Mrs. OSWALD. I understand.
Mr. RANKIN. Could you tell us a little about when he did beat you
because we have reports that at times neighbors saw signs of his
having beat you, so that we might know the occasions and why he did
such things.
Mrs. OSWALD. The neighbors simply saw that because I have a very
sensitive skin, and even a very light blow would show marks. Sometimes
it was my own fault. Sometimes it was really necessary to just leave
him alone. But I wanted more attention. He was jealous. He had no
reason to be. But he was jealous of even some of my old friends, old in
the sense of age.
Mr. RANKIN. When he became jealous, did he discuss that with you?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes, of course.
Mr. RANKIN. What did he say?
Mrs. OSWALD. I don't remember.
Basically, that I prefer others to him. That I want many things which
he cannot give me. But that was not so. Once we had a quarrel because I
had a young man who was a boyfriend--this was before we were married,
a boy who was in love with me, and I liked him, too. And I had written
him a letter from here. I had--I wrote him that I was very lonely here,
that Lee had changed a great deal, and that I was sorry that I had not
married him instead, that it would have been much easier for me. I had
mailed that letter showing the post office box as a return address. But
this was just the time when the postage rates went up by one cent, and
the letter was returned. Lee brought that letter and asked me what it
was and forced me to read it. But I refused. Then he sat down across
from me and started to read it to me. I was very much ashamed of my
foolishness. And, of course, he hit me, but he did not believe that
this letter was sincere. He asked me if it was true or not, and I told
him that it was true. But he thought that I did it only in order to
tease him. And that was the end of it. It was a very ill-considered
thing.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall anything more that he said at that time about
that matter?
Mrs. OSWALD. Of course after he hit me, he said that I should be
ashamed of myself for saying such things because he was very much in
love with me. But this was after he hit me.
Generally, I think that was right, for such things, that is the right
thing to do. There was some grounds for it.
Please excuse me. Perhaps I talk too much.
Mr. RANKIN. When you had your child baptized, did you discuss that with
your husband?
Mrs. OSWALD. I knew that Lee was not religious, and, therefore, I did
not tell him about it. I lived in Fort Worth at that time, while he
lived in Dallas.
But when June was baptized, I told him about it, and he didn't say
anything about it. He said it was my business. And he said, "Okay, if
you wish." He had nothing against it. He only took offense at the fact
that I hadn't told him about it ahead of time.
Mr. RANKIN. Are you a member of any church?
Mrs. OSWALD. I believe in God, of course, but I do not go to
church--first because I do not have a car. And, secondly, because there
is only one Russian Church. Simply that I believe in God in my own
heart, and I don't think it is necessary to visit the church.
Mr. RANKIN. While your husband--or while you were visiting the Halls,
did your husband tell you about getting his job in Dallas?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes. I knew about it before he left for Dallas, that he
already had work there.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall whether your husband rented the apartment in
Dallas about November 3, 1962?
Mrs. OSWALD. For him?
Mr. RANKIN. Yes.
Mrs. OSWALD. He had told me that he rented a room, not an apartment.
But that was in October.
What date I don't know.
Mr. RANKIN. And had he obtained an apartment before you went to Dallas
to live with him?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes. Cleaned everything up.
Mr. RANKIN. So that you would have gone to Dallas to live with him some
time on or about the date that he rented that apartment?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. After you went to live with him in the apartment at Dallas,
did you separate from him again and go to live with somebody else?
Mrs. OSWALD. Only after this quarrel. Then I stayed with my friends for
one week. I had already told you about that.
Mr. RANKIN. That is the Meller matter?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes.
Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall that you called Mrs. Meller and told her
about your husband beating you and she told you to get a cab and come
to stay with her?
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes, but he didn't beat me.
Mr. RANKIN. And you didn't tell her that he had beat you, either?
Mrs. OSWALD. I don't think so. Perhaps she understood it that he had
beaten me, because it had happened.
Mr. RANKIN. Can you give us any more exact account of where your
husband stayed in the period between October 10 and November 18, 1962?
Mrs. OSWALD. I don't remember his exact address. This was a period when
I did not live with him.