the shutter is opened, light comes through and exposes the
film only in the opening within the edges. Where the film is
out over the edges of the aperture it is not exposed, and your
result is an exposed negative with a clear edge, and on the
negative then, the edges of that exposure of the photograph,
are actually shadowgraphs of the edges of the aperture.[A10-400]
The basis of the identification is that the microscopic characteristics
of every film-plane aperture, like those of a rifle barrel, are
distinctive, for much the same reason; that is, when the camera is
manufactured, certain handwork is done which differs microscopically
from camera to camera, and further differences accrue as the camera is
used. As Shaneyfelt testified:
Q. Mr. Shaneyfelt, what is the basis of your statement, the
theoretical basis of your statement, that every camera with
this type of back aperture arrangement is unique in the
characteristics of the shadowgraph it makes on the negative?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. It is because of the minute variations that
even two cameras from the same mold will have. Additional
handwork on cameras, or filing the edges where a little bit
of plastic or a little bit of metal stays on, make individual
characteristics apart from those that would be general
characteristics on all of them from the same mold.
In addition, as the film moves across the camera and it is
used for a considerable length of time, dirt and debris tend
to accumulate a little--or if the aperture is painted, little
lumps in the paint will make little bumps along that edge that
would make that then individually different from every other
camera.
Q. Is this similar then to toolmark identification?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Very similar; yes.[A10-401]
Based on his examination of the shadowgraph on the negative, Commission
Exhibit No. 749, Shaneyfelt determined that it had been taken with the
Imperial camera.[A10-402]
Three edges of the shadowgraph of the film-plane aperture were also
visible on one of the photographs of General Walker’s house, not having
been blocked out in the making of the print. On the basis of these
three margins, Shaneyfelt determined that this photograph had also
been taken with Oswald’s Imperial Reflex camera. Shaneyfelt could not
determine whether 133-A had been photographed with the Imperial camera,
because the negative of 133-A had not been found, and the print itself
did not show a shadowgraph area.[A10-403]
During his interrogations Oswald had been shown 133-A, and had claimed
it was a composite--that the face in the picture was his, but the body
was not.[A10-404] Shaneyfelt examined 133-A and 133-B to determine if
they were composite pictures. He concluded that they were not:
* * * it is my opinion that they are not composites. Again
with very, very minor reservation, because I cannot entirely
eliminate an extremely expert composite. I have examined many
composite photographs, and there is always an inconsistency,
either in lighting of the portion that is added, or the
configuration indicating a different lens used for the part
that was added to the original photograph, things many times
that you can’t point to and say this is a characteristic, or
that is a characteristic, but they have definite variations
that are not consistent throughout the picture.
I found no such characteristics in this picture.
In addition, with a composite it is always necessary to make a
print that you then make a pasteup of. In this instance paste
the face in, and rephotograph it, and then retouch out the area
where the head was cut out, which would leave a characteristic
that would be retouched out on the negative and then that would
be printed.
Normally, this retouching can be seen under magnification in
the resulting composite--points can be seen where the edge of
the head had been added and it hadn’t been entirely retouched
out.
This can nearly always be detected under magnification. I found
no such characteristics in these pictures.
Q. Did you use the technique of magnification in your analysis?
A. Yes.[A10-405]
Furthermore, the negative, Commission Exhibit No. 749, showed
absolutely no doctoring or composition.[A10-406] Since the negative
was made in Oswald’s Imperial camera, Commission Exhibit No. 750, a
composite of 133-B could have been made only by putting two pictures
together and rephotographing them in the Imperial camera--all without
leaving a discernible trace. This, to Shaneyfelt, was “in the realm of
the impossible”:
In addition, in this instance regarding 133-B which I have just
stated, I have identified as being photographed or exposed in
the camera which is Exhibit 750, for this to be a composite,
they would have had to make a picture of the background with
an individual standing there, and then substitute the face,
and retouch it and then possibly rephotograph it and retouch
that negative, and make a print, and then photograph it with
this camera, which is Commission Exhibit 750, in order to have
this negative which we have identified with the camera, and is
Commission Exhibit 749.
This to me is beyond reasonable doubt, it just doesn’t
seem that it would be at all possible, in this particular
photograph.[A10-407]
* * * * *
Q. You have the negative of this? [Referring to Exhibit 133B.]
A. We have the negative of 133B.
Q. You have the negative of 133B. That negative in itself shows
no doctoring or composition at all?
A. It shows absolutely no doctoring or composition.
Q. So that the only composition that could have been made would
have been in this process which you have described of picture
on picture and negative and then photographing?
A. And then finally rephotographing with this camera.
Q. Rephotographing with this camera, this very camera?
A. That is correct, and this then, to me, becomes in the realm
of the impossible.[A10-408]
Following the assassination, photographs similar to 133-A appeared
in a number of newspapers and magazines.[A10-409] At least some of
these photographs, as reproduced, differed both from 133-A and from
each other in minor details.[A10-410] Shaneyfelt examined several of
these reproductions and concluded that in each case the individual
publisher had taken a reproduction of 133-A and retouched it in various
ways, apparently for clarifying purposes, thus accounting for the
differences between the reproductions and 133-A, and the differences
between the reproductions themselves.[A10-411] Subsequently one of
the publishers involved submitted the original photographs which it
had retouched. Shaneyfelt’s examination of this photograph confirmed
his original conclusion.[A10-412] The remaining publishers either
confirmed that they had retouched the photographs they had used, or
failed to contradict Shaneyfelt’s testimony after having been given an
opportunity to do so.[A10-413]
APPENDIX XI
Reports Relating to the Interrogation of Lee Harvey Oswald at the
Dallas Police Department
As discussed in chapters IV and V, Lee Harvey Oswald was interrogated
for a total of approximately 12 hours between 2:30 p.m. on Friday,
November 22, 1963, and 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, November 24, 1963. There
were no stenographic or tape recordings of these interviews. Several of
the investigators present at one or more of the interrogation sessions,
prior to testifying before the Commission, had prepared memoranda
setting forth their recollections of the questioning of Oswald and his
responses. The following are the most important of these reports.
