Booth autopsy

[wsanto]

(11-11-2013 06:59 PM)J. Beckert Wrote:  I believe that the story was that Booth showed up at Dr. Mudd's wearing a fake beard (Mrs. Mudd? saw it slip), he asked for a razor and shaved his face clean and by the time of the autopsy, his entire face was covered with an 11 day growth of beard. I don't think the false beard story is accepted by too many folks and I've never heard of Booth wearing any fake facial hair after he left Mudd's house.

I agree with Roger. In my opinion, the fake beard was an invention to bolster Mudd's aliby. A story concocted to explain Mudd's behavior would have to include a reasonable explanation for why Mudd didn't recognize Booth.

Think about it---Booth was not wearing a false beard when he assassinated Lincoln and he was not wearing a false beard when he crossed the Navy Yard Bridge or when he stopped at the Surratt Tavern. Are we to believe that he was able to don a fake beard in the dark of night between Surrattsville and Mudd's house while on his horse suffering, as he most surely was at this point, from the pain in his leg?

And he did it well enough to fool poor old Dr. Mudd and his wife?

Then he was not seen wearing the beard once he left Mudd's house. Not by Swann, Cox or Jones or anyone else subsequently.

In my opinion, there was no fake beard and Mudd knew exactly who was at his doorstep that evening. And in concert they came up with an aliby (including the horse fall) to create cover for Mudd's help.

Bill C