The testimony of Mrs. Anne Boudreaux was taken on April 7, 1964, at
the Old Civil Courts Building, Royal and Conti Streets, New Orleans,
La., by Mr. Albert E. Jenner, Jr., assistant counsel of the President's
Commission.
Mrs. Anne Boudreaux, 831 Pauline Street, New Orleans, La., after first
being duly sworn, testified as follows:
Mr. JENNER. You are Mrs. Anne Boudreaux, is that right?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. And your husband's name is Edward?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. That's right.
Mr. JENNER. Mrs. Boudreaux, you received a letter from the general
counsel of the Commission, did you not?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, I did.
Mr. JENNER. In which was enclosed a copy of Senate Joint Resolution
137, which authorized the creation of the Commission to investigate the
assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, is that right?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes; I have the letter with me.
Mr. JENNER. And the order of Lyndon B. Johnson, the President of the
United States, bringing the Commission into existence and fixing its
powers and duties?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. And a copy of our rules and regulations under which we take
testimony before the Commission and also by way of deposition, such as
this one?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. All right. I therefore take it you understand from
those documents that the Commission was authorized and appointed
to investigate all the facts and circumstances surrounding the
assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy on the 22d of
November 1963?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. I am Albert E. Jenner, Jr., member of the legal staff, of
the Commission, and I would like to inquire of you a little bit to see
if you can't give us some information that will help the Commission in
its investigation.
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. We are seeking to elicit from those who came into contact
with Lee Harvey Oswald and his brothers and his mother and others,
information that may be helpful to the Commission in its work, and the
Commission very much appreciates your coming down here today, because
these are always a little inconvenient, of course.
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. All right. Now, Mrs. Boudreaux, you live at 831 Pauline
Street, is that right?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. How long have you lived at 831 Pauline?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Since 1932--no, I beg your pardon, 1942; since June 15,
1942.
Mr. JENNER. 1942, rather than 1932?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, that's right. I wasn't thinking right.
Mr. JENNER. By the way, are you a native of this part of the country?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, I am.
Mr. JENNER. You were born here and reared here?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. I was born in Louisiana, yes.
Mr. JENNER. And your husband?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. My husband too.
Mr. JENNER. And you have a family?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, I do.
Mr. JENNER. How many children?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. I have five children.
Mr. JENNER. What are their ages, Mrs. Boudreaux?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. 22, 17, two 16's, and one 11.
Mr. JENNER. Two 16's?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. That's right.
Mr. JENNER. Now, who was the previous occupant of your home, if you
know?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Mrs. Oswald.
Mr. JENNER. That's Mrs. Marguerite Oswald?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, Marguerite Oswald.
Mr. JENNER. Did you become acquainted with her?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. No, I did not.
Mr. JENNER. You did not?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. No, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Do you know to where she moved when you took over that
house?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. No, I do not.
Mr. JENNER. That home is a single family dwelling, is it not?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. It's a double house.
Mr. JENNER. A double house?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Is that up and down, or side by side?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Two sides.
Mr. JENNER. Side by side with a common party wall, I suppose?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Who occupies the other house?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. On the other side?
Mr. JENNER. Yes.
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. It's a Mr. Russo.
Mr. JENNER. Mr. Russo?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Him and his wife, but they were living there when I
moved in.
Mr. JENNER. When you moved in?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir; they were there already.
Mr. JENNER. Did you learn of any particular circumstances which brought
about or played a part in Mrs. Oswald's leaving those premises?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. No; I didn't. I didn't hear anything like that.
Mr. JENNER. Did you become acquainted with someone who in turn had some
experiences with Lee Oswald?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir; like I told the detective that came to see
me, that was Mrs. Roach; she's dead now.
Mr. JENNER. Mrs. Roach?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Where did she live?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. She lived with them for about 2 weeks. She was their
babysitter.
Mr. JENNER. Oh, babysitter for Mrs. Oswald?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir; for the baby.
Mr. JENNER. She baby-sat for Lee Oswald then, is that right?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Did she live in that neighborhood?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes. She used to live on Lesseps Street.
Mr. JENNER. That is where with respect to your home; about how far away?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Well, about 6 blocks, I guess. It's right about a block
from the Port of Embarkation.
Mr. JENNER. And she would come over and babysit for Lee, is that right?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Well, she stayed with Mrs. Oswald for 2 weeks.
Mr. JENNER. She actually moved into the home?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, for 2 weeks she moved in.
Mr. JENNER. When was that?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Well, that was right before Mrs. Oswald moved out, and
I moved in.
Mr. JENNER. Shortly before that?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, it wasn't long before that. In fact, it was
through her that I knew the house was going to be empty.
Mr. JENNER. Through Mrs. Roach?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. You had been acquainted with her for some time?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Mrs. Roach?
Mr. JENNER. Yes.
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Oh, yes. I had known Mrs. Roach since I was a little
bitty girl. She was in the Oswald home either in the early part of June
or the latter part of May 1942.