REPORT OF CAPT. J. W. FRITZ, DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT
INTERROGATION OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD
We conducted the investigation at the Texas Book Depository Building
on November 22, 1963, immediately after the President was shot and
after we had found the location where Lee Harvey Oswald had done the
shooting from and left three empty cartridge cases on the floor and the
rifle had been found partially hidden under some boxes near the back
stairway. These pieces of evidence were protected until the Crime Lab
could get pictures and make a search for fingerprints. After Lt. Day,
of the Crime Lab, had finished his work with the rifle, I picked it
up and found that it had a cartridge in the chamber, which I ejected.
About this time some officer came to me and told me that Mr. Roy S.
Truly wanted to see me, as one of his men had left the building. I had
talked to Mr. Truly previously, and at that time he thought everyone
was accounted for who worked in the building. Mr. Truly then came with
another officer and told me that a Lee Harvey Oswald had left the
building. I asked if he had an address where this man lived, and he
told me that he did, that it was in Irving at 2515 W. 5th Street.
I then left the rest of the search of the building with Chief Lumpkin
and other officers who were there and told Dets. R. K. Sims and E. L.
Boyd to accompany me to the City Hall where we could make a quick check
for police record and any other information of value, and we would then
go to Irving, Texas, in an effort to apprehend this man. While I was
in the building, I was told that Officer J. D. Tippit had been shot in
Oak Cliff. Immediately after I reached my office, I asked the officers
who had brought in a prisoner from the Tippit shooting who the man was
who shot the officer. They told me his name was Lee Harvey Oswald,
and I replied that that was our suspect in the President’s killing. I
instructed the officers to bring this man into the office after talking
to the officers for a few minutes in the presence of Officers R. M.
Sims and E. L. Boyd of the Homicide Bureau and possibly some Secret
Service men. Just as I had started questioning this man, I received
a call from Gordon Shanklin, Agent in Charge of the FBI office here
in Dallas, who asked me to let him talk to Jim Bookhout, one of his
agents. He told Mr. Bookhout that he would like for James P. Hosty to
sit in on this interview as he knew about these people and had been
investigating them before. I invited Mr. Bookhout and Mr. Hosty in to
help with the interview.
After some questions about this man’s full name I asked him if he
worked for the Texas School Book Depository, and he told me he did. I
asked him which floor he worked on, and he said usually on the second
floor but sometimes his work took him to all the different floors. I
asked him what part of the building he was in at the time the President
was shot, and he said that he was having his lunch about that time on
the first floor. Mr. Truly had told me that one of the police officers
had stopped this man immediately after the shooting somewhere near the
back stairway, so I asked Oswald where he was when the police officer
stopped him. He said he was on the second floor drinking a coca cola
when the officer came in. I asked him why he left the building, and he
said there was so much excitement he didn’t think there would be any
more work done that day, and that as this company wasn’t particular
about their hours, that they did not punch a clock, and that he thought
it would be just as well that he left for the rest of the afternoon.
I asked him if he owned a rifle, and he said that he did not. He said
that he had seen one at the building a few days ago, and that Mr. Truly
and some of the employees were looking at it. I asked him where he went
to when he left work, and he told me that he had a room on 1026 North
Beckley, that he went over there and changed his trousers and got his
pistol and went to the picture show. I asked him why he carried his
pistol, and he remarked, “You know how boys do when they have a gun,
they just carry it.”
Mr. Hosty asked Oswald if he had been in Russia. He told him, “Yes,
he had been in Russia three years.” He asked him if he had written to
the Russian Embassy, and he said he had. This man became very upset
and arrogant with Agent Hosty when he questioned him and accused him
of accosting his wife two different times. When Agent Hosty attempted
to talk to this man, he would hit his fist on the desk. I asked Oswald
what he meant by accosting his wife when he was talking to Mr. Hosty.
He said Mr. Hosty mistreated his wife two different times when he
talked with her, practically accosted her. Mr. Hosty also asked Oswald
if he had been to Mexico City, which he denied. During this interview
he told me that he had gone to school in New York and in Fort Worth,
Texas, that after going into the Marines, finished his high school
education. I asked him if he won any medals for rifle shooting in the
Marines. He said he won the usual medals.
I asked him what his political beliefs were, and he said he had none
but that he belonged to the Fair Play for Cuba Committee and told me
that they had headquarters in New York and that he had been Secretary
for this organization in New Orleans when he lived there. He also said
that he supports the Castro Revolution. One of the officers had told
me that he had rented the room on Beckley under the name of O. F. Lee.
I asked him why he did this. He said the landlady did it. She didn’t
understand his name correctly.
Oswald asked if he was allowed an attorney and I told him he could have
any attorney he liked, and that the telephone would be available to him
up in the jail and he could call anyone he wished. I believe it was
during this interview that he first expressed a desire to talk to Mr.
