police personnel subsequently
arrived at Fort Marcy Park. Officer Franz Ferstl was the
responding beat officer and, as such, was responsible
for preparing the incident report. He responded to the
scene at the same time as Officer Julie Spetz. Sergeant
Robert Edwards, the District supervisor, also arrived on
the scene. Ferstl, Spetz, and Edwards arrived before
approximately 6:15 p.m., according to the report of
Officer Christine Hodakievic, who arrived at
approximately 6:15 p.m. and recorded the names of those
officers already on the scene (Fornshill, Ferstl, Spetz,
and Edwards). Lieutenant Patrick Gavin arrived in a
supervisory role at roughly 6:30 p.m., according to his
recollection.
According to their reports, Investigators Cheryl Braun
and John Rolla, the lead Park Police investigators,
arrived along with Investigator Renee Abt at about 6:35
p.m. They received investigative assistance from Officer
Hodakievic, who was an investigator in training at that
time. Peter Simonello, the Park Police identification
technician responsible for gathering physical evidence,
arrived shortly thereafter.
At the scene, Park Police investigators and the Park
Police identification technician conducted interviews,
examined the body and Mr. Foster's car, made notes, took
photographs, and collected evidence. Later, five of the
Park Police personnel prepared typed reports: the
responding beat officer (Ferstl), the two lead
investigators (Rolla and Braun), Officer Hodakievic, and
the identification technician (Simonello). Several
evidence receipts were prepared to record physical
evidence obtained at the scene.
When the Park Police and rescue personnel found Mr.
Foster's body, he was lying on his back on a berm in
front of the second cannon, the cannon nearer Chain
Bridge Road. He was dead and had a gun in his right
hand (with his thumb trapped in the trigger guard).
Gunshot residue-like material was observed on his right
hand. When the Park Police lifted and turned over the
body later that evening, they noted a wound out the back
of his head, and blood on the ground underneath his head
and back. They observed no signs of a struggle.
Park Police also found a gray, 4-door Honda Accord with
Arkansas plates in the parking lot; that car, the police
discovered later that evening, was registered to Mr.
Foster. The two lead Park Police investigators (Braun
and Rolla) photographed and examined the car and, during
that examination, found Mr. Foster's White House
identification. The car was towed to a Park Police
impoundment lot that night. The next day, the car was
further photographed and examined at the impoundment
lot.
Dr. Haut, the medical examiner's representative, arrived
at Fort Marcy Park at approximately 7:40 p.m. on July 20
and confirmed the death. The body was then transported
by FCFRD ambulance personnel to a morgue at Fairfax
Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia.
The witnesses' recollections of precise details at Fort
Marcy Park vary in some respects (the differences will
be explored below). Nonetheless, the evidence from the
scene -- including the gun, the apparent residue, the
nature of the wound, the blood, the lack of any signs of
a struggle -- points to the conclusion that death
resulted from suicide by gunshot. A final determination
of the manner of death depends on a variety of further
investigative steps -- most importantly, those
associated with forensic science.
V. FORENSIC ANALYSES
The forensic analyses, in conjunction with the evidence
from the scene, confirm that Mr. Foster committed
suicide in Fort Marcy Park.
A. Autopsy
The autopsy occurred on July 21, 1993, in the presence
of six persons. Dr. James Beyer, Deputy Chief Medical
Examiner of the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner, conducted the autopsy, aided by an assistant.
Park Police Sergeant Robert Rule and Officer James
Morrissette observed the autopsy. Park Police
Identification Technicians Hill and Johnson took
photographs at the autopsy and collected evidence such
as clothing, blood samples, and hair samples. Dr. Beyer
prepared an autopsy report. He has supplemented the
report with testimony on several occasions. Dr. Beyer
has performed over 20,000 autopsies. His responsibility
is to determine cause of death and, in the case of a
gunshot wound, to determine with the police the manner
of death -- suicide, homicide, accident, or
undetermined.
Dr. Beyer said Dr. Haut contacted him early on July 21,
1993, to advise him of Mr. Foster's death. Dr. Beyer
recalled that Dr. Haut indicated that there was a
perforating gunshot wound (that is, a gunshot wound with
an entrance and exit) and that the Park Police was the
investigating agency.
Dr. Beyer recalled that when he opened the body bag,
there was blood on the right side of the face and on the
right shoulder area of the shirt. Dr. Beyer found a
large amount of blood in the body bag.
The autopsy report states that Mr. Foster's height was 6
feet and 4 1/2 inches and his weight was 197 pounds. The
report indicates no problems or abnormalities with the
cardiovascular system, respiratory system, liver, gall
bladder, spleen, pancreas, adrenal and thyroid glands,
gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary tract, kidneys,
urinary bladder, or genitalia. The report states that
the "stomach contains a considerable amount of
digested food material whose components cannot be
identified."
As to the head, the report indicates:
Perforating gunshot wound mouth-head; entrance
wound is in the posterior oropharynx at a point
approximately 7 1/2" from the top of the head;
there is also a defect in the tissues of the soft
palate and some of these fragments contain probable
powder debris. The wound track in the head
continues backward and upward with an entrance
wound just left of the foremen magnum with tissue
damage to the brain stem and left cerebral
hemisphere with an irregular exit scalp and skull
defect near the midline in the occipital region. No
metallic fragments recovered.
The report contains a diagram of the head and brain area
that depicts the entrance wound and the fracture line. A
separate diagram depicts the fracture lines, exit, and
skull damage. A third page of diagrams of the head area
states "perforating gunshot wound" and describes the
entrance wound as follows: "Entrance -- mouth --
posterior oropharynx -- large defect -- soft palate
defect / powder debris identified." It describes the
exit wound as a wound of 1 1/4" x 1". The report
indicates "backward" and "upward" as the direction of
the bullet through the head.
With respect to the wound, Dr. Beyer stated: "The
entrance wound was in the back of the mouth, what we
call the posterior oropharynx, where a large defect was
present. There was also a soft palate tissue defect, and
powder debris could be identified in the area of the
soft palate and the back of the mouth. The exit wound is
depicted [in the autopsy report] as being present three
inches from the top of the head, approximately in the
midline, and there is an irregular wound measuring one
and one quarter inch by one inch. " There was "good
alignment" between the entrance and exit wounds, and
there was "no reason to think that this was not an
entrance and exit defect configuration." As the report
indicates, Dr. Beyer did not recover any bullets or
bullet fragments from the body.
The report states that "sections of soft palate" were
"positive for powder debris," and Dr. Beyer said that
the gunpowder debris in the mouth was "grossly
present,'" meaning that it could be seen with the naked
eye, and was present in a "large amount." Thus, Dr.
Beyer stated that "the obvious finding was that the
muzzle of the weapon had to be in his mouth, close to
the back of his throat, back of his mouth."
Dr. Beyer said that he performed "an external
examination of the body, with photography of the body.
We then examine the body for any identifying marks, such
as scars, tatoos or wounds." Dr. Beyer stated that he
recalls observing powder debris on the right hand. He
recalled gunpowder debris on the left hand to a much
lesser degree. (The diagrams in the autopsy report
indicate "black material" on both the right hand and the
left hand.) Dr. Beyer also recalled a "tannish brown
indentation" across the back of the right thumb (the
thumb which had been in the trigger guard).
Dr. Beyer said that observation of Mr. Foster's body
revealed no wounds on the neck, hands, buttocks,
shoulder, back, or any portion of the body other than
the head; he said, moreover, that any such wounds would
have been registered on the anatomic diagram. Dr. Beyer
stated that "there was no evidence of any trauma to
the individual other than the gunshot wound."
Dr. Beyer concluded that this was a self-inflicted wound
based upon the fact that there was no evidence of any
trauma other than the gunshot wound, and "no evidence of
any central nervous system depression or diseased state
that would have permitted, in my estimation, somebody to
walk up and put a gun in his mouth and pull the
trigger."
Dr. Beyer's conclusions were reviewed by two sets of
experts, one set retained by the OIC and the other by
Mr. Fiske's Office. Their analyses of Dr. Beyer's
findings and of the relevant laboratory analyses are
outlined below. They confirm the conclusions reached at
the autopsy.
B. Laboratory Analyses
A number of photographs were taken at Fort Marcy Park
and at the autopsy. In addition, at both the scene and
the autopsy, the Park Police obtained physical evidence.
Evidence receipts show that, at the Fort Marcy scene,
the Park Police obtained physical evidence and clothing,
including the following:
* Colt Army Special .38 caliber revolver, 4",
6-shot (obtained from "right hand victim")
* round .38 caliber RP 38 SPL HV (from "revolver")
* casing .38 caliber RP 38 SPL HV (from
"revolver")
* eyeglasses (from berm)
* Seiko quartz wrist watch (from "Deceased left
wrist")
* pager (from "Deceased right side waist area")
* silver colored ring (from "Deceased right ring
finger")
* gold colored band type ring (from "Deceased left
ring finger'')
* black suit jacket (from "front passenger seat of
gray Honda")
* blue silk tie with swans (on "top of coat on
front passenger seat")
* White House Identification (from "under coat on
front passenger seat")
* brown leather wallet (from "inside suit jacket
pocket of suit jacket from front passenger seat")
At the autopsy, the Park Police obtained physical
evidence and clothing, including the following:
* one vial of blood
* lock seal envelope containing pulled head hairs
* white colored long sleeve button down shirt with
blood stain
* white colored short sleeve t-shirt with blood
stain
* pair white colored boxer shorts
* pair blue gray colored pants with black colored
belt
* pair black colored socks
* pair black colored dress shoes, size 11M
The Park Police and Medical Examiner's Office caused
several laboratory tests of the evidence to be performed
during the initial 1993 investigation. In addition, Mr.
Fiske's Office and the OIC submitted physical evidence
collected during the investigation of Mr. Foster's death
to the FBI Laboratory, which has produced reports
analyzing physical evidence. The OIC also submitted
physical evidence to Dr. Lee, and he, too, produced a
report based on his laboratory analyses. The following
summarizes the relevant laboratory analyses.
