Mr. LIEBELER. But it actually tore the lip?
Mrs. SMITH. Yes; it actually tore the lip, and I remember--what is that
boy's name?--the blond fellow that was on television that knew him so
well?
Mr. LIEBELER. Are you thinking of Edward Voebel?
Mrs. SMITH. That is him.
Mr. LIEBELER. V-o-e-b-e-l?
Mrs. SMITH. He took him back in school, and I guess they kind of
patched his lip up, but he was--he more or less kept to himself, he
didn't mix with the other kids in school other than Voebel. He is the
only one I remember. And they had this little boy--I think it was Bobby
Newman--he used to take around with, but I don't remember too much
about him either. I can remember he was little, he was short.
Mr. LIEBELER. Who was?
Mrs. SMITH. Bobby Newman.
Mr. LIEBELER. Bobby Newman?
Mrs. SMITH. But he was, I guess, the studious type. Well, it seemed to
me. He was always studying, you know, reading books, and that is as far
as--I don't know what his grades were, but as far as him mixing with
other people, he didn't. You know, like when you go to school, more or
less everybody has their own group. Well, there wasn't anybody he hung
around with, except, like I said, Edward Voebel.
Mr. LIEBELER. How well do you know Mr. Voebel?
Mrs. SMITH. Not well at all, I mean just from seeing him in school. I
knew his parents had owned the Quality Florists on Canal Street. Well,
I knew his sisters.
Mr. LIEBELER. You knew Voebel's sister?
Mrs. SMITH. Yes; he has got two, they are twins, Doris--and they call
the other one Teddy. I don't know what her real name was.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you ever hear what this fight was all about, the one
you described in which Oswald had his lip cut?
Mrs. SMITH. No; I really didn't. I just saw people standing around and
knew there was a fight, and, you know, went over to see.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you get the impression that Oswald started the fight
or that the other guy started the fight?
Mrs. SMITH. I really don't know. I didn't know what happened. Well, I
know this boy was, I guess, a kind of a smart alec, this guy he had the
fight with, this Robin Riley. Well, he was always hanging around school
but he didn't go there, you know, he just----
Mr. LIEBELER. Was this Riley boy older, do you know, or about the same
age as the rest of the students?
Mrs. SMITH. I think he was older, because he had a sister that went to
Warren Easton with me and she was older, she was a grade ahead of me,
and I am almost sure he was older than her.
Mr. LIEBELER. This fellow didn't go to Beauregard Junior High School?
Mrs. SMITH. No.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you know if he went to school somewhere else?
Mrs. SMITH. No; I sure don't.
Mr. LIEBELER. Is that the only fight that you can recall in which
Oswald was involved?
Mrs. SMITH. That is all.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you see the television program that was played over
WDSU shortly after the assassination in which Voebel appeared?
Mrs. SMITH. Yes; I did see that. Larry Lala and Bob Jones had come to
my house. Well, I knew Larry. He knew I went to Beauregard, and he
called me up and asked me if I had remembered Lee Oswald, and when I
thought about him, you know, things started coming back. It had been
such a long time. And he asked me if they could come over, that they
were writing this story on him, and I told him to come over if he
wanted but I didn't think I could really help him, because it wasn't
anything I knew about him.
Mr. LIEBELER. This person that called you was a newspaper reporter?
Mrs. SMITH. Well, he works for WWL. He takes the news films for them.
And when he came in the house, I thought he would come with a pad and
pencil, and he walks in with cameras and lights. He picked up one of my
girl friends, he brought her over, and this other girl I went to school
with, she was at my house, she had spent the day with me. It just so
happened she was there. And then they just asked us questions, but I
told Larry about that fight. Well, he had remembered the same incident.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you appear in the television program?
Mrs. SMITH. Yes, sir.
Mr. LIEBELER. You did?
Mrs. SMITH. Yes, sir; the three of us.
Mr. LIEBELER. Three of you would be yourself--and what were the names
of the other two girls?
Mrs. SMITH. Anna Alexander Langlois and Peggy Murphy Zimmerman.
Mr. LIEBELER. Now these two boys that you mentioned were classmates of
yours at Beauregard Junior High School? Is that right?