Abt, an attorney in New York. Interviews on this day were interrupted
by showups where witnesses identified Oswald positively as the man
who killed Officer Tippit, and the time that I would have to talk to
another witness or to some of the officers. One of these showups was
held at 4:35 pm and the next one at 6:30 pm, and at 7:55 pm. At 7:05 pm
I signed a complaint before Bill Alexander of the District Attorney’s
office, charging Oswald with the Tippit murder. At 7:10 pm Tippit was
arraigned before Judge Johnston. During the second interview I asked
Oswald about a card that he had in his purse showing that he belonged
to the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, which he admitted was his. I
asked him about another identification card in his pocket bearing the
name of Alex Hidell. He said he picked up that name in New Orleans
while working in the Fair Play for Cuba organization. He said he spoke
Russian, that he corresponded with people in Russia, and that he
received newspapers from Russia.
I showed the rifle to Marina Oswald, and she could not positively
identify it, but said that it looked like the rifle that her husband
had and that he had been keeping it in the garage at Mrs. Paine’s home
in Irving. After this, I questioned Oswald further about the rifle,
but he denied owning a rifle at all, and said that he did have a small
rifle some years past. I asked him if he owned a rifle in Russia, and
he said, “You know you can’t buy a rifle in Russia, you can only buy
shotguns. I had a shotgun in Russia and hunted some while there.”
Marina Oswald had told me that she thought her husband might have
brought the rifle from New Orleans, which he denied. He told me that he
had some things stored in a garage at Mrs. Paine’s home in Irving and
that he had a few personal effects at his room on Beckley. I instructed
the officers to make a thorough search of both of these places.
After reviewing all of the evidence pertaining to the killing of
President Kennedy before District Attorney Henry Wade and his
assistant, Bill Alexander, and Jim Allen, former First Assistant
District Attorney of Dallas County, I signed a complaint before the
District Attorney charging Oswald with the murder of President Kennedy.
This was at 11:26 pm. He was arraigned before Judge David Johnston at
1:35 am, November 23, 1963.
Oswald was placed in jail about 12:00 midnight and brought from the
jail for arraignment before Judge David Johnston at 1:36 am.
On November 23 at 10:25 AM Oswald was brought from the jail for an
interview. Present at this time was FBI agent Jim Bookhout, Forrest
Sorrells, special agent and in charge of Secret Service, United States
Marshall Robert Nash, and Homicide officers. During this interview I
talked to Oswald about his leaving the building and he told me he left
by bus and rode to a stop near home and walked on to his house. At
the time of Oswald’s arrest he had a bus transfer in his pocket. He
admitted this was given to him by the bus driver when he rode the bus
after leaving the building.
One of the officers had told me that a cab driver, William Wayne
Whaley, thought he had recognized Oswald’s picture as the man who had
gotten in his cab near the bus station and rode to Becklay Avenue. I
asked Oswald if he had ridden a cab on that day, and he said, “Yes, I
did ride in the cab. The bus I got on near where I work got into heavy
traffic and was traveling too slow, and I got off and caught a cab.” I
asked him about his conversation with the cab driver, and he said he
remembered that when he got in the cab a lady came up who also wanted a
cab, and he told Oswald to tell the lady to “take another cab”.
We found from the investigation the day before that when Oswald left
home, he was carrying a long package. He usually went to see his wife
of week ends, but this time he had gone on Thursday night. I asked him
if he had told Buell Wesley Frazier why he had gone home a different
night, and if he had told him anything about bringing back some curtain
rods. He denied it.
During this conversation he told me he reached his home by cab and
changed both his shirt and trousers before going to the show. He
said his cab fare home was 85 cents. When asked what he did with his
clothing he took off when he got home, he said he put them in the dirty
clothes. In talking with him further about his location at the time the
President was killed, he said he ate lunch with some of the colored
boys who worked with him. One of them was called “Junior” and the other
one was a little short man whose name he did not know. He said he had
a cheese sandwich and some fruit and that was the only package he
had brought with him to work and denied that he had brought the long
package described by Mr. Frazier and his sister.
I asked him why he lived in a room, while his wife lived in Irving. He
said Mrs. Paine, the lady his wife lived with, was learning Russian,
that his wife needed help with the young baby, and that it made a nice
arrangement for both of them. He said he didn’t know Mr. Paine very
well, but Mr. Paine and his wife, he thought, were separated a great
deal of the time. He said he owned no car, but that the Paines have two
cars, and told that in the garage at the Paine’s home he had some sea
bags that had a lot of his personal belongings, that he had left them
there after coming back from New Orleans in September.
He said he had a brother, Robert, who lived in Fort Worth. We later
found that this brother lived in Denton. He said the Paines were close
friends of his.
I asked him if he belonged to the Communist Party, but he said that he
had never had a card, but repeated that he belonged to the Fair Play
for Cuba organization, and he said that he belonged to the American
Civil Liberties Union and paid $5.00 dues. I asked him again why he
carried the pistol to the show. He refused to answer questions about
the pistol. He did tell me, however, that he had bought it several
months before in Fort Worth, Texas.
I noted that in questioning him that he did answer very quickly, and I
asked him if he had ever been questioned before, and he told me that
he had. He was questioned one time for a long time by the FBI after he
had returned from Russia. He said they used different methods, they
tried the hard and soft, and the buddy method, and said he was very
familiar with interrogation. He reminded me that he did not have to
answer any questions at all until he talked to his attorney, and I told
him again that he could have an attorney any time he wished. He said
he didn’t have money to pay for a phone call to Mr. Abt. I told him to
call “collect”, if he liked, to use the jail phone or that he could
have another attorney if he wished. He said he didn’t want another
attorney, he wanted to talk to this attorney first. I believe he made
this call later as he thanked me later during one of our interviews
for allowing him the use of the telephone. I explained to him that all
prisoners were allowed to use the telephone. I asked him why he wanted
Mr. Abt, instead of some available attorney. He told me he didn’t know
Mr. Abt personally, but that he was familiar with a case where Mr. Abt
defended some people for a violation of the Smith Act, and that if he
didn’t get Mr. Abt, that he felt sure the American Civil Liberties
Union would furnish him a lawyer. He explained to me that this
organization helped people who needed attorneys and weren’t able to get
them.