1. Gun
a. Operation
The .38 caliber revolver recovered from Mr. Foster's
hand at Fort Marcy Park had a four-inch barrel and a
capacity of six shots. It had one live round and one
spent casing. Had the trigger been pulled again, the
next shot would have fired the remaining round.
In August 1993, at the request of the Park Police, the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Laboratory
examined the revolver and found that it functioned. The
ATF Laboratory determined that the cartridge case found
in the cylinder under the hammer was fired in that gun.
The FBI Laboratory also test-fired the gun and
determined that it "functioned normally" and that the
trigger pulls were normal. The .38 caliber cartridge
case "was identified as having been fired in the . . .
revolver. " Like the expended cartridge, the unexpended
cartridge was .38 caliber manufactured by Remington.
They bore similar headstamps. Dr. Lee also test-fired
the revolver and found that it was operable.
b. Serial Numbers
An ATF report on the gun's two serial numbers revealed a
purchase at the Seattle Hardware Company in Seattle,
Washington, on September 14, 1913, and at the Gus Habich
Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, on December 29, 1913.
The gun could not be further traced. Laboratory
examination of the gun
found no indication of any alteration of the serial
number of the weapon. . . . The additional serial
number on the crane of the firearm most likely
occurred at some time when the eighty year-old
weapon was repaired. There is no realistic way to
determine when such a repair occurred. The exchange
of the two numbers between the frame and the crane
is a condition noted on many similar firearms in
the Laboratory's Reference Firearms Collection and
is not considered significant.
c. Ammunition
Dr. Lee noted that the ammunition found in this weapon
was type "RP .38 SPL HV," manufactured by Remington
Peters. Dr. Lee stated that information from the
manufacturer indicated that this ammunition was
discontinued in 1975, and that the cartridge therefore
would have been manufactured prior to that time.
d. DNA
DNA consistent with Mr. Foster's DNA was detected on the
muzzle portion of the barrel of the revolver. In
particular, DNA type DQ alpha 2, 4 was detected on the
gun and in Mr. Foster's blood.
e. Blood
The gun was recovered at the scene by Park Police
Technician Simonello and subsequently packaged in brown
paper for storage in an evidence locker. While the Park
Police's subsequent examinations for fingerprints and
other evidence could have removed some trace evidence
that might have existed on the gun, Dr. Lee examined the
gun and reported that "small specks of
brownish-colored deposits were noted." Dr. Lee found
that "some of these deposits gave positive results
with a chemical test for blood" although the "quantity
of sample present was insufficient for further
analysis."
Dr. Lee also reported that "macroscopic and
microscopic examination of [the] piece of paper"
originally wrapped around the barrel of the revolver for
evidence storage "revealed the presence of
reddish-colored particles. These stains also gave
positive results with a chemical test for blood." Dr.
Lee stated that "this fact suggests that the barrel of
the weapon was in contact or at close range to a source
of liquid blood."
Dr. Lee further stated that "blood spatters and
tissuelike materials were noted on the fingerprint lift
tape from the weapon." Dr. Lee concluded that "the
presence of blood and tissue-like materials on the lifts
is another strong indication that this weapon was fired
while in contact with or close to a blood source."
f. Fingerprints
Identification Technician E.J. Smith of the Park Police
examined the gun for latent fingerprints on July 23,
1993. The results were negative. The FBI Laboratory
later examined the gun and similarly detected no latent
prints on the exterior surface of the weapon.
In his report to the OIC, Dr. Lee explained that "the
handle grip area of [the .38 Colt revolver] is textured
and is not typical of the type of surface which commonly
results in the development of identifiable latent
fingerprints." He also noted that the fingerprint
powder method was used when the Park Police initially
tested the gun; "although the fingerprint powder
method is one of the most common techniques used in the
latent print field, there are also newer technologies,
such as cyanoacrylate fuming, laser, and forensic
lighting techniques which could have been used in this
case. It is unknown at this time whether these
techniques would have provided additional information"
had they initially been employed.
The FBI Laboratory also noted that a lack of
fingerprints is not extraordinary and that "generally,
the determining factors in leaving latent prints are
having a transferable substance, i.e., sweat, sebaceous
oil or other substance on the fingers, and having a
surface that is receptive to receiving the substance
that forms the latent prints. A clean, smooth, flat
surface is most receptive for transfer of any substance
from the fingers," and the surface of the grip handle at
issue here was textured, not smooth.
g. Marks on Body from Gunshot and Gun
(1) Gunshot Residue on Hands
The photographs of Mr. Foster's right hand taken at Fort
Marcy Park and during the autopsy depict black gunshot
residuelike material on the right forefinger and the
area between the thumb and forefinger. The autopsy
report also noted material on the forefinger area of the
left hand.
During the Park Police investigation, the ATF Laboratory
found that gunshot residue patterns reproduced in the
laboratory were consistent with those seen in the
photographs taken by the Park Police at the scene. The
FBI Laboratory similarly stated that gunshot residue on
the right forefinger area of the right hand is
"consistent with the disposition of smoke from muzzle
blast or cylinder blast when the . . . revolver is fired
using ammunition like that represented by" the cartridge
and casing recovered from the gun "when this area of the
right hand is positioned near the front of the cylinder
or to the side of and near the muzzle."
Dr. Lee conducted test firings using a laboratory
standard weapon and the same kind of ammunition that was
found in the revolver recovered from Mr. Foster's hand.
With the standard weapon, little or no observable
gunpowder particles were released from the cylinder area
or onto the shooter's hand. However, Dr. Lee reported
that each test-fired shot of the revolver found in Mr.
Foster's hand at Fort Marcy Park produced a significant
amount of unburned and partially burned gunpowder.
Relatedly, Dr. Lee reported that the gun had an
"extraordinary front cylinder gap" (the space between
the cylinder and the barrel) of .01 inch through which
gunpowder residue is expelled when the gun is fired. Dr.
Lee stated that the gap was one "possible cause of the
deposit of a large amount of gunshot residue particles
on Mr. Foster's body and clothing."
(2) Indentation on Thumb
The revolver was recovered from Mr. Foster's right hand
at the scene at Fort Marcy Park by Park Police
Technician Simonello. Technician Simonello reported that
Mr. Foster's thumb was trapped in the trigger guard of
the gun. Consistent with Technician Simonello's
observation, the autopsy photographs depict an
indentation mark on the inside of the right thumb.
The mark on the inside of the right thumb
which is visible in the [autopsy] photograph
is consistent with a mark produced by the
trigger of the . . . revolver when this
portion of the right thumb is wedged between
the front of the trigger and the inside of the
front of the trigger guard of the . . .
revolver when the trigger rebounds (moves
forward). The trigger of the . . . revolver
automatically rebounds when released after
firing (single or double action) or whenever
the trigger is released after it is moved to
the rear. This mark is consistent with the
position of the right thumb of the victim in
the trigger guard of the revolver in [three
Polaroid] photographs.
Part V Continues
h. Summary: Gun
Dr. Lee concluded, "based on laboratory observations
and the examination of the scene photographs,'' that
"the revolver . . . is consistent with the weapon which
resulted in the death of Mr. Vincent Foster. The barrel
of this weapon was likely in Mr. Foster's mouth at the
time the weapon was discharged. Gunshot residue noted on
Mr. Foster's right hand and the lesser amount of
deposits on his left hand indicated that Mr. Foster held
the weapon when it was fired."
2. Clothing
At the autopsy, clothing was removed from Mr. Foster's
body and placed on a table in the autopsy room. Park
Police Officer Johnson took this clothing and placed it
in a single bag for return to the Park Police offices.
There, brown wrapping paper was laid on the floor of a
photography room and the clothes placed on that paper.
The clothes were left to dry in the photography room
until Monday, July 26, when Technician Simonello
packaged the clothing and put it into an evidence
locker.
The FBI Laboratory and Dr. Lee independently examined
the clothing, examined debris collected from the
clothing by the FBI Laboratory during the 1994
investigation conducted by Mr. Fiske's Office, studied
photographs taken at the scene and autopsy, and reported
a number of findings related to the clothing.
a. Gunshot Residue
Dr. Lee, in his examinations, reported "small deposits
of gunpowder residue and partially burned gunpowder
particles" on the shirt. Earlier FBI Laboratory
examination of the shirt resulted in a positive reaction
for vaporized lead and very fine particulate lead on the
front of the shirt. "This type of reaction is consistent
with the type of reaction expected when a firearm is
discharged in close proximity to this portion of the
shirt. It is consistent with muzzle blast or cylinder
blast from a revolver like the [submitted] revolver
using ammunition like" the cartridge and cartridge case
submitted with the gun. The FBI Laboratory further
stated that
subsequent chemical processing of the . . . shirt
in the Laboratory revealed lead residues in a small
area near the sixth button from the collar on the
front of the . . . shirt. This reaction could have
been caused by contact with a source of lead
residues. Lead residues were also detected on the
underside of the edge of the collar on the left
side of the . . . shirt. This small area of lead
residues could have been caused by the discharge of
a firearm consistent with the positive reaction
noted above when the [submitted] shirt was received
in the Laboratory.
The FBI Laboratory reported that these gunshot residues
"are consistent with the cylinder blast or the muzzle
blasts" which would be produced if the revolver was
fired "in close proximity to the front of this shirt."
Similarly, when the ATF Laboratory, at the request of
the Park Police, tested Mr. Foster's shirt, it found ''a
positive reaction consistent with the discharge of a
revolver in close proximity to the upper front of the
shirt."
b. Bloodstain Patterns as Depicted in Photographs From
Scene
The FBI Laboratory examined the bloodstain patterns
depicted in the Polaroids taken at the scene. The
Laboratory Report stated:
Photographs of the victim at the incident scene
depict apparent blood stains on his face and the
right shoulder of his dress shirt. The staining on
the shirt covers the top of the shoulder from the
neck to the top of the arm and consists of
saturating stains typical of having been caused by
a flow of blood onto or soaking into the fabric.
