Mr. APPLIN. No; I was here at 2 o'clock, but I had a flat and my car
stalled on me about three or four blocks over.
Mr. BALL. And you intend to return home tonight, do you?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. So, you won't have any hotel expense, will you?
Mr. APPLIN. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Now, tell me something about yourself, where you were born
and where you went to school, and how far in school, what you have done
since then?
Mr. APPLIN. Well, I was born in Madona Hospital in Denison, and lived
there pretty near all my life.
Mr. BALL. How old are you?
Mr. APPLIN. Twenty-two.
Mr. BALL. Did you go to school?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir; I went to LaMar School and junior high.
Mr. BALL. And how far did you go? Finished junior high?
Mr. APPLIN. No, sir; I went to the eighth grade.
Mr. BALL. Have you been beyond the eighth grade?
Mr. APPLIN. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. What did you do after that?
Mr. APPLIN. Well, I helped my daddy some, and got odd jobs and stuff.
Mr. BALL. Live with your mother now?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir; I do. I live with my parents.
Mr. BALL. Your mother and father?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. You have been doing mostly common labor, have you?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir; mostly common labor.
Mr. BALL. Ever been in trouble with the law of any sort?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir; I have.
Mr. BALL. What kind of trouble?
Mr. APPLIN. Burglary.
Mr. BALL. When was that?
Mr. APPLIN. In 1963.
Mr. BALL. Did you do any time?
Mr. APPLIN. No, sir; I got a probated sentence for it.
Mr. BALL. That is the only trouble you have ever had?
Mr. APPLIN. Well, for--except for minor traffic violations.
Mr. BALL. Outside of that you haven't had any trouble?
Mr. APPLIN. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Now, November 22, 1963, were you in Dallas?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes; I believe I was.
Mr. BALL. What were you doing here?
Mr. APPLIN. Well, I was working for the Rollform Corp.
Mr. BALL. How do you spell it?
Mr. APPLIN. Well, I have got one of their checks--check stubs here in
my pocket, I believe. At least I think I have. Here it is [indicating].
Mr. BALL. What were you doing in Dallas?
Mr. APPLIN. Working.
Mr. BALL. Working here in Dallas?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. What kind of work?
Mr. APPLIN. Well, I was working as, open-head crane operator, and
painter and front-end loader.
Mr. BALL. Did you go to the picture show that afternoon?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir; I did.
Mr. BALL. How did you happen to be off duty that day?
Mr. APPLIN. They was installing a new cutting press for the rollers,
and they did not need me, so, they let me off for 2 days.
Mr. BALL. For 2 days?
Mr. APPLIN. For 2 days.
Mr. BALL. What did you do? Go to the picture show?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir; I did.
Mr. BALL. What time of day did you go there?
Mr. APPLIN. Well, actually, I went to--I was over in Oak Cliff, around
about, I guess, about 12 o'clock, I imagine is what time it was. I
was there and the show hadn't opened up, so, I was sitting in my car
listening to the radio up until the time that the show opened.
Mr. BALL. You went in the show when it opened?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Paid your way?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And where did you take your seat? What part of the theatre?
Mr. APPLIN. About six rows down, I got in the middle aisle, about the
middle of the chairs.
Mr. BALL. Middle aisle, six rows from the rear?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And you were how far from the middle aisle into the row of
seats?
Mr. APPLIN. Well, about--seemed quite a little while since I thought
about this. I guess I was about four or five seats over from the aisle.
Mr. BALL. From the aisle. Now, did something happen there during that
showing of that picture that you remember?
Mr. APPLIN. Well, I know this much, Audie Murphy introduced the picture.
Mr. BALL. Then some police officers came in there?
Mr. APPLIN. No, sir; the lights came on.
Mr. BALL. Then what do you remember happening?
Mr. APPLIN. I seen the officers come down the right-hand aisle.
Mr. BALL. From the rear, or from the front?
Mr. APPLIN. From the rear.
Mr. BALL. Come in from the screen side, or the place you enter?
Mr. APPLIN. Where you enter it.
Mr. BALL. From your rear?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir; came in on the right-hand aisle over against the
wall.
Mr. BALL. Did he have anything in his hands?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes; I believe he had a shotgun. Might have been a rifle.
Mr. BALL. What else did you see?
Mr. APPLIN. Well, when I seen him, I was wondering what was the matter
and what about the lights.
Mr. BALL. You got up and ran up to the front?
Mr. APPLIN. Went to the front to find out what was happened--was
happened--happening. As I was going up an officer passed me going down
and I stopped to find out.
Mr BALL. Did you ask him?
Mr. APPLIN. No, sir; he passed me before I got a chance to ask him.
Mr. BALL. What did he do?
Mr. APPLIN. Went to the front and turned around and started back up.
Mr. BALL. Started back up the aisle?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Towards you?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And what did you see him do?
Mr. APPLIN. Well, he stopped and asked two boys sitting down in the
front, asked them to stand up and----
Mr. BALL. Did he search them?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir; they shuffled them down.
Mr. BALL. Did he search you?
Mr. APPLIN. No, sir; they came on up to Oswald, where he was sitting.
Mr. BALL. Where was he sitting?
Mr. APPLIN. I--he was sitting, I guess, about 3 or 4 rows down.
Mr. BALL. You mean from the rear of the theatre?
Mr. APPLIN. From the rear.
Mr. BALL. And how far over from the aisle?
Mr. APPLIN. I guess that would be about three seats. They was sitting
about two or three seats.
Mr. BALL. What did you see him do?
Mr. APPLIN. He--started off, the officer said, "Will you stand up,
please?" And he stood up.
Mr. BALL. How close were you to the officer and this man when you heard
the officer say, "Stand up"?
Mr. APPLIN. I guess it was about--it was not over four seats down from
the back, rear.
Mr. BALL. Were you at the rear?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir; I was at the rear of the show.
Mr. BALL. You were at the rear of the show?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir; well, there was a partition here. A partition
here [indicating], and there was about, oh, I guess about four rows
down from me.
Mr. BALL. All right. In other words, the officer hadn't reached you
yet, when he asked Oswald to stand up?
Mr. APPLIN. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. You stood up and went toward the rear of the theatre, did you?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes.
Mr. BALL. And going to ask the officer what was going on?
Mr. APPLIN. Yes, sir.