While in New Orleans, he lived at 1907 Magazine Street and at one time
worked for the William Riley Company near that address. When asked
about any previous arrests, he told me that he had had a little trouble
while working with the Fair Play for Cuba Committee and had a fight
with some anti-Castro people. He also told me of a debate on some radio
station in New Orleans where he debated with some anti-Castro people.
I asked him what he thought of President Kennedy and his family, and
he said he didn’t have any views on the President. He said, “I like
the President’s family very well. I have my own views about national
policies.” I asked him about a polygraph test. He told me he had
refused a polygraph test with the FBI, and he certainly wouldn’t take
one at this time. Both Mr. Bookhout, of the FBI, and Mr. Kelley, and
the Marshall asked Oswald some questions during this interview.
Oswald was placed back in jail at 11:33 am. At 12:35 pm Oswald was
brought to the office for another interview with Inspector Kelley and
some of the other officers and myself. I talked to Oswald about the
different places he had lived in Dallas in an effort to find where
he was living when the picture was made of him holding a rifle which
looked to be the same rifle we had recovered. This picture showed to be
taken near a stairway with many identifying things in the back yard. He
told me about one of the places where he had lived.
Mr. Paine had told me about where Oswald lived on Neely Street. Oswald
was very evasive about this location. We found later that this was the
place where the picture was made. I again asked him about his property
and where his things might be kept, and he told me about the things at
Mrs. Paine’s residence and a few things on Beckley. He was placed back
in jail at 1:10 PM.
At 6:00 PM I instructed the officers to bring Oswald back into the
office, and in the presence of Jim Bookhout, Homicide officers, and
Inspector Kelley, of the Secret Service, I showed Oswald an enlarged
picture of him holding a rifle and wearing a pistol. This picture had
been enlarged by our Crime Lab from a picture found in the garage at
Mrs. Paine’s house. He said the picture was not his, that the face was
his face, but that this picture had been made by someone superimposing
his face, the other part of the picture was not him at all and that he
had never seen the picture before. When I told him that the picture
was recovered from Mrs. Paine’s garage, he said that the picture had
never been in his possession, and I explained to him that it was an
enlargement of the small picture obtained in the search. At that time
I showed him the smaller picture. He denied ever seeing that picture
and said that he knew all about photography, that he had done a lot
of work in photography himself, that the small picture was a reduced
picture of the large picture, and had been made by some person unknown
to him. He further stated that since he had been photographed here at
the City Hall and that people had been taking his picture while being
transferred from my office to the jail door that someone had been able
to get a picture of his face and that with that, they had made this
picture. He told me that he understood photography real well, and that
in time, he would be able to show that it was not his picture, and that
it had been made by someone else. At this time he said that he did not
want to answer any more questions and he was returned to the jail about
7:15 pm.
At 9:30 on the morning of November 24, I asked that Oswald be brought
to the office. At that time I showed him a map of the City of Dallas
which had been recovered in the search of his room on North Beckley.
This map had some markings on it, one of which was about where the
President was shot. He said that the map had nothing to do with
the President’s shooting and again, as he had one in the previous
interviews, denied knowing anything about the shooting of the
President, or of the shooting of Officer Tippit. He said the map had
been used to locate buildings where he had gone to talk to people about
employment.
During this interview Inspector Kelley asked Oswald about his religious
views, and he replied that he didn’t agree with all the philosophies
on religion. He seemed evasive with Inspector Kelley about how he felt
about religion, and I asked him if he believed in a Diety. He was
evasive and didn’t answer this question.
Someone of the Federal officers asked Oswald if he thought Cuba would
be better off since the President was assassinated. To this he replied
that he felt that since the President was killed that someone else
would take his place, perhaps Vice-President Johnson, and that his
views would probably be largely the same as those of President Kennedy.
I again asked him about the gun and about the picture of him holding a
similar rifle, and at that time he again positively denied having any
knowledge of the picture or the rifle and denied that he had ever lived
on Neely Street, and when I told him that friends who had visited him
there said that he had lived there, he said that they were mistaken
about visiting him there, because he had never lived there.
During this interview, Oswald said he was a Marxist. He repeated two or
three times, “I am a Marxist, but not a Leninist-Marxist.” He told me
that the station that he had debated on in New Orleans was the one who
carried Bill Stakey’s program. He denied again knowing Alex Hidell in
New Orleans, and again reiterated his belief in Fair Play for Cuba and
what the committee stood for.
After some questioning, Chief Jesse E. Curry came to the office and
asked me if I was ready for the man to be transferred. I told him we
were ready as soon as the security was completed in the basement, where
we were to place Oswald in a car to transfer him to the County Jail.
I had objected to the cameras obstructing the jail door, and the
Chief explained to me that these have been moved, and the people were
moved back, and the cameramen were well back in the garage. I told the
Chief then that we were ready to go. He told us to go ahead with the
prisoner, and that he and Chief Stevenson, who was with him, would meet
us at the County Jail.
Oswald’s shirt, which he was wearing at the time of arrest, had been
removed and sent to the crime lab in Washington with all the other
evidence for a comparison test. Oswald said he would like to have a
shirt from his clothing that had been brought to the office to wear
over the T-short that he was wearing at the time. We selected the
best-looking shirt from his things, but he said he would prefer wearing
a black Ivy League type shirt, indicating that it might be a little
warmer. We made this change and I asked him if he wouldn’t like to
wear a hat to more or less camouflage his looks in the car while being
transferred as all of the people who had been viewing him had seen him
bareheaded. He didn’t want to do this. Then Officer J. R. Leavalle
handcuffed his left hand to Oswald’s right hand, then we left the
office for the transfer.