The stains on his face take the form of two drain
tracks and one larger contact stain. . . .
The contact stain on the right cheek and jaw of
the victim is typical of having been caused by a
blotting action, such as would happen if a
blood-soaked object was brought in contact with the
side of his face and taken away, leaving the
observed pattern behind. The closest blood-bearing
object which could have caused this staining is the
right shoulder of the victim's shirt. The quantity,
configuration and distribution of the blood on the
shirt and the right cheek and jaw of the victim are
consistent with the jaw being in contact with the
shoulder of the shirt at some time.
Dr. Lee also examined the photographs taken at Fort
Marcy Park. He noted that the photographs of the shirt
show several areas of bloodstains, including
"saturated-type bloodstains" on the "shoulder and collar
region.''
On a separate bloodstain issue, Dr. Lee examined the
photographs and reported that "high velocity impact
type blood spatters were observed on Mr. Foster's face,
hands, and shirt." Dr. Lee stated that "this type of
blood spatter typically is produced at the time when a
weapon is discharged and the spatters result from the
backspatter of the gunshot wound." Dr. Lee reported that
"these blood spatters are intact and no signs of
alteration or smudging were observed." This finding is
in conflict with any theory that the fatal shot was
fired elsewhere and the head wrapped during movement or
cleaned upon arrival -- because those actions likely
would have altered, smudged, or eliminated the blood
spatters, contrary to what Dr. Lee found.
c. Blood Drainage After Movement From Fort Marcy Park
and Bloodstains on Clothing at Autopsy
Dr. Lee noted that Dr. Beyer had "observed a large
amount of liquid blood in the body bag and in Mr.
Foster's body," which "further indicates that the
location where the body was found is consistent with the
primary scene [and that it] is, therefore, unlikely that
Mr. Foster's body was moved to the Fort Marcy Park scene
from another location."
The shirt itself, which was removed at the autopsy after
movement of the body to the morgue, contains bloodstains
on areas where blood does not appear in the photographs
of the body at the scene. Dr. Lee stated that these
stains on the shirt "most likely occurred when the body
was placed into the body bag and moved from the scene
and/or when in the body bag, prior to the collection of
the decedent's clothing." As noted below, the experts
concluded that the shirt likely would have been more
extensively stained when the body was found at the
second cannon area at Fort Marcy Park had the body been
moved from another location.
d. Mineral/Vegetative Material
Dr. Lee reported that examination of a photograph of Mr.
Foster's shoes taken by the FBI Laboratory at the time
of its initial examination revealed brownish smears on
the left heel. Dr. Lee further stated that his own
macroscopic and microscopic examinations of the shoes
revealed the presence of soil-like debris. (The FBI
Laboratory photo of the shoes, taken in 1994 at the time
of the Laboratory's examination of the clothing, shows
traces of soil visible to the naked eye.) Dr. Lee found
that "trace materials were located embedded in the
grooves of the sole patterns at the heel of [the left
shoe]. A portion of this material subsequently was
removed. Microscopic and macroscopic examination showed
this material to contain mineral particles, including
mica, other soil materials, and vegetative matter." Dr.
Lee stated that this fact "indicates the sole of the
shoe had direct contact with a soil surface containing
these materials."
e. Lack of Rips, Tears, or Scraping on Clothing
Dr. Lee found a small amount of vegetative material on
Mr. Foster's shirt that could have resulted from contact
with the ground in the park. Dr. Lee found no ripping,
tearing, or scratch or scraping-type marks on the shirt.
Dr. Lee stated that this fact "suggests that no
prolonged moving contact with a soil surface occurred
which would cause the type of damage commonly resulting
from dragging or similar action."
Dr. Lee reported that soil and grasslike materials were
similarly present on the pants in the area of the rear
pocket, which indicates that the pants had direct
contact with a soil surface. Dr. Lee reported that "no
dragging-type soil patterns or damage which could have
resulted from dragging-type action were observed on
these pants."
f. Bone Chip
Dr. Lee examined debris collected from Mr. Foster's
clothing and reported that the debris was "found to
contain a bone chip." 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. Based on
his analysis of the evidence, Dr. Lee concluded that
"this bone chip originated from Mr. Foster and
separated from his skull at the time the projectile
exited Mr. Foster's head.''
g. Pants Pocket and Oven Mitt
William Kennedy, Associate White House Counsel,
eventually took possession of Mr. Foster's car on behalf
of the Foster family after the Park Police released it
on July 28, 1993. Mr. Kennedy maintained contents of the
car that had not been taken into evidence by the Park
Police, and he produced those contents to investigators
from Mr. Fiske's Office. The contents included a
kitchen oven mitt that had been in the glove compartment
in Mr. Foster's car (the mitt is depicted in the glove
compartment in the Park Police photographs of the car
taken at the impoundment lot on July 21).
Dr. Lee's examinations of this oven mitt and of Mr.
Foster's pants (taken into evidence by the Park Police
at the autopsy on July 21) produced circumstantial
evidence relevant to the investigation.
Dr. Lee reported that "macroscopic and microscopic
examination of the inside of the front pants pockets
revealed the presence of fibers and other materials,
including a portion of a sunflower seed husk in the
front left pocket. Instrumental analysis of particles
removed from the pocket surface revealed the presence of
lead. These materials were also found inside the oven
mitt located in the glove compartment of Mr. Foster's
vehicle. . . . The presence of these trace materials
could indicate that they share a common origin. These
materials in the pants pocket clearly resulted from the
transfer by an intermediate object, such as the Colt
weapon."
As noted, Dr. Lee also examined the oven mitt recovered
from Mr. Foster's car. He reported: "Dark particle
residues were located inside of the oven mitt.
Instrumental analysis revealed the presence of the
elements lead and antimony in these particles; this
finding could indicate that an item which had gunshot
residue on it, such as the revolver . . ., came in
contact with the interior of [the oven mitt]."
Dr. Lee further stated that "sunflower-type seed husks
were located on the inner surfaces of this oven mitt.
These sunflower seed particles were similar to the
sunflower seed husks found in Mr. Foster's front, left
pants pocket." Dr. Lee stated that "this finding
suggests that the sunflower seed husk found inside the
pants pocket could have been transferred from the oven
mitt through an intermediate object, such as the
revolver."
Virtually all theories that the manner of death was not
suicide assume that Mr. Foster did not previously
possess the gun recovered from his hand at Fort Marcy
Park. Apart from a variety of other compelling
circumstantial and testimonial evidence (discussed
below) that the gun belonged to Mr. Foster, the evidence
regarding the pants pocket and oven mitt also tends to
link Mr. Foster to the gun. Mr. Foster was found by
police and rescue personnel with the gun that fired the
fatal shot in his hand, and the oven mitt was found in
the glove compartment in his car. There is no evidence,
moreover, that anyone other than Mr. Foster did place or
would have placed this or any other gun into Mr.
Foster's pants pocket and into the oven mitt. Those
pieces of evidence, when considered together and with
all of the other evidence, tend to link Mr. Foster to
the gun and thus tend to refute a theory that the manner
of death was not suicide. The evidence regarding the
pants pocket and oven mitt does not itself compel a
finding as to location of death, but it is consistent
with a scenario in which Mr. Foster transported the gun
from the Foster home in the oven mitt, and carried the
gun in his pants pocket as he walked from his car in
Fort Marcy Park to the berm near the second cannon.
h. Hairs and Fibers
In debris collected from Mr. Foster's clothing, the FBI
Laboratory reported finding two blond to light brown
head hairs of Caucasian origin that were suitable for
comparison purposes and dissimilar to those of Mr.
Foster. The hairs did not appear to have been forcibly
removed. Hair evidence can become important or relevant
in a criminal investigation when there is a known
suspect and a significant evidentiary question whether
the suspect can be forensically linked to another person
(a rape or murder victim, for example) or to a
particular location. If the suspect is a stranger to the
victim or the scene, the presence of the suspect's hair
is relevant in assessing whether he or she had contact
with the victim or scene. In this case, however, the
only known individuals who reasonably might have been
compelled to provide hair samples were persons already
known to have had contact with Mr. Foster.
The FBI Laboratory reported 35 definitive carpet-type
fibers in the debris collected from the clothing. Of
those fibers, 23 were white fibers. OIC investigators
sought to determine a possible source for the fibers --
for the white fibers in particular, in light of the
number of white fibers in comparison to the limited
number of fibers of other colors. The logical known
sources for possible comparison were carpets from
locations with which Mr. Foster was known to heave been
in contact -- his car, home, and workplace. OIC
investigators obtained carpet samples from those
sources, including from a white carpet located in 1993
in the house in Washington where Mr. Foster lived with
his family. The FBI Laboratory determined that the white
fibers obtained from Mr. Foster's clothing were
consistent with the samples obtained from that carpet.
In sum, therefore, the carpet fiber evidence -- the
determination that the white fibers were consistent with
a carpet from the Fosters' house and the variety and
insignificant number of other fibers -- does not support
speculation that Mr. Foster was wrapped and moved in a
carpet on July 20. Indeed, the fiber evidence, when
considered together with the entirety of the evidence,
is inconsistent with such speculation.
3. Eyeglasses
When found, Mr. Foster's body was located on a steep
berm with his head higher than his feet and his feet
pointed essentially straight down the berm. Mr. Foster's
eyeglasses were recovered by Park Police Technician
Simonello approximately 13 feet below Mr. Foster's feet.
a. Blood
Dr. Lee stated that "bloodstains were found on both
sides of the lenses" of Mr. Foster's eyeglasses. These
bloodstains "were less than or equal to 1 mm in size. In
addition, bloodlike and tissue-like materials were
identified on the [fingerprint] lifts of the eyeglasses.
