Former Secret Service agent who witnessed the JFK assassination speaks at Duquesne University
To this day, former U.S. Secret Service agent Paul Landis says he has no reservations about removing the “magic bullet” that was lodged in…
· archived 5/18/2026, 12:44:43 AMscreenshotcached html Former Secret Service agent who witnessed the JFK assassination speaks at Duquesne University | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Wednesday, January 31, 2024, 5:54PM | 41° Obituaries PGe PG Store Archives Classifieds Classified Events Jobs Real Estate Public Notices Pets MENU SUBSCRIBE LOGIN REGISTER LOG OUT MY PROFILE Home News Local Sports Opinion A&E Business Contact Us NEWSLETTERS Judge signs restraining order against absentee owners of Century III Mall State lawmakers told Aliquippa incident shows cyber risks to public infrastructure Steelers, Mike Tomlin scouting receivers at Senior Bowl to help group in transition Shapiro visits Pittsburgh to outline investment priorities in state economic development plan Biden will visit East Palestine a year after fiery train derailment Tensions high as attorney shows video of Jim Rogers’ interactions with Pittsburgh police to public Homepage This Just In Chats Weather Traffic Event Guide PG Store RSS Feeds PGe The Digs Video Photos Biden will visit East Palestine a year after fiery train derailment City Council continues debate over multimillion dollar comprehensive plan Shapiro visits Pittsburgh to outline investment priorities in state economic development plan Top Pa. 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Kennedy’s limousine on the day he was assassinated — but the sight of the former president as he was gunned down has played on a loop in his head ever since. Mr. Landis, who released his memoir detailing his stint with the Secret Service titled “The Final Witness” last month, was featured as one of the keynote speakers at the 22nd Annual Wecht Symposium at Duquesne University commemorating the 60th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination. In the memoir, Mr. Landis, who had been in the car behind the vehicle Kennedy was shot in during a parade in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, recounted how he took the bullet from Kennedy’s limousine and later put it on then-Texas Governor John Connally’s stretcher out of fear that it would get picked up by a bystander or lost.Advertisement The bullet, which appears completely undamaged, went on to spawn the “magic-bullet theory” conspiracy which claimed that the bullet struck Kennedy in the back, exited through his throat, and struck Connally, who was seated in front of Kennedy and was also injured in the assassination. “I did not feel guilty at all anytime after the assassination,” Mr. Landis said during the symposium on Thursday. “I felt I did the right thing.” Mr. Landis was joined on stage by lawyer and author James Robenalt, president of Duquesne and former law professor Ken Gormley, and Dr. Cyril Wecht — a nationally recognized medical-legal consultant, author, and expert on many of the past half-century’s highest profile deaths — who said the revelations from Mr. Landis disproved the theory that a single bullet struck both Kennedy and Connally. “It just pours more concrete over the gravesite over the single-bullet [theory],” Dr. Wecht said, adding that the bullet’s final resting place in the backseat has continued to stump him.Advertisement “I can’t tell you how many hours I consume as I go through the day and think through the night, trying to go to sleep, trying to reconstruct it,” Dr. Wecht said. “Nobody has accurately done that and this is a criticism of me as well as everyone else.” And while the mechanics of the shooting itself have remained a mystery, Dr. Wecht discussed his long-held theory regarding who was behind the assassination, which he said he believes was a small group that included rogue elements of the CIA and the Italian mob. “The motive would have been to stop Kennedy’s socio-political agenda, nationally and internationally” Dr Wecht said. This year’s Wecht Symposium attracted a crowd of over 100 lawyers, doctors, researchers, scholars, and history buffs. Other featured discussions included the legitimacy of a pair of brain exams following Kennedy’s autopsy, an acoustic analysis of the assassination and a review of a mysterious letter JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald wrote days before he himself was killed. Also in attendance were a pair of attorneys, Lawrence Schnapf and William Simpich, who are suing the federal government in an attempt to obtain more records regarding the assassination. The event also attracted the former chief financial officer of the Allegheny Health Network, Jeff Crudele, who traveled from South Florida to attend the symposium and now hosts the podcast “JFK - The Enduring Secret.” “I think a lot of people from the outside who look at people who are still intensely interested in this may think its an obsession of some sort, but it's really a lot more than that,” Mr. Crudele said. “This country is only a small number of years away from its 250th anniversary and there’s only been one time, in all the history of this country, there’s been a transference of power that wasn’t through the prescribed democratic process.” The symposium also came one week after Dr. Wecht donated a voluminous collection of his work to Duquesne University. The collection includes Dr. Wecht’s case files into high-profile killings that include David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, JonBenet Ramsey, the Menendez brothers, Casey Anthony, Scott Peterson, and Chandra Levy. “Anyone who follows famous criminal investigations or the debate on the JFK assassination will know the name Cyril Wecht,” University Archivist Tom White said in a statement. “We are excited to have the collection of such a prominent and experienced figure in the world of forensic pathology. This collection will be valuable to students, researchers, criminologists, historians and anyone trying to understand the assassinations in the 1960s.” First Published November 19, 2023, 2:30am RELATED Comments Disabled For This Story Must Read business ‘A higher standard’: Affordable housing developer acquires Downtown Pittsburgh apartment building local Iconic Iron City Beer billboard on Mount Washington is back news The Pittsburgh Marathon offers a new challenge for 2024: a military-inspired obstacle course From Our Sponsors Sponsored Sponsored Sponsored Partners Advertisement TRENDING 1 news After Teamsters meeting, Trump says of possible union endorsement, 'Stranger things have happened' Wed, Jan 31, 2024, 11:20am Jill Colvin and Tom Krisher 2 sports Gerry Dulac's Steelers chat transcript: 01.31.24 Wed, Jan 31, 2024, 6:30am Gerry Dulac 3 business Judge signs restraining order against absentee owners of Century III Mall Wed, Jan 31, 2024, 2:12pm Neena Hagen 4 sports Joe Starkey: Contrary to popular belief, the Steelers have treated Mason Rudolph quite well Wed, Jan 31, 2024, 6:45am Joe Starkey 5 local Landslide forces Moon Township homeowners to evacuate Wed, Jan 31, 2024, 9:03am Kristen Mohammadi From left: Paul Landis, Cyril Wecht and Ken Gormley. Former Secret Service Agent Paul Landis, Duquesne University President Ken Gormley and renowned forensic scientist Dr. Cyril Wecht will explore recent revelations about John F. Kennedy’s assassination as part of The JFK Assassination at 60: New Frontiers in Scientific, Medical, Legal and Historical Research. (Courtesy of Duquesne University) Former Secret Service Agent Paul Landis, and Duquesne University President Ken Gormley and renowned forensic scientist Dr. Cyril Wecht (not pictured) explored recent revelations about John F. Kennedy’s assassination as part of The JFK Assassination at 60: New Frontiers in Scientific, Medical, Legal and Historical Research. (Courtesy of Duquesne University) Courtesy of Duquesne University Advertisement LATEST news Pa. lawmakers told Aliquippa incident shows cyber risks to public infrastructure Biden will visit East Palestine a year after fiery train derailment City Council continues debate over multimillion dollar comprehensive plan Gov. 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