Inasmuch as this report was made from rough notes and memory, it is
entirely possible that one of these questions could be in a separate
interview from the one indicated in this report. He was interviewed
under the most adverse conditions in my office which is 9 feet 6 inches
by 14 feet, and has only one front door, which forced us to move this
prisoner through hundreds of people each time he was carried from my
office to the jail door, some 20 feet, during each of these transfers.
The crowd would attempt to jam around him, shouting questions and
many containing slurs. This office is also surrounded by large glass
windows, and there were many officers working next to these windows. I
have no records in this office and was unable to record the interview.
I was interrupted many times during these interviews to step from the
office to talk to another witness or secure additional information from
officers needed for the interrogation.
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REPORTS OF AGENTS OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
FD-302 (Rev 3-3-59) FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Date 11/23/63
LEE HARVEY OSWALD, 1026 North Beckley, Dallas, Texas, was interviewed
by Captain WILL FRITZ of the Homicide Bureau, Dallas Police Department.
Special Agents JAMES P. HOSTY, JR. and JAMES W. BOOKHOUT were present
during this interview. When the Agents entered the interview room at
3:15 p.m., Captain FRITZ had been previously interviewing LEE HARVEY
OSWALD for an undetermined period of time. Both Agents identified
themselves to OSWALD and advised him they were law enforcement officers
and anything he said could be used against him. OSWALD at this time
adopted a violent attitude toward the FBI and both Agents and made
many uncomplimentary remarks about the FBI. OSWALD requested that
Captain FRITZ remove the cuffs from him, it being noted that OSWALD
was handcuffed with his hands behind him. Captain FRITZ had one of his
detectives remove the handcuffs and handcuff OSWALD with his hands in
front of him.
Captain FRITZ asked OSWALD if he ever owned a rifle and OSWALD stated
that he had observed a MR. TRUELY (phonetic), a supervisor at the Texas
Schoolbook Depository on November 20, 1963, display a rifle to some
individuals in his office on the first floor of the Texas Schoolbook
Depository, but denied ever owning a rifle himself. OSWALD stated that
he had never been in Mexico except to Tijuana on one occasion. However,
he admitted to Captain FRITZ to having resided in the Soviet Union for
three years where he has many friends and relatives of his wife.
OSWALD also admitted that he was the secretary for the Fair Play for
Cuba Committee in New Orleans, Louisiana a few months ago. OSWALD
stated that the Fair Play for Cuba Committee has its headquarters
in New York City. OSWALD admitted to having received an award for
marksmanship while a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. He further
admitted that he was living at 1026 N. Beckley in Dallas, Texas, under
the name of O. H. LEE. OSWALD admitted that he was present in the Texas
Schoolbook Depository on November 22, 1963, where he has been employed
since October 15, 1963. OSWALD stated that as a laborer, he has access
to the entire building which has offices on the first and second floors
and storage on the third and fourth, as well as the fifth and sixth
floors. OSWALD stated that he went to lunch at approximately noon
and he claimed he ate his lunch on the first floor in the lunchroom;
however he went to the second floor where the Coca-Cola machine was
located and obtained a bottle of Coca-Cola for his lunch. OSWALD
claimed to be on the first floor when President JOHN F. KENNEDY passed
this building.
After hearing what had happened, he said that because of all the
confusion there would be no work performed that afternoon so he decided
to go home. OSWALD stated he then went home by bus and changed his
clothes and went to a movie. OSWALD admitted to carrying a pistol with
him to this movie stating he did this because he felt like it, giving
no other reason. OSWALD further admitted attempting to fight the Dallas
police officers who arrested him in this movie theater when he received
a cut and a bump.
OSWALD frantically denied shooting Dallas police officer TIPPETT or
shooting President JOHN F. KENNEDY. The interview was concluded at 4:05
p.m. when OSWALD was removed for a lineup.
on 11/22/63 at Dallas, Texas
File # DL 89-43
by Special Agents JAMES P. HOSTY, JR. and JAMES W. BOOKHOUT /wvm
Date dictated 11/23/63
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the
FBI. It is the property of the FBI, and is loaned to your agency; it
and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
FD-302 (Rev. 3-3-59) FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Date 11/23/63
LEE HARVEY OSWALD, interviewed in offices of the Dallas Police
Department, was advised that he did not have to make any statement,
any statement he made could be used against him in court and of his
right to an attorney. He was requested to furnish descriptive and
biographical data concerning himself.
The following was obtained from his responses and examination of
contents of his wallet:
OSWALD declined to explain his possession of a photograph of a
Selective Service card in the name of “ALEK JAMES HIDELL”.
When interview had been substantially completed and OSWALD was asked
as to his present employment, he stated he thought perhaps interview
to obtain descriptive information was too prolonged, that he had
declined to be interviewed by any other officers previously, and did
not desire to be interviewed by this agent. He remarked “I know your
tactics--there is a similar agency in Russia. You are using the soft
touch and, of course, the procedure in Russia would be quite different.”
OSWALD was advised questions were intended to obtain his complete
physical description and background. Upon repetition of the question as
to his present employment, he furnished same without further discussion.