"
b. Gunpowder
The FBI Laboratory found one piece of ball smokeless
powder on the eyeglasses, and it was "physically and
chemically similar" to the gunpowder identified in the
cartridge case.
c. Summary: Eyeglasses
Dr. Lee stated that the above facts "support the
interpretation that Mr. Foster was wearing his
eyeglasses at the time the gun was discharged." The
analyses and conclusions of the experts and
investigators in this and prior investigations reveal
that the location where the glasses were found is
consistent with the conclusion that Mr. Foster was
wearing the glasses at the time the shot was fired.
4. Surrounding Area
a. Gunshot Residue in Soil
As part of his examination, Dr. Lee went to Fort Marcy
Park with OIC investigators and obtained soil and other
materials from the berm on which Mr. Foster's body was
found. Dr. Lee examined the soil samples; he reported
that "a few unburned and partially deformed
gunpowder-like particles were recovered from the soil in
the area where Vincent Foster's body was found.'' It
cannot be determined "whether these particles were
deposited on the ground at the time of Mr. Foster's
death or at any other period of time."
b. Possible Bloodstains on Vegetation at Scene
Dr. Lee stated that one photograph of the scene "shows a
view of the vegetation in the areas where Mr. Foster's
body was found. Reddish-brown, blood-like stains can be
seen on several leaves of the vegetation in this area."
He also noted that "a close-up view of some of these
blood-like stains can be seen in [a separate]
photograph."
5. Contents of Bodily Fluid
During the 1993 investigation, the Laboratory of the
Virginia Division of Forensic Science found that the
blood, vitreous humor, and urine were negative for
alcohols and ketones. The Laboratory did not detect
"phencyclidine, morphine, cocaine, [or]
benzoylecgonine"; "other alkaline extractable drugs"; or
"acidic [or] neutral drugs."
The FBI Laboratory later conducted more sensitive
testing and determined that the blood sample from Mr.
Foster contained trazodone. Trazodone was an
antidepressant medication prescribed as Desyrel by Mr.
Foster's physician on July 19, 1993, and Mr. Foster took
one tablet that night, according to his wife.
C. Review by Pathologists
Because of the importance of the forensic evidence to
the conclusion about cause and manner of death, the OIC
retained Dr. Brian Blackbourne as an expert pathologist
to assist the investigation. Dr. Blackbourne reviewed
the relevant reports, photographs, and microscopic
slides; toured Fort Marcy Park; and interviewed Dr.
Beyer, Dr. Haut, and FBI and Virginia laboratory
personnel. He provided a report to the OIC summarizing
his work on the forensic issues and setting forth his
analysis.
Dr. Blackbourne concluded that Mr. Foster "died of a
contact gunshot wound of the mouth, perforating his
skull and brain." Dr. Blackbourne based that conclusion
"upon the autopsy report, diagrams and photographs and
my examination of the microscopic slides of the entrance
wound in the soft palate and posterior oropharynx which
demonstrated extensive soot."
Dr. Blackbourne concluded that Mr. Foster was alive at
the time the shot was fired. Dr. Blackbourne based this
conclusion
upon the autopsy report and photographic evidence
that there was bleeding beneath the scalp about the
gunshot exit wound and beneath the fractures of the
back of the skull. Such bleeding requires the heart
to be beating at the time these injuries occurred.
The autopsy report and my microscopic observation
that blood was aspirated into the lungs requires
that the person be breathing in order to suck the
blood into the small air sacks of the lung.
Dr. Blackbourne concluded that Mr. Foster "fired the gun
with the muzzle in his mouth, his right thumb pulling
the trigger and supporting the gun with both hands and
with both index fingers relatively close to the cylinder
gap (the space between the cylinder and the barrel)."
Dr. Blackbourne reasoned that ''the dense deposit of
soot on the soft palate and oropharynx indicated that
the gun was discharged in close proximity to the soft
palate." In addition, the DNA from the muzzle of the gun
was consistent with that of Mr. Foster. Furthermore,
"the right thumb was entrapped within the trigger
guard by the forward motion of the trigger after the
revolver was fired." Finally, Dr. Blackbourne stated
that "when a revolver is fired, smoke issues out of
the space between the cylinder and the barrel. This
smoke will be deposited on skin, clothing or other
objects close to the cylinder gap. The autopsy report
documents that smoke deposits were noted on the radial
aspect of both right and left index fingers. Dr. Beyer
told me that there was more deposit on the right as
compared to the left index fingers."
Dr. Blackbourne concluded that "at the time of his
death Vincent Foster was not under the influence of
alcohol, narcotics, [or] cocaine." Dr. Blackbourne based
this conclusion upon the toxicology reports of the
Virginia Division of Forensic Science Toxicology
Laboratory and the FBI Laboratory; a meeting with the
personnel of the FBI Laboratory; and a discussion with
the toxicologist for the Virginia Division of Forensic
Science who performed work on the Foster case in 1993.
Dr. Blackbourne concluded that the gunshot wound that
caused Mr. Foster's death occurred in Fort Marcy Park at
the location where his body was discovered. Dr.
Blackbourne based this conclusion
upon the fact that he would be immediately
unconscious following the gunshot wound through the
brain. Movement of the body, after the gunshot, by
another person(s) would have produced a trail of
dripping blood and displaced some of his clothing.
If he had been transported from another location,
such movement would have resulted in much greater
blood soilage of his clothing (as was seen when he
later was placed in a body bag and transported to
Fairfax Hospital and later to the Medical
Examiner's Office). No trail of dripping blood was
observed about the body on the scene. His clothing
was neat and not displaced. The blood beneath the
head and on the face and shoulder is consistent
with coming from the entrance and exit wounds.
Dr. Blackbourne concluded that the blood draining from
the right nostril and right side of the mouth, as
documented by Polaroid scene photographs, suggests that
an early observer may have caused movement of the head.
Dr. Blackbourne based this conclusion
upon the fact that blood will pool in the mouth and
nasopharynx while the heart is still beating
following a gunshot wound of the back of the mouth.
This blood may drain toward the dependent side of
the head if the volume of blood exceeds the
capacity of the mouth. There will be a thin
trickle. The broad area of blood covering the right
lower face, chin and right side of his neck and
extending over the right shoulder and right collar
of his shirt would result from the sudden drainage
of all of the blood in his mouth. . . . This event
occurred prior to taking the Polaroid scene
photographs.
Based on all of the above evidence, analyses, and
conclusions, Dr. Blackbourne concluded that "Vincent
Foster committed suicide on July 20, 1993 in Ft. Marcy
Park by placing a .38 caliber revolver in his mouth and
pulling the trigger. His death was at his own hand."
VI. ISSUES RELATING TO EVIDENCE AT SCENE
Evidence from the scene and regarding the activities and
observations of persons in and around Fort Marcy Park on
July 20, 1993, raised certain issues requiring further
investigative work.
A. Blood Transfer Stain
The Polaroids of the body at the scene depict, and many
witnesses who observed the body at the scene describe,
the position of the head as facing virtually straight,
not tilting noticeably to one side or the other. The
Polaroids depict a blood transfer stain in the area of
the right side of the face. As explained in previous
sections, the expert pathologists and Dr. Lee analyzed
this blood evidence and the Polaroid photographs. They
concluded, based on the blood transfer stain, that the
head made contact with the right shoulder at some point
before the Polaroids were taken. The testimony and
contemporaneous reports point to the conclusion that
rescue personnel at the scene handled the decedent's
head to check for vital signs and open an airway.
B. Quantity of Blood
Many who saw the body at Fort Marcy Park after it was
lifted and rolled over at the scene described a quantity
of blood behind Mr. Foster's head, under his body, and
on the back of his shirt. A reporter and Park Police
officers separately visited the scene on July 21 and 22,
1993, and stated that they could identify the spot where
the body had been located by the blood soaked into the
ground. A reporter placed a stick into the ground where
the blood spot was located and estimated the blood depth
at one-eighth inch.
In addition, as Dr. Lee stated regarding the quantity of
blood, the photographs at the autopsy reveal blood
staining on the clothes that was not depicted at the
scene. Moreover, Dr. Beyer, who performed the autopsy,
found a large amount of blood in the body bag. These
facts indicate that still more blood drained from the
body during movement from the Fort Marcy scene to the
autopsy.
There has been occasional public suggestion, premised on
the supposedly low amount of blood observed at the Fort
Marcy scene, that blood must already have drained from
the body elsewhere and that the fatal shot therefore
must have been fired elsewhere. As revealed by the
foregoing descriptions of the evidence, the underlying
premise of this theory is erroneous: A quantity of blood
was observed at the park under the body and on the back
of the head and shirt. Moreover, the suggestion fails to
account for the blood that subsequently drained from Mr.
Foster's body during movement to the autopsy. The
blood-quantity evidence, even when considered in
isolation from other evidence, does not support (and
indeed contravenes) a suggestion that the fatal shot was
fired at a place other than where Mr. Foster was found
at Fort Marcy Park.
C. Unidentified Persons and Cars
The evidence establishes that at least three cars
belonging to civilians were in and around the Fort Marcy
parking lot area when the first Park Police and FCFRD
personnel arrived: (1) Mr. Foster's gray Honda Accord
with Arkansas tags; (2) the white Nissan with Maryland
tags driven by C4; and (3) the broken- down blue
Mercedes driven by C6. The three cars belonging to Mr.
Foster, C4, and C6 are the only cars positively
identified and known to law enforcement and the OIC that
were in the Fort Marcy Park parking lot area in the
6:00- 8:30 p.m. time frame and that belong to persons
other than FCFRD personnel, Park Police personnel,
towing personnel, and Dr. Haut.
During the afternoon, before Park Police and FCFRD
personnel were called to the scene at Fort Marcy Park,
C2 saw a man in a car next to him; C3 and C4's
statements suggest the presence of at least one man in
the parking lot and perhaps a jogger; and C6, after her
car broke down, saw a man on the entrance ramp to the
parking lot who asked her if she needed a ride. Law
enforcement and the OIC are not aware of the identities
of the persons (other than C5) described by C2, C3, C4,
and C6. There is no evidence that any of those
unidentified persons (or any identified persons, for
that matter) had any connection to Mr. Foster's death;
and the totality of the forensic, circumstantial,
testimonial, and state-of-mind evidence contrasts with
any such speculation.
