Part 15: What Bullet Was Really Tested?

     On December 21, 1981, two Milwaukee Detectives, acting pursuant to court order, traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and allegedly delivered the bullet removed from Christine Schultz’s body along with Elfred’s off-duty gun for ballistics re-testing by Bembenek’s experts. (Exhibit 15-1) Those experts reported a match between the two items they had tested.  But, what did they actually test and were they tricked into providing false opinions.

     In December 2002, Ballistics Experts Herbert Leon MacDonell and Stanton O. Berg wrote in e-mails that the bullet they had examined in 1981, and matched to Schultz’s off-duty gun, had the markings “N ML 6-18-81” (Exhibit 15-2). Those are the only markings they described. Since it is accepted practice for ballistics experts to completely describe all markings on each/every item they inspect, test, or re-test, they either overlooked, or failed to document, very important markings on the bullet actually removed from Christine. 

     During the autopsy, Dr. Elaine A. Samuels, Associate Medical Examiner for Milwaukee County, removed the bullet from Christine and wrote two sets of initials on the base.  She placed the initials CJS for Christine J. Schultz and EAS for herself. (Exhibit 15-3) But suspiciously, Experts Berg and MacDonell did not have that information in their notes. 

     In 2005, during the deposition testimony of Wisconsin Crime Laboratory Personnel, startling new information was revealed. State records do not have the bullet removed from Schultz’s body ever leaving the Crime Lab in December 1981. But what bullet was actually taken to Minnesota, tested and compared by the two experts. That’s anyone’s guess.

Exhibit 15-1

Exhibit 15-2

Exhibit 15-3