Race White
Sex Male
Date of Birth October 18, 1939
Place of Birth New Orleans, Louisiana
Height 5’ 9”
Weight 140
Hair Medium brown, worn medium length,
needs haircut
Eyes Blue-gray
Scars No tattoos or permanent scars
Relatives Mother--MARGUERITE OSWALD, unknown
address, Arlington, Texas, practical
nurse (has not seen for about one
year)
Father--ROBERT LEE OSWALD
deceased, August 31, 1939,
New Orleans, Louisiana
Wife--MARINA; two infant children
Brothers--JOHN OSWALD, address
unknown, last known at Fort Worth,
Texas, five or six years ago, age
about 30, works with pharmaceuticals,
but not graduate pharmacist;
ROBERT OSWALD, 7313 Davenport,
Fort Worth, Texas (wife--VADA,
two small children), works for
brick company (believed Acme)
Dress at Time of
Interview Black trousers, brown “salt and
pepper”, long sleeved shirt, bare-headed
Contents of Wallet Had card in possession, LEE HARVEY
OSWALD, Social Security No. 433-54-3937
Photo of Selective Service System
card with photo of OSWALD, “Notice of
Classification” and name “ALEK JAMES
HIDELL, SSN 42-224-39-5321”. Card
shows classification IV____(?). Bears
date February 5, 1962, reverse side
shows card from Texas Local Board,
400 West Vickery, Fort Worth, Texas.
Card shows erasures and retyping of
the information indicated and bears
longhand signature “ALEK J. HIDELL”.
Signature of member or clerk of local
board (indistinct, may be GOOD____).
Local Board 114, Forth Worth, LEE HARVEY
OSWALD, SSN 41-114-39-532, address
3124 West 5th Street, Fort Worth, Texas,
registered September 14, 1959. Date
of birth October 18, 1939, New Orleans,
5’ 11”, 150 lbs., blue eyes, brown
hair. Mrs. ZOLA Z. BURGER, Clerk.
Snapshot photo of woman, apparently
wife
Snapshot photo of infant
White card with longhand, “Embassy
USSR, 1609 Decatur, NW, Washington,
D. C., Consular REZHUYEHKO” (indistinct)
Department of Defense Identification
No. N4,271,617, issued to LEE H. OSWALD,
expiration date December 7, 1962,
Private First Class, E-2, MCR/INAC,
Service No. 1653230. Card shows date
of birth October 18, 1939, 5’ 11”, 145
lbs., brown hair, gray eyes.
Dallas Public Library card, undated,
expiration date December 7, 1965,
issued to LEE HARVEY OSWALD, 602 Elsbeth,
Dallas, school or business--Jaggers--Chiles--
Stovall, followed by the name JACK L. BOWEN,
1916 Stevens Forest Drive, WH 8-8997.
U. S. Forces, Japan Identification card
issued to LEE H. OSWALD, Private,
Service No. 1653230, organization--MACS-1
MAG-11 1st MAW. Identification
card #00646, issued, May 8, 1958. Date
of birth October 18, 1939, American.
Card, “Compliments GA--JO Enkanko
Hotel, telephone number ED 5-0755 of
reverse side.
Certificate of Service in Armed Forces
of United States, issued to LEE HARVEY
OSWALD, 1653230, reflected honorably
served on active duty, U. S. Marine
Corps, October 24, 1956--September 11,
1959.
Card of “Fair Play for Cuba Committee,
799 Broadway, New York 3, New York,
telephone ORegon 4-8295”, issued to
LEE H. OSWALD, May 28, 1963, filed by
V. T. LEE as Executive Secretary
Card of “Fair Play for Cuba, New
Orleans Chapter”, issued to L. H.
OSWALD, June 15, 1963, filed by A. T.(?)
HIDELL, Chapter President (note name
HIDELL on fictitious Selective Service
card)
Selective Service notice of classification
card to LEE HARVEY OSWALD,
Selective Service No. 41-114-39-532,
IV-A; dated February 2, 1960, from
Local Board 114, Fort Worth, Texas
$13.00 in currency, consisting of
one $5.00 bill and eight $1.00 bills
Residence 2515 West 5th Street, Irving, Texas,
phone BL 3-1628 (residence of wife for
past five weeks)
Room in rooming house, 1026 North
Beckley, for about five weeks. Phone
number unknown.
Previous Residences 4706 Magazine Street, New Orleans,
Louisiana, no phone (about three months)
602 Elsbeth, no phone (about seven
months), Dallas, Texas
Unrecalled street in Fort Worth, Texas,
(a few months), with brother in Fort
Worth, Texas, for a few months.
Previously in Soviet Union, until July,
1962.
Occupations Photography--Jaggers--Chiles--Stovall,
522 Browder, Dallas, Texas
Factory worker, William B. Riley
Company (Coffee and Coffee Canisters),
644 Magazine Street, New Orleans,
Louisiana
Unemployed for several months
Employed with Texas State Book
Depository, Dallas, Texas, September,
1963, stock work, filing orders, etc.
on 11/22/63 at Dallas, Texas
File # 89-43
by Special Agent MANNING C. CLEMENTS /mac
Date dictated 11/23/63
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the
FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it
and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
FD-302 (Rev 3-3-59) FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Date 11/25/63
LEE HARVEY OSWALD was interviewed at the Homicide and Robbery Bureau,
Dallas Police Department, by Captain J. W. FRITZ in the presence of
Special Agent JAMES W. BOOKHOUT, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
OSWALD was advised of the identity and official capacity of said agent
and the fact that he did not have to make any statement, that any
statement he did make could be used in a court of law against him, and
that any statement made must be free and voluntary and that he had the
right to consult with an attorney.
OSWALD stated that he did not own any rifle. He advised that he saw a
rifle day before yesterday at the Texas School Book Depository which
MR. TRULY and two other gentlemen had in their possession and were
looking at.