D. Car Locks
The Park Police investigators (Braun and Rolla) who
entered and searched Mr. Foster's car at Fort Marcy Park
said that they were able to enter the car without keys
because the car was not locked. James Iacone of the
FCFRD stated that he had tried at least one of the doors
and that it was locked. That statement contrasts with
that of Ralph Pisani of the FCFRD, who said that he,
Jennifer Wacha, and Iacone looked into the Honda, but
that no one tried the doors. In any event, even were
Iacone's recollection more accurate than the others, the
statement would be of uncertain significance, inasmuch
as it is, of course, possible that one or more of the
four doors was locked and one or more unlocked.
E. Neighborhood
OIC investigators canvassed the area surrounding Fort
Marcy Park to determine whether anyone observed, heard,
or had knowledge of relevant activity on July 20. That
effort did not yield relevant information.
F. Pager
A Park Police evidence control receipt indicates that at
the scene, Investigator Rolla took possession of Mr.
Foster's pager from his right waist area. The receipt
reveals that the pager, along with other personal
property such as Mr. Foster's wallet, rings, and watch,
were released to the White House on the evening of July
21 to be returned to the Foster family. Investigator
Rolla said that Mr. Foster's pager was off when he
recovered it. White House records of pager messages do
not indicate messages sent to or from Mr. Foster on July
20.
VII. ISSUES RELATING TO CONDUCT OF INITIAL INVESTIGATION
Certain issues related to the conduct of the initial
1993 investigation into Mr. Foster's death warrant
discussion in this report.
A. Photographs
Park Police Identification Technician Simonello took 35
millimeter photographs of Mr. Foster's body and of the
scene. Park Police investigators also took a number of
Polaroids of Mr. Foster's body and of the scene.
Polaroids taken at a crime or death scene develop
immediately, and thus are useful in the event that
problems subsequently occur in developing other film (as
occurred here ).
Thirteen of the Polaroids provided to Mr. Fiske's Office
and the OIC are of the body scene, and five are of the
parking lot scene. Of the 13 Polaroids of the body
scene, eight are initialed by Investigator Rolla. The
backs of the other five say "from C202 Sgt. Edwards
7-20-93 on scene." Officer Ferstl said that he took
Polaroids and, without initialing or marking them, gave
them to Sergeant Edwards, who gave them to the
investigators. Sergeant Edwards does not recall taking
Polaroids himself.
B. Keys
Investigator Rolla said he felt into Mr. Foster's pants
pockets at the scene in looking for personal effects.
Later, when it became apparent to Investigators Rolla
and Braun that they did not have the keys to the car,
they went to the hospital to check more thoroughly for
keys. The hospital logs indicate that Investigators
Rolla and Braun were at the morgue at 9:12 p.m.
Investigator Braun thoroughly searched the pants pockets
by pulling the pockets inside out, and she found two
sets of keys. She prepared an evidence receipt
indicating that the keys were taken from the right pants
pocket, and she subsequently placed the keys in an
evidence locker.
C. X-Rays
Although no x-rays were produced from the autopsy, the
gunshot wound chart in the autopsy report has a mark
next to "x-rays made." Dr. Beyer has stated that either
he did not take x-rays because the machine was not
functioning properly at the time, or that if he
attempted to take x-rays, they did not turn out. He
stated:
I had intended to take x-rays, but our x-ray
machine was not functioning properly that day.
And if we took any all we got was a totally
black, unreadable x-ray, so I have no x-rays
in the file. . . . I could very well have
tried to use it on the Foster autopsy and got
an unreadable x-ray. If his wound had been a
penetrating wound, where there was only a
wound of entrance, and the missile was
retained within the body, then there would
have been a requirement that I have an x-ray.
Since this was a perforating wound, where
there was a wound of entrance and a wound of
exit, and I was going to examine the tissue
through which the missile path had taken, I
concluded we could proceed without the x-ray,
rather than delay it six to eight hours.
Dr. Beyer's assistant recalled that, at the time of the
Foster autopsy, the laboratory had recently obtained a
new x-ray machine and that it was not functioning
properly. The assistant stated that the machine
sometimes would expose the film and sometimes would not.
In this case, the assistant recalled moving the machine
over Mr. Foster's body in the usual procedure and taking
the x-ray. He said that he did not know until near the
end of the autopsy that the machine did not expose the
film. In addition, like Dr. Beyer and the assistant, the
administrative manager of the Medical Examiner's Office
recalled "numerous problems" with the x-ray machine in
1993 (which, according to records, had been delivered in
June 1993).
With respect to the check of the x-ray box on the
report, Dr. Beyer stated that he checked that box before
the autopsy while completing preliminary information on
the form and that he mistakenly did not erase that check
mark when the report was finalized.
VIII. OTHER ISSUES
Several other issues have arisen and been examined by
the OIC.
A. Gun Observations and Ownership
The OIC conducted investigation and analysis with
respect to the gun, both as to observations of the gun
at the scene and ownership of the gun.
1. Observations of Gun at Scene
According to the testimony of the first three official
personnel to find the body (Park Police Officer
Fornshill and FCFRD personnel Hall and Gonzalez), the
gun was in Mr. Foster's hand when they found the body
(although Officer Fornshill himself did not see or look
for it, but rather was told of it by the others). Those
statements contrast with the testimony of C5, the
individual who first saw Mr. Foster's body and did not
see a gun. Careful evaluation of all of the
circumstances and evidence leads to the conclusion that
C5 simply did not see the gun that was in Mr. Foster's
hand.
First, when questioned by the OIC, C5 agreed with a
statement attributed to him in an interview report that
"there was extreme dense and heavy foliage in the area
and in close proximity to the body, and the possibility
does exist that there was a gun on rear of hand that he
might not have seen." That is supported, moreover, by
the testimony of several witnesses establishing that the
gun was difficult to see in Mr. Foster's hand when
standing in a position above the head on the top of the
berm. That is further confirmed by Polaroids taken from
above the head that reveal the difficulty of seeing the
gun from that angle.
The forensic evidence and analyses outlined above also
support the conclusion that the gun was in Mr. Foster's
hand when C5 saw him. As explained by the pathologists
and Dr. Lee, Mr. Foster's DNA was consistent with that
on the muzzle of the gun, traces of blood evidence were
derived from the gun, residue was on his hand, and
residues were on his shirt. In addition, an indentation
mark on his thumb suggests that the gun was in the hand
for some period of time. The totality of the evidence
leads to the conclusion that the gun recovered from Fort
Marcy Park was in fact in Mr. Foster's hand when C5
happened upon the body, but that C5 simply did not see
it.
There are discrepancies in the descriptions of the color
and kind of gun seen in Mr. Foster's hand. However, the
descriptions provided by the first two persons to
observe the gun, as well as of numerous others, are
consistent with the gun retrieved from the scene and
depicted in the on-the-scene Polaroids. That gun was
taken into evidence by Technician Simonello on July 20,
and has been maintained by law enforcement since then.
2. Ownership of Gun
One follow-up investigative issue concerning the gun
relates to its ownership. Virtually all theories that
the manner of death was not suicide rest on an
assumption that the gun did not belong to Mr. Foster.
But testimony, circumstantial evidence, and forensic
evidence support the conclusion that the gun did in fact
belong to Mr. Foster.
Mrs. Alice Mae Foster, Mr. Foster's mother, stated that
Mr. Foster, Sr., died in 1991. He had kept a revolver in
a drawer of his bedside table, in addition to other guns
in the house. In 1991, when Mr. Foster, Sr., had been
ill and bedridden for a period of time, Mrs. Alice Mae
Foster had all the handguns in the house placed in a box
and put into a closet. Subsequent to the death of Mr.
Foster, Sr., in 1991, Mrs. Alice Mae Foster gave Mr.
Foster, Jr., the box of handguns.
Mrs. Lisa Foster similarly recalls that her husband took
possession of several handguns from his parents' house
near the time of his father's death. She recalled that,
after they moved to Washington in 1993, some guns were
kept in a bedroom closet. She recalled what she
described as a silver-colored gun (she also has referred
to it as a "cowboy gun" ), which had been packed in
Little Rock and unpacked in Washington. She also
recalled a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. She said
she found one gun in its usual location on July 20,
1993, the .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. She did not
find the other gun on or after July 20, 1993.
On July 29, 1993, Mrs. Foster was shown a photograph of
the gun retrieved from the scene and, according to the
Park Police interview report, was unable to identify it
from the photograph. On May 9, 1994, she was shown the
actual gun that was recovered and said, according to the
interview report, that the gun "may be a gun which she
formerly saw in her residence in Little Rock, Arkansas"
and that "she may have seen the handgun . . . at her
residence in Washington." She stated to the OIC in
November 1995, when viewing the gun recovered from Mr.
Foster's hand, that it was the gun she unpacked in
Washington but had not subsequently found, although she
said she seemed to remember the front of the gun looking
lighter in color when she saw it during the move to
Washington.
Webster Hubbell stated that, on the night of Mr.
Foster's death, Lisa Foster went upstairs in the Foster
house with him. While there, she looked into the top of
a closet, pulled out a "squared-off" gun, and said,
according to Hubbell, that one of the guns was missing.
To Hubbell's knowledge, the "other gun" was never found
at the Foster house.
Sharon Bowman, one of Mr. Foster's sisters, recalled
that her father kept a black revolver in a drawer of his
bedside table. She said that she had retrieved various
handguns from her parents' house, placed them in a
shoebox, and put them in her mother's closet (and Ms.
Bowman said they later were given to Mr. Foster, Jr.)
During the 1993 Park Police investigation, John Sloan, a
family friend of the Fosters, wrote a letter to Captain
Hume of the Park Police, stating that he had shown
Sharon Bowman a photograph of the gun. According to the
letter, Ms. Bowman stated that it "looked like a gun she
had seen in her father's collection," and particularly
pointed out the "'wavelike' detailing at the base of the
grip." Ms. Bowman was later shown the revolver recovered
from Fort Marcy Park. She indicated that it looked like
one that her father kept in the house in Hope, but she
could not positively identify it.
