Mrs. PAINE. That's east, I'm sorry.
Mr. JENNER. The wall spacing and the two door jambs together, separate
the two doors and are of the width which has been recited. Now, before
I open the door, which you say enters into the garage--by the way, how
wide is that?
Agent HOWLETT. It is a 2-foot 8-inch door.
Mr. JENNER. And how high?
Agent HOWLETT. It is 6 feet 8-1/2 inches and it would actually be
classified as a 6-foot 9-inch door.
Mr. JENNER. Mrs. Paine, is there a light switch on the dining room wall
which lights the light in the garage?
Mrs. PAINE. No.
Mr. JENNER. I see a light switch just immediately to the right of the
door jamb of the door leading into the garage; what is that switch for?
Mrs. PAINE. It lights the light in the dining area.
Mr. JENNER. And on one of the photographs taken by the FBI, that light
switch appeared, did it not?
Mrs. PAINE. I would expect so.
Mr. JENNER. Do you recall that it did?
Mrs. PAINE. I don't specifically recall--I recall the shot which
included that area.
Mr. JENNER. That light switch, then, John Joe, let us locate it.
Agent HOWLETT. It is 4 feet 6 inches from the floor.
Mr. JENNER. It is 4 feet 6 inches from the floor and how many inches to
the center of the light switch?
Agent HOWLETT. It is actually about 6-3/4 inches to the center of the
light switch.
Mrs. PAINE. My best recollection is that I did see that switch in the
FBI photograph.
Mr. JENNER. Mrs. Paine, when we arrived, what was the condition of the
garage door as to whether it was opened or closed? That is, the full
door facing onto Fifth Street?
Mrs. PAINE. The outside garage door--the large one?
Mr. JENNER. Yes.
Mrs. PAINE. It is closed and has been since you arrived.
Mr. JENNER. And the door that is leading into the garage?
Mrs. PAINE. Is likewise closed and has been since you arrived.
Mr. JENNER. None of us has been in there, including yourself, since I
arrived?
Mrs. PAINE. That's right.
Mr. JENNER. Now, I'm going to open the door and observe that first
there is a screen door on the other side of the wall, is there not?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Facing the wooden garage door that I have just opened.
Now, I have stepped into the garage and would you come over here, Mrs.
Paine?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Is there a light switch handy to turn the light on in your
garage?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes; there is.
Mr. JENNER. And would you snap it on?
Mrs. PAINE. (The witness complied with the request of Counsel Jenner
and turned on the light.)
Mr. JENNER. And that light switch is immediately to your right as you
enter the garage from the dining room area, is it not?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes; it is.
Mr. JENNER. And, John Joe, would you measure its height from the floor?
Agent HOWLETT. It is also 4 feet 6 inches.
Mr. JENNER. And is set with relation to the doorjamb, how many inches?
Agent HOWLETT. Six and one-half inches.
Mr. JENNER. And that's to the right of the doorjamb as you enter from
the dining room area?
Agent HOWLETT. Right.
Mr. JENNER. So, Mrs. Paine, it is within very easy reach--it's less
than a hand's length away, is it not?
Mrs. PAINE. That's right.
Mr. JENNER. Now, we have entered the garage. Let's measure the garage
in the presence of Mrs. Paine, John Joe, and I will now take one end to
the far end of the garage facing onto Fifth Street, and place the tape
against the inside facing of the garage door opening out onto Fifth
Street. What is the length to the dining room wall?
Agent HOWLETT. It is 21 feet 8 inches.
Mr. JENNER. Now, let's get it across.
Agent HOWLETT. It is 10 feet 6 inches wide.
Mr. JENNER. Now, Mrs. Paine, I notice that in the northwest corner of
your garage there appears to be a small storage room, I would describe
it.
Mrs. PAINE. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Is that correct?
Mrs. PAINE. That's correct.
Mr. JENNER. And that small storage room is completely enclosed except
for a small opening which does not have a door or cover; is that
correct?
Mrs. PAINE. That's right.
Mr. JENNER. And the storeroom is 4 feet 8 inches wide, measuring from
east to west; is that correct?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes.
Agent HOWLETT. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. And it is how many feet and inches deep?
Agent HOWLETT. Three feet one inch deep.
Mr. JENNER. Meaning the distance from the back of the dining room area
wall and the outside portion facing of the south wall of the storeroom?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. And this storeroom, Mrs. Paine, runs all the way from the
floor to the ceiling, does it not, of your garage?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes; it does.
Mr. JENNER. And I judge--well, John Joe, we might as well measure that
while we are at it, with the door open, to the floor of the grass to
the ceiling?
Agent HOWLETT. From the ceiling to the floor of the grass is 8 feet 3
inches.
Mr. JENNER. Now, we will measure the opening into the storage room. The
opening itself is 1 foot 8 inches inside wide, and 5 feet 11 inches
tall.
Mrs. Paine, in your testimony last week in referring to the
blanket-wrapped package, you located it in two places in your garage,
which I will review with you in a moment; could the package at any time
have been placed in the storeroom?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes; I suppose so.
Mr. JENNER. And if placed in the storeroom, it would not have been open
to view unless you climbed back in there to see; is that correct?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes; there is nothing I normally get in the
storeroom--well, no; that's not strictly so. I hid birthday presents
for--my little girl's birthday party was on the 16th of November--in
there in the storeroom.
Mr. JENNER. All right, that's an interesting development. When you
hid the birthday presents of your daughter, anticipating her fourth
birthday on the 16th of November 1963, did you notice at that time the
blanket wrapped package in the storeroom?
Mrs. PAINE. No; I did not.
Mr. JENNER. And, in secreting those presents would you reasonably,
necessarily have noticed that blanket wrapped package in that small
storeroom?
Mrs. PAINE. I think I would have noticed it.
Mr. JENNER. When did you remove those secreted birthday gifts from that
small storeroom?
Mrs. PAINE. To the best of my recollection some were removed on Friday
evening the 15th, and some on Saturday the 16th.
Mr. JENNER. Was the blanket wrapped package which you have described
last week, in that storeroom on either of those occasions?
Mrs. PAINE. No.
Mr. JENNER. And would you have noticed the blanket wrapped package in
that small storeroom had it been there?
Mrs. PAINE. I surely would have.
Mr. JENNER. Now, Agent Howlett has called my attention to the fact that
there is an opening in the ceiling of your garage which leads up to, as
I see it now, crawl space above the garage which extends, I take it,
the length of your house?
Mrs. PAINE. That's correct.
Mr. JENNER. And, John Joe, what is that--2 feet by 2 feet?
Agent HOWLETT. Roughly--yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Has that crawl space opening been without a cover for some
considerable period of time?
Mrs. PAINE. I don't recall its ever having had a cover.