OSWALD stated that on November 22, 1963, at the time of the search of
the Texas School Book Depository building by Dallas police officers,
he was on the second floor of said building, having just purchased a
Coca-cola from the soft-drink machine, at which time a police officer
came into the room with pistol drawn and asked him if he worked there.
MR. TRULY was present and verified that he was an employee and the
police officer thereafter left the room and continued through the
building. OSWALD stated that he took this Coke down to the first
floor and stood around and had lunch in the employees lunch room. He
thereafter went outside and stood around for five or ten minutes with
foreman BILL SHELLY, and thereafter went home. He stated that he left
work because, in his opinion, based upon remarks of BILL SHELLY, he
did not believe that there was going to be any more work that day
due to the confusion in the building. He stated after arriving at
his residence, then he went to a movie, where he was subsequently
apprehended by the Dallas Police Department.
OSWALD stated that his hours of work at the Texas School Book
Depository are from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., but that he is not required to
punch a time clock. His usual place of work in the building is on the
first floor; however, he frequently is required to go to the fourth,
fifth, sixth, and seventh floors of the building in order to get books
and this was true on November 22, 1963, and he had been on all of the
floors in the performance of his duties on November 22, 1963.
on 11/22/63
at Dallas, Texas
File # DL 89-43
by Special Agent JAMES W. BOOKHOUT /wvm
Date dictated 11/24/63
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the
FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and
its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
FD-302 (Rev 3-3-59)
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Date 11/25/63
LEE HARVEY OSWALD was interviewed by Captain J. W. FRITZ, Homicide and
Robbery Bureau, Dallas Police Department. OSWALD was advised of the
identity of SA JAMES W. BOOKHOUT, and his capacity as a Special Agent
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was informed of his right
to an attorney, that any statement he might make could be used against
him in a court of law, and that any statement which he might make must
be free and voluntary. He furnished the following information in the
presence of T. J. TULLY, U.S. Secret Service; DAVID B. GRANT, Secret
Service; ROBERT I. NASH, United States Marshall; and Detectives BILLY
L. SENKEL and FAY M. TURNER of the Homicide and Robbery Bureau, Dallas
Police Department.
Following his departure from the Texas School Book Depository, he
boarded a city bus to his residence and obtained transfer upon
departure from the bus. He stated that officers at the time of
arresting him took his transfer out of his pocket.
OSWALD advised that he had only one post office box which was at
Dallas, Texas. He denied bringing any package to work on the morning of
November 22, 1963. He stated that he was not in the process of fixing
up his apartment and he denied telling WESLEY FRAZIER that the purpose
of his visit to Irving, Texas, on the night of November 21, 1963, was
to obtain some curtain rods from MRS. RUTH PAINE.
OSWALD stated that it was not exactly true as recently stated by him
that he rode a bus from his place of employment to his residence on
November 22, 1963. He stated actually he did board a city bus at his
place of employment but that after about a block or two, due to traffic
congestion, he left the bus and rode a city cab to his apartment on
North Beckley. He recalled that at the time of getting into the cab,
some lady looked in and asked the driver to call her a cab. He stated
that he might have made some remarks to the cab driver merely for the
purpose of passing the time of day at that time. He recalled that his
fare was approximately 85 cents. He stated that after arriving at
his apartment, he changed his shirt and trousers because they were
dirty. He described his dirty clothes as being a reddish colored, long
sleeved, shirt with a button-down collar and gray colored trousers. He
indicated that he had placed these articles of clothing in the lower
drawer of his dresser.
OSWALD stated that on November 22, 1963, he had eaten lunch in the
lunch room at the Texas School Book Depository, alone, but recalled
possibly two Negro employees walking through the room during this
period. He stated possibly one of these employees was called “Junior”
and the other was a short individual whose name he could not recall
but whom he would be able to recognize. He stated that his lunch had
consisted of a cheese sandwich and an apple which he had obtained at
MRS. RUTH PAINE’s residence in Irving, Texas, upon his leaving for work
that morning.
OSWALD stated that MRS. PAINE receives no pay for keeping his wife
and children at her residence. He stated that their presence in MRS.
PAINE’s residence is a good arrangement for her because of her language
interest, indicating that his wife speaks Russian and MRS. PAINE is
interested in the Russian language.
OSWALD denied having kept a rifle in MRS. PAINE’s garage at Irving,
Texas, but stated that he did have certain articles stored in her
garage, consisting of two sea bags, a couple of suitcases, and several
boxes of kitchen articles and also kept his clothes at MRS. PAINE’s
residence. He stated that all of the articles in MRS. PAINE’s garage
had been brought there about September, 1963, from New Orleans,
Louisiana.
OSWALD stated that he has had no visitors at his apartment on North
Beckley.
OSWALD stated that he has no receipts for purchase of any guns and
has never ordered any guns and does not own a rifle nor has he ever
possessed a rifle.
OSWALD denied that he is a member of the Communist Party.
OSWALD stated that he purchased a pistol, which was taken off him by
police officers November 22, 1963, about six months ago. He declined to
state where he had purchased it.
OSWALD stated that he arrived about July, 1962, from USSR and was
interviewed by the FBI at Fort Worth, Texas. He stated that he
felt they overstepped their bounds and had used various tactics in
interviewing him.
He further complained that on interview of RUTH PAINE by the FBI
regarding his wife, that he felt that his wife was intimidated.
OSWALD stated that he desired to contact Attorney ABT, New York City,
indicating that ABT was the attorney who had defended the Smith Act
case about 1949-1950. He stated that he does not know Attorney ABT
personally. Captain FRITZ advised OSWALD that arrangements would be
immediately made whereby he could call Attorney ABT.