Mr. Foster's other sister, Sheila Anthony, said she had
no personal knowledge about the gun found in Mr.
Foster's hand at Fort Marcy Park. She recalled, however,
that her sister, Sharon Bowman, and her brother had
removed guns from their father's house near the father's
death.
Mr. Foster's older son said he knew his father had an
old .38 caliber revolver. He saw it being unpacked at
their house in Washington when they moved there. Mr.
Foster told his son that he had received this gun from
his father (Vincent Foster, Sr.). The older son did not
know where the gun was kept in Washington. The son was
unable to conclusively identify the gun recovered on
July 20, 1993, from Mr. Foster's hand as the one he had
previously seen.
Mr. Foster's younger son stated that he saw one or two
handguns in a shoebox along with a number of loose
bullets while unpacking in Washington. The younger son
stated that these items came from his grandfather's
house. He described his grandfather's guns as a small,
pearl-handled gun, and one or two revolvers. He believes
his father placed the guns in a closet in Washington.
Mr. Foster's daughter stated she recalled someone
unpacking a handgun at the house when they initially
moved to Washington, although she never saw any other
guns in their Washington house.
To sum up, the testimony establishes that, near the time
of his father's death, Mr. Foster took possession of
some handguns that had belonged to his father. The
testimony also establishes that guns, including
(according to the older son) a .38 caliber revolver,
were taken to Washington by the Foster family in 1993.
Mrs. Lisa Foster said that she recalls two guns in a
bedroom closet in Washington, one of which was missing
when she looked in the closet after Mr. Foster's death,
and that the missing gun was the one found at the scene.
Ms. Bowman has said the gun found at the scene looks
like a gun previously kept by her father.
In addition, forensic examinations of Mr. Foster's pants
pocket and the oven mitt support the conclusion that Mr.
Foster carried, and thus possessed, a gun at a time
close to his death. As explained above, that evidence
tends to link Mr. Foster to the gun recovered from his
hand.
This combination of testimonial, circumstantial, and
forensic evidence supports the conclusion that the gun
found in Mr. Foster's hand belonged to Mr. Foster.
B. Briefcase
There are some discrepancies in statements regarding
whether a briefcase was in Mr. Foster's car at Fort
Marcy Park.
Mr. Foster's black briefcase was in his office on July
22 when documents in the office were reviewed by Mr.
Nussbaum in the presence of law enforcement officials.
Four days later, a torn note was reportedly found in
that briefcase by an Associate White House Counsel. To
determine whether a briefcase (and perhaps that black
briefcase) was in Mr. Foster's car at Fort Marcy Park,
five related questions must be considered:
1. Did those who saw Mr. Foster leave the White House on
July 20 see him with a briefcase?
2. Was a briefcase observed in Mr. Foster's car at Fort
Marcy Park?
3. Did the Park Police return a briefcase to the Secret
Service that evening?
4. Was a briefcase in Mr. Foster's office at the White
House after his death?
5. How many briefcases did Mr. Foster use?
1. Mr. Foster's Departure From the White House
Linda Tripp, Betsy Pond, and Tom Castleton -- all of
whom worked in the Counsel's suite of offices -- said
they saw Mr. Foster leave the Counsel's suite on July
20. They were interviewed separately by the Park Police
on July 22, 1993.
The Park Police report of the interview with Ms. Tripp
states:
Ms. Tripp makes it a habit to notice what the staff
members are taking with them when they leave the
office in order to determine for herself how long
she may expect them to be away from the office. Ms.
Tripp was absolutely certain that Mr. Foster did
not carry anything in the way of a briefcase, bag,
umbrella, etc. out of the office.
Ms. Tripp confirmed to the OIC that this report
accurately reflected her recollection.
The relevant portion of the Park Police report of Ms.
Pond's interview of July 22, 1993, does not address what
Mr. Foster carried when he left the office. In a later
interview, Ms. Pond stated that "I think I remember his
jacket swung over his shoulder" and said "not that I
recall" to the question whether Mr. Foster was carrying
a briefcase.
The Park Police report of Mr. Castleton's interview of
July 22, 1993, does not address what Mr. Foster carried
when he left the office. When questioned over eight
months later, Mr. Castleton recalled Mr. Foster carrying
a briefcase, and Mr. Castleton has said that it "looked
very much like the one" that was in Mr. Foster's office
on July 22.
The testimony of Ms. Tripp, Ms. Pond, and Mr. Castleton
thus conflicts as to whether Foster carried a briefcase
when he left the Counsel's suite -- two saying that he
did not and one saying that he did.
2. Mr. Foster's Car at Fort Marcy
The Park Police officers who searched Mr. Foster's car
at Fort Marcy Park (Braun and Rolla) stated there was no
briefcase in the car. The Park Police technician who
inventoried the car on July 21, E.J. Smith, stated that
no briefcase was found. The Polaroids of the interior of
Mr. Foster's car taken at Fort Marcy Park, and the
photographs taken the next day at the impoundment lot,
do not show a briefcase in the car. (The photos from
Fort Marcy show a white canvas bag in front of the rear
seat on the driver's side of the car.)
In addition, four other persons at Fort Marcy Park
specifically recall looking into Mr. Foster's car but do
not recall a briefcase. Officer Fornshill of the Park
Police stated that he looked into the car (although not
closely) but did not see a briefcase. Wacha, Iacone, and
Pisani of the FCFRD also said that they did not recall
seeing a briefcase.
Four other persons have varying, but imprecise, degrees
of recollection of a briefcase in somecar at Fort Marcy
Park.
Todd Hall of the FCFRD stated in a March 18, 1994,
interview and in a January 5, 1995, statement to the
OIC, that he recalled a briefcase of uncertain color in
the car with Arkansas plates. However, in a July 20,
1994, Senate deposition, he stated "We saw a suit coat
and I think his briefcase, something like that. . . .
All I know for sure I saw was his suit coat. And I
thought I may have seen, he may have had a briefcase or
something in there."
George Gonzalez of the FCFRD said in one statement that
he saw a black briefcase/attache case in the car with
Arkansas plates. In a later statement, however, Gonzalez
stated, "I can't say if I saw a briefcase or papers. I
can't correctly say whether I saw it or not. . . . I
think the tie was in there and the jacket was in there.
That's what I remember. That's all I can really
remember." He also said that what he recalled could have
been a canvas bag that was found in Mr. Foster's car.
Gonzalez was not present when the Park Police entered
the Honda.
C5 testified that he "would just about bet" that a
"brown briefcase" was in the car, although he "wouldn't
bet [his] life on it." C5's statements and a reenactment
conducted with C5 at the scene by investigators reveal,
however, that C5 was describing the car of C4, not Mr.
Foster's car, when he referred to the briefcase.
C2 testified that he saw a briefcase -- as well as wine
coolers -- in a car with Arkansas plates that was parked
in the parking lot. He stated: "I looked and I saw the
briefcase and saw the jacket, saw the wine coolers, it
was two of them. I remember exactly how they were laying
in the back seat of the car." (There is no other
evidence that wine coolers were in Mr. Foster's car. )
3. Park Police Communications With Secret Service
An official Secret Service report prepared at 10:01 p.m.
on July 20 states in relevant part:
SA Tom Canavit, WFO PI squad, advised that he has
been in contact with US Park Police and was assured
that if any materials of a sensitive nature
(schedules of the POTUS, etc.) were recovered, they
would immediately be turned over to the USSS. (At
the time of this writing, no such materials were
located).
4. Mr. Foster's Office at the White House
White House employee Patsy Thomasson testified that she
saw Mr. Foster's briefcase by the desk in Foster's
office on the night of July 20 and indeed looked into
the top of that briefcase for a note. As noted above,
the testimony of White House, Department of Justice,
FBI, and Park Police personnel confirms that Mr.
Foster's black briefcase was in his White House office
on July 22, two days after his death, during the review
of documents in Mr. Foster's office.
5. Mr. Foster's Briefcase
The OIC is aware of only one briefcase used in
Washington by Mr. Foster, the black briefcase that Ms.
Thomasson observed in Mr. Foster's White House office on
the night of July 20 and that a number of other
witnesses observed there on July 22.
6. Summary: Briefcase
Based on careful consideration of all of the evidence,
the conclusions significantly supported are: (a) Mr.
Foster's black briefcase remained in his office when he
left on July 20; and (b) neither it nor another
briefcase was in his car at Fort Marcy Park.
C. Notification
According to Secret Service records, the Secret Service
was notified of Mr. Foster's death at about 8:30 p.m.
Eastern time on July 20. The records reflect that
various White House officials were then contacted.
An Arkansas Trooper has stated that, while on duty at
the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, he was notified of Mr.
Foster's death by Helen Dickey, at the time a
22-year-old personal assistant of the Clintons who lived
on the third floor of the White House Residence. The
trooper described Dickey as "hysterical" and "very
upset" when she called. The trooper, who was working a
shift until 10:30 p.m. Arkansas time that night, stated
that Dickey called him before 7:30 p.m. Arkansas time
(8:30 p.m. Eastern time); according to the interview
report, he said "he could possibly be mistaken about the
time the call from Dickey was received. The call could
have been as late as 8:30 PM, Arkansas time. However, he
still felt his best recollection was that the call was
received sometime between 4:30 PM and 7:30 PM [Arkansas
time]."
Helen Dickey stated that she was first notified of Mr.
Foster's death by an employee of the White House Usher's
Office at about 10:00 p.m. and that she became very
upset. (The Dickeys had lived next door to the Fosters
in Little Rock when Helen was younger. ) She then
contacted her mother in Virginia and her father in
Georgia from a phone on the second floor of the White
House Residence. Dickey stated that she later called
(from a different phone) the Arkansas Governor's Mansion
and talked to the trooper at approximately 10:30 p.m.
Eastern time.