Mrs. SMITH. Larry and Bob?
Mr. LIEBELER. Yes.
Mrs. SMITH. No; Larry--I met Larry--gee, I don't even remember--I
guess maybe at a school dance or something--and I went out with him,
and he knew I went to Beauregard, you see. That is why he called me to
see if I had remembered Lee, because I guess they were trying to get
some--well, more or less a story together.
Mr. LIEBELER. What about the other boy?
Mrs. SMITH. Bob Jones?
Mr. LIEBELER. Yes.
Mrs. SMITH. Well, he broadcasts the news.
Mr. LIEBELER. He works for the television station?
Mrs. SMITH. And he just came. Well, he asked us questions and then we
just answered him, but I didn't know him.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you remember what you told him at that time? You
mentioned this fight to him?
Mrs. SMITH. I mentioned that, and then he just asked us how well we
knew him, and we told him we didn't really know him as far as--like we
would know him from seeing him walk through the halls at school or in
class, but as far as knowing him outside of school, well, we didn't.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you know where he lived?
Mrs. SMITH. No; I didn't, not until, well, I read it in the paper.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did your other two girl friends remember any more details
about Lee Oswald than you did?
Mrs. SMITH. No. Bob asked us how he dressed, and we told him, you know,
that he always wore these sweater vests--they are more or less in style
now, I guess, than they were when we were going to school--it was just
like wearing your father's sweater or something, but, you know, maybe
he was outstanding in that way. But that is all we told him. My girl
friend told him about that, and--I am trying to remember.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you remember that Lee wore the sweater vests, or was
that something that one of your girl friends remembered?
Mrs. SMITH. Well, she mentioned it, and then, well, we did remember him
dressing that way.
Mr. LIEBELER. Which one of your girl friends was it mentioned this
first?
Mrs. SMITH. I think it was Peggy.
Mr. LIEBELER. Peggy?
Mrs. SMITH. Peggy Zimmerman.
Mr. LIEBELER. Was there anything else that the three of you were able
to recall about Lee Oswald, either at the time you were questioned by
the television people or after that?
Mrs. SMITH. No.
Mr. LIEBELER. Was this the only fight, the one we talked about? Was
this the only fight that any of you had ever remembered Lee Oswald
being involved in?
Mrs. SMITH. That is the only one I remembered. Somebody had said he was
in a fight with Johnny Neumeyer.
Mr. LIEBELER. Was that one of your girl friends who mentioned that?
Mrs. SMITH. I am not sure if it was them or if it was Anna's brother
who told her.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you remember whether Lee Oswald dated any girls at the
time he went to Beauregard?
Mrs. SMITH. Not that I know of, not in school.
Mr. LIEBELER. It was your impression that Lee Oswald didn't have any
close associates or close friends while he was at Beauregard, with the
possible exception of Mr. Voebel? Is that right?
Mrs. SMITH. That is right.
Mr. LIEBELER. Now aside from your recollection about Lee's wearing a
sweater vest, can you remember anything else about the way he dressed?
Mrs. SMITH. He wore levis, I think.
Mr. LIEBELER. Was that different from what the other students wore?
Mrs. SMITH. Yes. Well, they more or less wore slacks, you know, pants
or khakis.
Mr. LIEBELER. Was Lee ever criticized or given a hard time because of
the way he dressed or the way he----
Mrs. SMITH. No; not that I remember.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you remember that Lee was ever bullied or pushed
around by the other boys for any reason?
Mrs. SMITH. No; not that I remember.
Mr. LIEBELER. There isn't anything that stands out in your mind about
Lee Oswald that really would set him apart from the other students, is
there, or----
Mrs. SMITH. Well, I can just remember him walking, like down the hall
in school, and he would just walk like he was proud, you know, just
show his back and--but there isn't anything other than that fight. I
think that is what made me remember him the most.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you know whether people thought that he was peculiar
or arrogant because of this way in which he carried himself and the way
in which he walked?
Mrs. SMITH. No. He never did mingle with anyone, you know. I guess they
just more or less left him alone, unless if he ever started a fight
with them or----
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you ever hear of Lee starting a fight with anybody?
Mrs. SMITH. No.