The CHAIRMAN. All right.
Will you raise your right hand and be sworn, please?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you give before this
Commission will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the
truth, so help you God?
Mr. WORRELL. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. Will you be seated, please.
Mr. Worrell, the purpose of today's hearing is to hear the testimony of
Arnold Louis Rowland, Amos Lee Evins, yourself, and Robert Jackson, who
were in the vicinity of the assassination scene on November 22, 1963.
The Commission proposes to ask you and the other witnesses for facts
concerning your knowledge of the assassination of the President.
Mr. WORRELL. Yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Specter, will you proceed with the examination.
Mr. SPECTER. Will you state your full name for the record, please?
Mr. WORRELL. James Richard Worrell, Jr.
The CHAIRMAN. Senator, will you preside while I answer a phone call to
another member of the Commission?
Mr. SPECTER. What is your address, Mr. Worrell?
Mr. WORRELL. 13510 Winterhaven Drive.
Mr. SPECTER. What city is that?
Mr. WORRELL. In Dallas, it is the Farmers Branch of the suburb of
Dallas.
Mr. SPECTER. How long have you resided in Dallas, Tex.?
Mr. WORRELL. About 12 years.
Mr. SPECTER. And where did you live before that?
Mr. WORRELL. 3140 Storey Lane.
Mr. SPECTER. And in what city is Storey Lane located?
Mr. WORRELL. Dallas.
Mr. SPECTER. Where were you born?
Mr. WORRELL. Livermore, Calif.
Mr. SPECTER. And how old are you at the present time?
Mr. WORRELL. Twenty.
Mr. SPECTER. How long did you live in California?
Mr. WORRELL. I am not exactly sure. I was a little bitty old thing and
I think it was 2 or 3 years.
Mr. SPECTER. Where did you move from California?
Mr. WORRELL. From California we moved to Abilene, I think.
Mr. SPECTER. Abilene, Tex.?
Mr. WORRELL. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. And have you lived in Texas since that time?
Mr. WORRELL. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. What is your marital status?
Mr. WORRELL. Sir?
Mr. SPECTER. Are you married or single?
Mr. WORRELL. Single, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you live with your parents?
Mr. WORRELL. My mother and sister.
Mr. SPECTER. And how much schooling have you had?
Mr. WORRELL. Eleven years.
Mr. SPECTER. When did you end your schooling, if you have ended it?
Mr. WORRELL. I ended it October of this year, I quit.
Mr. SPECTER. What school were you going to at that time?
Mr. WORRELL. Thomas Jefferson.
Mr. SPECTER. High school?
Mr. WORRELL. High school; yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Located in Dallas, Tex.?
Mr. WORRELL. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And were you in the 11th grade or had you completed the
11th grade?
Mr. WORRELL. I was a senior.
Mr. SPECTER. How were your grades in school?
Mr. WORRELL. Average.
(The Chief Justice entered the hearing room at this point.)
Mr. SPECTER. How were you occupied or employed back on November 22,
1963?
Mr. WORRELL. I was in school then. I skipped school to go there.
Mr. SPECTER. You were attending Jefferson High School on that day or
were enrolled at that time?
Mr. WORRELL. I was enrolled but I hadn't been going since October.
Mr. SPECTER. Was there any special reason for your not going since
October?
Mr. WORRELL. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Had you been employed anywhere from the time you stopped
going to school?
Mr. WORRELL. Yes, sir. I was employed for El Capitan Oil Drilling out
in Kermit, Tex.
Mr. SPECTER. What sort of work were you doing for them?
Mr. WORRELL. I was a floor man on a derrick.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you say floor man?
Mr. WORRELL. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. On November 22, 1963, were you working on that day for
your employer?
Mr. WORRELL. No. I didn't start this oil job until--it was the last of
January.
Mr. SPECTER. Of 1964?
Mr. WORRELL. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. And are you working for them at the present time?
Mr. WORRELL. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Whom are you working for now?
Mr. WORRELL. I am not employed now.
Mr. SPECTER. Then going back to November 22, 1963, you had no job at
that time?
Mr. WORRELL. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. And did you attend school that day at all?
Mr. WORRELL. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Will you outline for us briefly what your activities were
from the time you awakened until about noon time on November 22?