There are two other pieces of relevant evidence with
respect to Ms. Dickey's statement. First, Ms. Dickey's
diary entry for July 20 (written within a few days of
the event) states in relevant part:
I watched [Larry King Live] and about 10:30 [the
Usher's Office employee] came up and told me they
had found Vince Foster's body and that he'd killed
himself. I waited for the punchline and lost it. I
called Mom and Dad . . . . We went to Lisa's, and
everyone was there . . .
Second, the Usher's Office employee confirmed that he
notified Ms. Dickey of Mr. Foster's death shortly after
10:00 p.m. and said that Ms. Dickey immediately became
hysterical, started screaming and crying, and ran
downstairs. The Usher's Office employee "firmly believes
he was the first to inform Dickey of the news of
Foster's death because of her extreme reaction to the
news."
The totality of the evidence -- including the diary
entry, the testimony of the Usher's Office employee, and
the lack of any other evidence that White House or
Secret Service personnel had knowledge of Mr. Foster's
death at a time earlier than when the Park Police first
notified the Secret Service -- does not support a
conclusion that Ms. Dickey knew about Mr. Foster's death
at some earlier time.
D. Search for Bullet
During the Park Police, Fiske, and OIC investigations,
searches were conducted of Fort Marcy Park for the
bullet that caused Mr. Foster's death.
On July 22, 1993, four Park Police personnel (Hill,
Johnson, Rule, and Morrissette) searched with a metal
detector the immediate area where the body was found.
Their search for the bullet was unsuccessful.
Investigators in Mr. Fiske's Office conducted a search
in the area where Mr. Foster's body was found. Their
search for the bullet fired from Mr. Foster's gun was
unsuccessful.
With the assistance of Dr. Lee, the National Park
Service, and a large number of investigators, the OIC
organized a broader search of Fort Marcy Park for the
fatal bullet. The search was led by Richard K. Graham,
an expert in crime scene metal detection. The search
plan was devised utilizing information obtained through
ballistics tests performed by the Army Research
Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland.
The search did not locate a bullet fired from the gun
recovered from Mr. Foster's hand. That the search did
not uncover the fatal bullet does not affect the
conclusion that Mr. Foster committed suicide in Fort
Marcy Park. Because a search covering the maximum range
estimates "would have included a vast area . . . , a
search which was limited in scope to the highest
probability areas, closer to the minimum range
estimates, was undertaken." In other words, while the
OIC search covered a broader area than previous
searches, "the maximum range estimates" predicted the
possibility that "the bullet could have cleared the tree
tops in Ft. Marcy and landed well outside the park."
Moreover, although lines ultimately were laid out within
the park along the outer limits of a 90 degree arc to a
distance of 175 meters, which represented the "highest
probability areas," a full search of even the 90
degree-175 meter range would have included areas outside
the park that were not searched. In addition, because
"dense foliage and trees surround the area where
Foster's body was discovered, and since there is a . . .
cannon approximately 12.5 feet directly behind the
location where the body lay, there is a distinct
possibility the bullet's trajectory was altered due to
its striking or ricocheting off a natural or man-made
obstruction." Another variable is that "Foster's head
could have been turned to one side or the other when the
shot was fired."
IX. STATE OF MIND
In a death investigation, state-of-mind evidence can
buttress the forensic and other evidence and, in that
respect, is an issue within the scope of the
investigation. For that reason, the OIC intensively
examined Mr. Foster's state of mind and activities
before his death. The OIC reconstructed and examined
previously unreviewed documents from Mr. Foster's White
House office. The OIC sought relevant documents from
other sources. The OIC interviewed Mr. Foster's wife,
sisters, mother, children, and other relatives; numerous
friends in Arkansas and Washington; many colleagues who
worked closely with him at the Rose Law Firm or the
White House; and various other persons with potentially
important information. During this effort, the OIC
gathered extensive evidence relating to Mr. Foster's
state of mind and activities.
The OIC is grateful to the Foster family members --
including Alice Mae Foster, Lisa Foster, Sharon Bowman,
Sheila Anthony, Beryl Anthony, and the Foster children,
among others -- for cooperating with this and prior
investigations under painful and difficult
circumstances. Lisa Foster and Mr. Foster's mother,
Alice Mae Foster, not only spoke with OIC investigators
at some length, but also provided additional information
and assistance at their homes in Arkansas.
A. Dr. Berman's Analysis
Suicide, perhaps contrary to popular understanding, is a
common manner of death in the United States. According
to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), suicide was
the ninth leading cause of death among Americans in the
period from 1980 through 1992. The CDC's statistics
reveal that more individuals in the United States died
by suicide than by homicide in every year since 1981. In
the United States in 1993, 31,102 individuals committed
suicide, and 18,940 of them committed suicide with a
firearm. During 1993, therefore, there were
approximately 85 suicides per day, and 52 suicides by
firearm per day, in the United States.
The OIC retained Dr. Alan Berman to review and analyze
state-of-mind evidence gathered by the OIC in the course
of its investigation. Dr. Berman, as noted above, has
extensive experience and expertise in the study of
suicide. He examined the evidence and reported his
findings to the OIC.
In his report, Dr. Berman first noted that
"descriptors used by interviewees with regard to
Vincent Foster's basic personality were extraordinarily
consistent in describing a controlled, private,
perfectionistic character whose public persona as a man
of integrity, honesty, and unimpeachable reputation was
of utmost importance."
Mr. Foster's life, after "arriving in Washington, was
filled with long, intense and demanding hours of work."
Dr. Berman noted that Mr. Foster's May 8 commencement
address to the University of Arkansas School of Law was
"replete with reflections upon and regret regarding the
changes wrought by his experiences in Washington." Mr.
Foster had "uncharacteristically . . . talked of
quitting," but considered a return to Little Rock to be
a "humiliation."
Dr. Berman reported that "mistakes, real or perceived,
posed a profound threat to his self-esteem/self-worth
and represented evidence for a lack of control over his
environment. Feelings of unworthiness, inferiority, and
guilt followed and were difficult for him to tolerate.
There are signs of an intense and profound anguish,
harsh self-evaluation, shame, and chronic fear. All
these on top of an evident clinical depression and his
separation from the comforts and security of Little
Rock. He, furthermore, faced a feared humiliation should
he resign and return to Little Rock." The torn note
"highlights his preoccupation with themes of guilt,
anger, and his need to protect others."
Dr. Berman noted that Mr. Foster's admission to his
sister on the Friday before his death that he was
depressed was a "profound expression of his depression."
Dr. Berman also noted Mr. Foster's July 19 call to Dr.
Larry Watkins in Little Rock, during which Mr. Foster
referred to symptoms of a mild depression and to stress,
criticism, and long hours.
Dr. Berman stated that Mr. Foster was "not a helpseeker"
and was "reluctant to seek help" although he was
"aware he was in trouble psychologically." Dr. Berman
stated that "this difficulty accepting the vulnerable
position is common to successful executives." Dr. Berman
stated that "by the Friday before his death he was
desperate; calling for names of psychiatrists was a
clear . . . admission of his failure. He was ambivalent
and fearful about this helpseeking." He ultimately
"preferred the safety of his family physician . . . to
the immediacy and presence of other, unknown
professionals in the DC area."
Dr. Berman said that Mr. Foster's "last 96 hours show
clear signs of crisis and uncharacteristic
vulnerability." Dr. Berman concluded, furthermore, that
"there is little doubt that Foster was clinically
depressed . . . in early 1993, and, perhaps,
sub-clinically even before this." Dr. Berman noted that
there was some history of depression in the family.
Dr. Berman explained that for certain executives facing
difficult circumstances, "in essence, death is
preferred to preserve one's identity. The suicide has an
inability to tolerate an altered view of himself;
suicide maintains a selfview and escapes having to
incorporate discordant implications about the self.
These types of suicides are typically complete surprises
to others in the available support system."
As to why Mr. Foster was overwhelmed at that particular
time, Dr Berman explained that Mr. Foster was "under an
increasing burden of intense external stress, a loss of
security, a painful scanning of his environment for
negative judgments regarding his performance, a rigid
hold of perfectionistic self-demands, a breakdown in and
the absence of his usual ability to handle that stress
primarily due to the impact of a mental disorder which
was undertreated."
Mr. Foster apparently did not leave a note that
specifically refers to or contemplates suicide. Dr.
Berman indicated that the great majority of persons
committing suicide do not leave a note. Dr. Berman also
stated, with respect to the lack of a note in this case,
that Mr. Foster was "intensely self-focused at this
point; overwhelmed and out of control."
As to the Fort Marcy Park location, Dr. Berman stated
that Mr. Foster "was ambivalent to the end" and may have
driven for a while before going to Fort Marcy Park. He
may have "simply and inadvertently happened upon the
park or he may have purposely picked it off the area map
found in his car." Dr. Berman stated that Mr. Foster's
suicide in Fort Marcy Park is "similar to the typical
male physician who suicides by seeking the guaranteed
privacy of a hotel room, and a 'do not disturb' sign"
In sum, Dr. Berman, based on his evaluation of the
evidence, concluded: "In my opinion and to a 100% degree
of medical certainty, the death of Vincent Foster was a
suicide. No plausible evidence has been presented to
support any other conclusion"
B. Evidence
The OIC, like other investigations before, is not aware
of a single, obvious triggering event that might have
motivated Mr. Foster to commit suicide. Therefore, the
following is simply a brief outline of some of the
evidence relevant to the ultimate determination that Mr.
Foster's state of mind was consistent with suicide. This
outline is not designed to set forth or to suggest some
particular reason or set of reasons why Mr. Foster
committed suicide. Rather, the issue for purposes of the
death investigation is whether Mr. Foster committed
suicide, and this outline is designed to show that, as
Dr. Berman concluded, compelling evidence exists that
Mr. Foster was distressed or depressed in a manner
consistent with suicide.
To begin with, in his six months in the White House, Mr.