Mr. JENNER. She was?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Did you have some conversations with her at the time with
respect to Lee's conduct?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Who, Mrs. Roach?
Mr. JENNER. Yes; with respect to Lee's conduct while she was
babysitting?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes; she usually talked about things like that, you
know, and she said the reason why she had to leave was because he was
bad, and he wouldn't listen, and things like that.
Mr. JENNER. The reason why Mrs. Roach had to leave?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir; she said she just couldn't take it any more.
Mr. JENNER. Lee then would have been about 2-1/2 years old, is that
right?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. A little more than that?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes. She said she just couldn't take it any longer.
Mr. JENNER. Tell me as best you can what Mrs. Roach recalled in that
conversation with you.
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Well, she said he wouldn't listen, and he was bad. She
said he had a little toy gun, and he threw it at her and broke the
chandelier in the bedroom, and things like that.
Mr. JENNER. Of course, at that age he wouldn't know whether it was a
gun or not, or what a gun was, would he?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. No, but you know, she said it was just a little toy
gun, but he threw it at her when he got mad, and she had an awful time
with him.
Mr. JENNER. She thought he exhibited fits of temper?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes. She said he was a, I mean, a bad child; that's
what she said.
Mr. JENNER. Did she say anything about the other two boys.
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. No, she didn't. In fact, I didn't even know about the
other boys until the man told me who he was. I didn't know she had
other boys.
Mr. JENNER. That man who told you that, was he from the FBI or the
Secret Service?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes; he came out three times to see me.
Mr. JENNER. When you moved into that home, what was the reputation in
the neighborhood or community with respect to Mrs. Oswald?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Well, nobody ever talked about her. You know, neighbors
sort of keep to themselves. I mean, that's a neighborhood that whoever
moves in they keep to themselves. They don't make up to you too
quickly, I mean.
Mr. JENNER. But as far as the general reputation is concerned, what was
her reputation for truth and veracity, for example?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Well, they have never spoken about that, at least to
me, I mean, the neighbors.
Mr. JENNER. You never heard anything bad about her?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. No, I never did, and as far as her being a good mother
to her children, well, I have never heard anything other than good. I
have never heard anything spoken about her.
Mr. JENNER. When her son Lee was 2-1/2 years old, was she working at
that time?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. I think she was.
Mr. JENNER. Is that why she had to have a babysitter.
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes; that's why she had had the babysitter. I mean, the
lady that could tell you all about that, she's dead--Mrs. Roach. She's
deceased. She could have told you a lot more about all that.
Mr. JENNER. What did you learn as to how long she had been living there?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Well, I don't know how long she had been living there
when I moved in.
Mr. JENNER. Where is 831 Pauline Street with respect to 1012
Bartholomew?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. That would be about 4 blocks, I would say, from where I
live.
Mr. JENNER. From 1012 Bartholomew to where you live would be about 4
blocks?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Did you learn that she lived at one time at 1010
Bartholomew?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. No; I didn't. I don't know where she lived after she
left there.
Mr. JENNER. Were these rented homes, or could you purchase them?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. The one where I was living?
Mr. JENNER. Yes.
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. They were rented, but now I own my home.
Mr. JENNER. But they were being rented at that time?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. The former landlady, is she alive?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. No; she's not.
Mrs. JENNER. She's dead?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes; she's dead.
Mr. JENNER. Until this tragic event occurred last fall, had you heard
of any of the Oswalds from the time they moved away?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. No; I didn't know until the FBI man told me--until he
got to questioning me, that it was the boy who lived in that house. I
didn't realize that until he told me. The only other contact I had--I
don't know if it's important or not----
Mr. JENNER. Well, you let us decide what is important and what isn't.
We want to get all the information we can possibly get as to the facts
and circumstances surrounding this matter; so you go right ahead.
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Well, I bought the boy's baby bed, and I gave Mrs.
Roach the money to pay for it, and she left the bed in the house, and
then they never came back for the money, I don't think.
Mr. JENNER. In advance of moving in, you purchased their baby bed?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes; I bought the bed, which I still have, and I raised
all my children with it.
Mr. JENNER. Is that right?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes; I raised my five children with it, and I intend
to give it to them even though this happened. Like I say, it wasn't
concerning them at all.
Mr. JENNER. Now, these depositions will be written up by the court
reporter, and you have the privilege, if you wish, of reading your
deposition and signing it, but you can waive that if you want so as
to avoid the inconvenience of coming down here again, but if you
wish to read it and sign it, that's your privilege. If you decide to
waive the reading and signing of the deposition, the court reporter
will transcribe it, and it will be sent by the U.S. attorney to
Washington to be read by the members of the Commission conducting this
investigation.
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. I don't need to sign it. All I was saying was the
truth, and that's all I can do.
Mr. JENNER. Then I take it you would just as soon waive the necessity
of reading and signing the deposition?
Mrs. BOUDREAUX. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Very well; thank you very much for appearing here
voluntarily and giving us your statement.