Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Because I am interested in medicine.
Mr. JENNER. Did you notice any tendencies--this may be rationalization,
of course, now that you are thinking back.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I would call him a stage below definite paranoia,
which means a highly neurotic individual. But even an M.D. would not
give you a right definition, or a right demarcation between the two.
Mr. JENNER. Did you have any feeling, while you knew him, and before
this tragic event occurred, that there was any mental aberration of
that nature?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I did not know anything about his background, you
see. I did not know anything about his previous background, except that
he had been in the Marine Corps, that he came from a poor family, that
he had lived in New Orleans. That is all I knew about him.
Mr. JENNER. I wanted to ask you about that. Was your discussion with
him as to his background, let us say, if I may use a conclusion myself,
superficial?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Very superficial, because I was not--I know
that type of person, I know his background. I know the people in
New Orleans. I lived there. I know people in Texas of the very low
category. I know the way they live. I could see clearly what type
of background he had. I did not have to ask him questions. And he
mentioned that while living in New Orleans, and very poorly, he started
going to the public library to read the Marxist books, all by himself.
That he was not induced by anybody. I said, "Who told you to read the
Marxist books"--that interested me. And he said, "Nobody, I went by
myself. I started studying it all by myself."
Mr. JENNER. He read those high-level books, but in your opinion he did
not understand them?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I would not understand them. I would not bother
reading them. I never read any Marxist books, because I know what they
contain.
Mr. JENNER. But you could read them with a critical mind, could you not?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; I could read with a critical mind. But that
is something that does not interest me. And I know that they are very
difficult. I know that they are written in a difficult manner, that
they are highly theoretical, and to me very boring.
Mr. JENNER. There is some intimation that at this party Oswald had
said several times that he liked Russia and he might go back. Did you
overhear any of that?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No.
Mr. JENNER. And from all your contact with him, had he ever expressed
that notion to you, that he might go back?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I do not recall exactly, but something comes to
my mind that he might have mentioned that, that if he does not get a
better job, or if he does not become successful, he might as well go
back to Russia.
Mr. JENNER. Well, this was really something said in despair.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. More or less--"After all, what is my life in
Russia"--I remember he said that, that his life in Russia was actually
better than here. But Marina never said that.
Mr. JENNER. She didn't?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No.
Mr. JENNER. Do you remember some people at that party by the name
of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel F. Sullivan of Lafayette, La., a divisional
geologist for Continental Oil Co.?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No.
Mr. JENNER. Was there any discussion at that party about the
possibility that Oswald might be a Russian agent?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I never heard that.
Mr. JENNER. And that this theory was thrown out because Oswald was
broke, and that it could not be that way, because Russia would not
permit one of its agents to be that penniless?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is an intelligent estimation, but I
certainly have not heard that.
Mr. JENNER. Any discussion there or speculation that there was
something peculiar in the fact that allegedly they had had little
trouble in getting Marina out of Russia?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That he had trouble getting her out?
Mr. JENNER. Relatively little.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is a question that always was sort of a
big question mark to me. Not being interested, I did not probe them.
But it always remained a question mark in my mind, how is it possible
for somebody to take a citizen of Soviet Russia so easily out of the
country. But I have known of other examples of it being done.
Mr. JENNER. Was there any discussion at any time while you knew the
Oswalds about any attempt to commit suicide?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. When he was in Russia, no; I don't remember
anything about that.
Mr. JENNER. Did you ever notice he had a scar on his left wrist?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No; I didn't notice it.
Mr. JENNER. Did you ever note whether he was right or left handed?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Something vaguely I remember that he might be
left handed but I could not recall.
Mr. JENNER. This is pure vagueness on your part?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Very, very. My wife may recall that.
Mr. JENNER. You wouldn't want to express any opinion one way or the
other on it?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No.
Mr. JENNER. Did you ever discuss with him his experiences in Russia
with respect to hunting?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Never have.
Mr. JENNER. No discussions?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Or the use of any weapons or his right to have
weapons when he was in Russia?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. I did not know even that he was interested in
weapons 'til the day--which probably you will ask me later on--Easter,
I think, when my wife saw his gun. I didn't know he was interested.
I didn't know he had the gun. I didn't know he was interested in
shooting or hunting. I didn't know he was a good shot or never had any
impression.
Mr. JENNER. Now that you have mentioned that we might as well cover
that fully in the record.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Tell me about that incident.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That incident is very clear in my mind.
Mr. JENNER. This was in 1963?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. In 1963, and the last time we saw them.
Mr. JENNER. It was the last time?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. The very last time we saw them.
Mr. JENNER. This was around Eastertime?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Around Eastertime.
Mr. JENNER. In April?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. In April. It was in the second apartment that
they had.
Mr. JENNER. That was on Neely Street?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. On Neely I think one block from the previous
place they used to live.
Mr. JENNER. Yes.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. And Jeanne told me that day, "Let's go and take a
rabbit for Oswald's baby."
Mr. JENNER. This was on Easter Sunday?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Easter day. I don't remember it was Easter
Sunday.
Mr. JENNER. Easter is always on Sunday.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Yes; maybe it was the day before, the day after,
but I think it was on the holiday. Maybe my wife will remember the date
exactly. And so we drove over quite late in the evening and walked
up--I think they were asleep. They were asleep and we knocked at the
door and shouted, and Lee Oswald came down undressed, half undressed
you see, maybe in shorts, and opened the door and we told him that we
have the rabbit for the child. And it was a very short visit, you know.
We just gave the rabbit to the baby and I was talking to Lee while
Jeanne was talking to Marina about something which is immaterial which
I do not recall right now, and all of a sudden----
Mr. JENNER. Excuse me. Mr. Reporter, Jeanne is spelled J-e-a-n-n-e.
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. And I think Oswald and I were standing near the
window looking outside and I was asking him "How is your job" or "Are
you making any money? Are you happy," some question of that type. All
of a sudden Jeanne who was with Marina in the other room told me "Look,
George, they have a gun here." And Marina opened the closet and showed
it to Jeanne, a gun that belonged obviously to Oswald.
Mr. JENNER. This was a weapon? Did you go in and look?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. No; I didn't look at the gun. I was still
standing. The closet was open. Jeanne was looking at it, at the gun,
and I think she asked Marina "what is that" you see. That was the sight
on the gun. "What is that? That looks like a telescopic sight." And
Marina said "That crazy idiot is target shooting all the time." So
frankly I thought it was ridiculous to shoot target shooting in Dallas,
you see, right in town. I asked him "Why do you do that?"
Mr. JENNER. What did he say?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. He said "I go out and do target shooting. I like
target shooting." So out of the pure, really jokingly I told him "Are
you then the guy who took a pot shot at General Walker?" And he smiled
to that, because just a few days before there was an attempt at General
Walker's life, and it was very highly publicized in the papers, and I
knew that Oswald disliked General Walker, you see. So I took a chance
and I asked him this question, you see, and I can clearly see his face,
you know.
He sort of shriveled, you see, when I asked this question.
Mr. JENNER. He became tense?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. Became tense, you see, and didn't answer
anything, smiled, you know, made a sarcastic--not sarcastic, made a
peculiar face.
Mr. JENNER. The expression on his face?
Mr. DE MOHRENSCHILDT. That is right, changed the expression on his face.