Foster was involved in work related to a number of
important and difficult issues. The issues included, for
example, the appointments and vetting of an Attorney
General, a Supreme Court Justice, as well as many others
(some of which developed into difficult situations
abounding with unfavorable public comment); legal issues
related to health care, such as medical malpractice
reform; litigation related to the Health Care Task
Force; the dismissal of White House Travel Office
employees and the ensuing fallout from that incident;
the Clintons' tax returns (which involved an issue
regarding treatment of the Clintons' 1992 sale of their
interest in Whitewater); the Clintons' blind trust;
liaison with the White House Usher's Office over issues
related to the White House Residence; and issues related
to the Freedom of Information Act.
The work proved to be difficult and stressful. In a
letter to a friend in Arkansas on March 4, 1993, for
example, Mr. Foster wrote: "I have never worked so hard
for so long in my life. The legal issues are mind
boggling and the time pressures are immense. . . . The
pressure, financial sacrifice and family disruption are
the price of public service at this level. As they say,
'The wind blows hardest at the top of the mountain.'"
During that six-month period, certain other aspects of
Mr. Foster's life also came under some scrutiny. For
example, in May 1993, a controversy arose over
membership of Administration officials in the Country
Club of Little Rock, which had had no black members. Mr.
Foster was a member of that club and resigned from it
that month. On a copy of a May 11, 1993, newspaper
article in Mr. Foster's office that mentioned the
controversy, Mr. Foster wrote, "I wish I had done more."
At the same time, the White House staff generally was
subject to media criticism during the first six months
of the Administration. Some public criticism suggested
incompetence, if not malfeasance, by staff members. Mr.
Foster himself was mentioned in some of the critical
editorial commentary. Numerous witnesses said that Mr.
Foster was concerned and/or upset over the press
criticism. According to Mr. Foster's brother-in- law,
former Congressman Beryl Anthony, Mr. Foster said words
to the effect that he had "spent a lifetime building
[his] reputation" and was "in the process of having it
tarnished."
As Dr. Berman noted, reputation was clearly important to
Mr. Foster. Indeed, in the May 8, 1993, commencement
address, Mr. Foster said that "dents to the reputation
in the legal profession are irreparable" and that "no
victory, no advantage, no fee, no favor . . . is worth
even a blemish on your reputation for intellect and
integrity." He emphasized that the "reputation you
develop for intellectual and ethical integrity will be
your greatest asset or your worst enemy."
In that commencement address, Mr. Foster also noted that
there will be "failures, and criticisms and bad press
and lies, stormy days and cloudy days." He advised to
"take time out for yourself. Have some fun, go
fishing, every once in a while take a walk in the woods
by yourself."' He suggested that "if you find yourself
getting burned out or unfulfilled, unappreciated. . .
. have the courage to make a change."
The Travel Office matter, in particular, was the subject
of public controversy beginning in May 1993 and
continuing through Mr. Foster's death. Criticism focused
on the White House's handling of the matter before and
after the May 19 firings. Legislation enacted on July 2,
1993, required the General Accounting Office (GAO) to
investigate the Travel Office firings. There was a
possibility of some form of congressional review, or
perhaps special counsel investigation, as well as the
GAO investigation. During the week of July 12, Mr.
Foster contacted private attorneys seeking advice in
connection with the Travel Office incident.
At some point in the last weeks of his life, Mr. Foster
wrote a note that he had "made mistakes from ignorance,
inexperience and overwork" and that he "was not meant
for the job or the spotlight of public life in
Washington. Here ruining people is considered sport."
During that same period, according to Mr. Foster's
immediate superior, Counsel Bernard Nussbaum, Mr.
Foster's work effort decreased noticeably. According to
William Kennedy, Sheila Anthony, and Lisa Foster, Mr.
Foster said he was considering resigning.
Mr. Foster's sister Sheila Anthony said that Mr. Foster
told her on Friday, July 16 that he was depressed. She
furnished him the names of three psychiatrists. Mr.
Foster did not speak to any of the three psychiatrists,
although phone records show that Mr. Foster attempted to
contact one of them on July 16. When Mr. Foster was
found at Fort Marcy Park, a list of the three
psychiatrists was in his wallet.
Lisa Foster said that her husband cried while talking to
her on Friday night, July 16 and that Mr. Foster
mentioned resigning during the weekend of July 16-18.
Meanwhile, Mr. Foster's mother, Alice Mae Foster, said
that she talked to her son a day or two before his death
and that he said he was unhappy because of his job and
that it was "such a grind."
On Monday, July 19, Mr. Foster contacted Dr. Larry
Watkins, his physician in Little Rock, and was
prescribed an antidepressant. Watkins' typed notes of
July 21 say the following:
I talked to Vince on 7/19/93, at which time he
complained of anorexia and insomnia. He had no GI
[gastrointestinal] symptoms. We discussed the
possibility of taking Axid or Zantac to help with
any ulcer symptoms as he was under a lot of stress.
He was concerned about the criticism they were
getting and the long hours he was working at the
White House. He did feel that he had some mild
depression. I started him on Desyrel, 50 mg. He was
to start with one at bedtime and move up to three.
. . . I received word at 10:20 p.m. on 7/20/93 that
he had committed suicide.
Dr. Watkins said that it was unusual, even
unprecedented, for Mr. Foster to call him directly. Lisa
Foster said that Mr. Foster took one tablet of the
antidepressant medication on the night of the 19th.
In short, the OIC cannot set forth a particular reason
or set of reasons why Mr. Foster committed suicide. The
important issue, from the standpoint of the death
investigation, is whether Mr. Foster committed suicide.
On that issue, the state-of-mind evidence is compelling,
and it demonstrates that Mr. Foster was, in fact,
distressed or depressed in a manner consistent with
suicide. Indeed, the evidence was sufficient for Dr.
Berman to conclude that "to a 100% degree of medical
certainty, the death of Vincent Foster was a suicide."
X. SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS
To sum up, the OIC has investigated the cause and manner
of Mr. Foster's death. To ensure that all relevant
issues were fully considered, carefully analyzed, and
properly assessed, the OIC retained a number of
experienced experts and criminal investigators. The
experts included Dr. Brian D. Blackbourne, Dr. Henry C.
Lee, and Dr. Alan L. Berman. The investigators included
an FBI agent detailed from the FBI-MPD Cold Case
Homicide Squad in Washington, D.C.; an investigator who
also had extensive homicide experience as a detective
with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington,
D.C., for over 20 years; and two other OIC investigators
who had experience as FBI agents investigating the
murders of federal officials and other homicides. The
OIC legal staff in Washington, D.C., and Little Rock,
Arkansas, participated in assessing the evidence,
examining the analyses and conclusions of the OIC
experts and investigators, and preparing this report.
The autopsy report and the reports of the pathologists
retained by the OIC and Mr. Fiske's Office demonstrate
that the cause of death was a gunshot wound through the
back of Mr. Foster's mouth and out the back of his head.
The autopsy photographs depict the wound in the back of
the head, and the photographs show the trajectory rod
through the wound. The evidence, including the
photographic evidence, reveals no other trauma or wounds
on Mr. Foster's body.
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.
When police and rescue personnel arrived at the scene,
they found Mr. Foster dead with a gun in his right hand.
That gun, the evidence tends to show, belonged to Mr.
Foster. Gunshot residue-like material was observed on
Mr. Foster's right hand in a manner consistent both with
test firings of the gun and with the gun's cylinder gap.
Gunshot residue was found in his mouth. DNA consistent
with that of Mr. Foster was found on the gun. Blood was
detected on the paper initially used to package the gun.
Blood spatters were detected on the lifts from the gun.
In addition, lead residue was found on the clothes worn
by Mr. Foster when found at the scene. This evidence,
taken together, leads to the conclusion that Mr. Foster
fired this gun into his mouth. This evidence also leads
to the conclusion that this shot was fired while he was
wearing the clothes in which he was found. Mr. Foster's
thumb was trapped in the trigger guard, and the trigger
caused a noticeable indentation on the thumb,
demonstrating that the gun remained in his hand after
firing.
The police detected no signs of a struggle at the scene,
and examination of Mr. Foster's clothes by Dr. Lee
revealed no evidence of a struggle or of dragging. Nor
does the evidence reveal that Mr. Foster was intoxicated
or drugged.
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. Investigators found a quantity of blood under
Mr. Foster's back and head when the body was turned, and
Dr. Beyer, who performed the autopsy, found a large
amount of blood in the body bag. In addition, the blood
spatters on Mr. Foster's face had not been altered or
smudged, contrary to what likely would have occurred had
the body been moved and the head wrapped or cleaned.
Fort Marcy Park is publicly accessible and traveled; Mr.
Foster was discovered in that park in broad daylight;
and no one saw Mr. Foster being carried into the park.
All of this evidence, taken together, leads to the
conclusion that the shot was fired by Mr. Foster where
he was found in Fort Marcy Park.
The evidence with respect to state of mind points as
well to suicide. Mr. Foster told his sister four days
before his death that he was depressed; he cried at
dinner with his wife four days before his death; he told
his mother a day or two before his death that he was
unhappy because work was "a grind"; he was consulting
attorneys for legal advice the week before his death; he
told several people he was considering resignation; he
wrote a note that he "was not meant for the job or the
spotlight of public life in Washington. Here ruining
people is considered sport." The day before his death,
he contacted a physician and indicated that he was under
stress. He was prescribed antidepressant medication and
took one tablet that evening.
Dr. Berman concluded that Mr. Foster's "last 96 hours
show clear signs of crisis and uncharacteristic
vulnerability." Dr. Berman stated, furthermore, that
"there is little doubt that Foster was clinically
depressed . . . in early 1993, and, perhaps,
sub-clinically even before this." Dr. Berman concluded
that "in my opinion and to a 100% degree of medical
certainty, the death of Vincent Foster was a suicide. No
plausible evidence has been presented to support any
other conclusion."
In sum, based on all of the available evidence, which is
considerable, the OIC agrees with the conclusion reached
by every official entity that has examined the issue:
Mr. Foster committed suicide by gunshot in Fort Marcy
Park on July 20, 1993.