Mr. WORRELL. Well, I got up about, well, I got up at my usual time,
about 6:30. I was going to go to school that day but I decided to go
see the President and my mother left about 7:30, and my sister left
about a quarter of 8. I left about 8, and hitchhiked down to Love Field
and got there. It took me quite a while to get there, about 9, and just
messed around there until the President come in, whatever time that
was. And then I didn't get to see him good at all. So, I caught a bus
and went over, went downtown and I just, I don't know, happened to
pick that place at the Depository, and I stood at the corner of Elm and
Houston.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you leave Love Field before the President did?
Mr. WORRELL. Oh, yes.
Mr. SPECTER. Why did you happen to leave Love Field before he left?
Mr. WORRELL. Well, so I could see him better.
Mr. SPECTER. Couldn't you get a good view of him at Love Field?
Mr. WORRELL. No, I just saw him off the plane and I figured that I
wasn't going to see him good so I was going to get a better place to
see him.
Mr. SPECTER. How did you travel from Love Field down to Elm and Houston?
Mr. WORRELL. Bus. No, no; I just traveled so far on the bus. I went
down to Elm, and took a bus from there. I went down as far as, I don't
know where that bus stops, anyway I got close to there and I walked the
rest of the way.
Mr. SPECTER. What time, to the best of your recollection, did you
arrive at the intersection of Elm and Houston?
Mr. WORRELL. Well, about 10, 10:30, 10:45, something around there.
There weren't many people standing around there then.
Mr. SPECTER. Well, about how long before the Presidential motorcade
came to Elm and Houston did you get there?
Mr. WORRELL. An hour; an hour and a half.
Mr. SPECTER. Are you sure you were at Love Field when the President
arrived there?
Mr. WORRELL. Oh, yes.
Mr. SPECTER. All right. Now I am going to show you a photograph which I
have marked as Commission Exhibit No. 359. Take a look at that, if you
would, please, and tell us whether or not you can identify what scene
that is?
Mr. WORRELL. Yes, this is Elm, Pacific, and Commerce. This is the
Depository right here, and this is Stemmons, and this is the way the
President come down.
Mr. SPECTER. So is that the assassination scene itself?
Mr. WORRELL. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Now take a look at that picture and tell us where you
were standing--and I will give you a pencil so you can mark it on that
picture itself--at the time the Presidential motorcade came by. Mark
it with an "X," if you would, just exactly where you were standing, as
best as you can recollect it, at this moment, at the time the President
went by.
Mr. WORRELL. Right underneath that window right there.
Mr. SPECTER. Now, how close were you standing to this building which I
will ask you to identify; first of all, what building is that?
Mr. WORRELL. That is the Texas Depository.
Mr. SPECTER. All right.
Now how close to that building were you standing?
Mr. WORRELL. I was, I don't know, 4 or 5 feet out from it.
Mr. SPECTER. Were you standing with your face to the building, with
your back to the building, or how?
Mr. WORRELL. My back was to the building.
Mr. SPECTER. I show you a photograph which has been identified as
Commission Exhibit 360 and I will ask you if you can identify what that
building is?
Mr. WORRELL. That is the Depository.
Mr. SPECTER. All right.
Now on this picture will you again, with an "X," mark where you were
standing as closely as you can recollect it.
Mr. WORRELL. That car is in the way.
Mr. SPECTER. All right. Put the mark then right above where the car is,
indicating where you were standing on the sidewalk near that building.
(Witness marking.)
Mr. SPECTER. Now, did you observe the President's motorcade come by?
Mr. WORRELL. Oh, yes.
Mr. SPECTER. Describe to us what you saw, heard, and observed at that
time, as the motorcade came by.
Mr. WORRELL. Well, I saw him--I was standing looking--I don't know my
directions very well; anyway, I was looking down towards Elm Street
watching him come, and they filed by me----
Mr. SPECTER. On which street were you watching them come?
Mr. WORRELL. This way.
Mr. SPECTER. Look at Exhibit 359 and pick out which street they were on?
Mr. WORRELL. They were coming down this way, so on and so forth.
Mr. SPECTER. Well, now, were they coming down Elm Street or were they
coming down Main Street with a right-hand turn on to Houston Street
with a curve on Houston down Elm, recollect it if you can?
Mr. WORRELL. That is right. They did turn around.