OSWALD stated that prior to coming to Dallas from New Orleans he had
resided at a furnished apartment at 4706 Magazine Street, New Orleans,
Louisiana. While in New Orleans, he had been employed by WILLIAM B.
RILEY Company, 640 Magazine Street, New Orleans.
OSWALD stated that he has nothing against President JOHN F. KENNEDY
personally; however in view of the present charges against him, he did
not desire to discuss this phase further.
OSWALD stated that he would not agree to take a polygraph examination
without the advice of counsel. He added that in the past he has refused
to take polygraph examinations.
OSWALD stated that he is a member of the American Civil Liberties
Union and added that MRS. RUTH PAINE was also a member of same.
With regard to Selective Service card in the possession of OSWALD
bearing photograph of OSWALD and the name of ALEK JAMES HIDELL, OSWALD
admitted that he carried this Selective Service card but declined to
state that he wrote the signature of ALEK J. HIDELL appearing on same.
He further declined to state the purpose of carrying same or any use he
has made of same.
OSWALD stated that an address book in his possession contains the names
of various Russian immigrants residing in Dallas, Texas, whom he has
visited with.
OSWALD denied shooting President JOHN F. KENNEDY on November 22, 1963,
and added that he did not know that Governor JOHN CONNALLY had been
shot and denied any knowledge concerning this incident.
on 11/23/63
at Dallas, Texas
File # DL 89-43
by Special Agent JAMES W. BOOKHOUT /wvm
Date dictated 11/24/63
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the
FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and
its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
FD-302 (Rev. 3-3-59) FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Date 11/25/63
LEE HARVEY OSWALD was interviewed at the Homicide and Robbery Bureau,
Dallas Police Department, at 6:35 p.m., by Captain J. W. FRITZ in
the presence of Special Agent JAMES W. BOOKHOUT, Federal Bureau of
Investigation. OSWALD was advised of the identity and official capacity
of said Agent and the fact that he did not have to make any statement,
that any statement he did make could be used in a court of law against
him, and that any statement made must be free and voluntary and that he
had the right to consult with an attorney.
Captain J. W. FRITZ exhibited to LEE HARVEY OSWALD a photograph which
had been obtained by the Dallas Police Department in a search, by
starch warrant, of the garage at the residence of MRS. RUTH PAINE,
located at Irving, Texas, which photograph reflects OSWALD holding a
rifle and wearing a holstered pistol. OSWALD was asked if this was a
photograph of himself. OSWALD stated that he would not discuss the
photograph without advice of an attorney. He stated that the head of
the individual in the photograph could be his but that it was entirely
possible that the Police Department had superimposed this part of
the photograph over the body of someone else. He pointed out that
numerous news media had snapped his photograph during the day and the
possibility existed that the police had doctored up this photograph.
OSWALD denied that he had purchased any rifle from Kleins Store in
Chicago, Illinois.
OSWALD complained of a lineup wherein he had not been granted a
request to put on a jacket similar to those worn by some of the other
individuals in the lineup.
on 11/23/63 at Dallas, Texas
File # DL 89-43
by Special Agent JAMES W. BOOKHOUT /wvm
Date dictated 11/24/63
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the
FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and
its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.
[Illustration]
REPORTS OF INSPECTOR THOMAS J. KELLEY, U.S. SECRET SERVICE
FIRST INTERVIEW OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD
At about 10:30 A.M., November 23, 1963, I attended my first interview
with Oswald. Present during the interview at the Homicide Division,
Dallas Police Department, were Special Agent Jim Bookhout, FBI; Captain
Will Fritz, Homicide Division, Dallas Police Department; U.S. Marshal
Robert Nash; SA David Grant and SAIC Sorrels; and Officers Boyd and
Hall of Captain Fritz’s detail. The interview was not recorded. Mr.
Sorrels and my presence was as observers, since Oswald was being held
for murder and his custody and interrogation at that time was the
responsibility of the Dallas Police Department.
In response to questions by Captain Fritz, Oswald said that immediately
after having left the building where he worked, he went by bus to the
theater where he was arrested; that when he got on the bus he secured
a transfer and thereafter transferred to other buses to get to his
destination. He denied that he brought a package to work on that day
and he denied that he had ever had any conversation about curtain rods
with the boy named Wesley who drove him to his employment. Fritz asked
him if he had ridden a taxi that day and Oswald then changed his story
and said that when he got on the bus he found it was going too slow and
after two blocks he got off the bus and took a cab to his home; that he
passed the time with the cab driver and that the cab driver had told
him that the President was shot. He paid a cab fare of 85¢.
In response to questions, he stated that this was the first time he had
ever ridden in a cab since a bus was always available. He said he went
home, changed his trousers and shirt, put his shirt in a drawer. This
was a red shirt, and he put it with his dirty clothes. He described the
shirt as having a button down collar and of reddish color. The trousers
were grey colored.
He said he ate his lunch with the colored boys who worked with him. He
described one of them as “Junior”, a colored boy, and the other was a
little short negro boy. He said his lunch consisted of cheese, bread,
fruit, and apples, and was the only package he had with him when he
went to work.
He stated that Mrs. Paine practices Russian by having his wife live
with her. He denied that he had ever owned a rifle. He said he does not
know Mr. Paine very well but that Paine usually comes by the place
where his wife was living with Mrs. Paine on Friday or Wednesday. He
stated that Mr. Paine has a car and Mrs. Paine has had two cars. He
said in response to questions by Captain Fritz that his effects were
in Mrs. Paine’s garage and that they consisted of two sea bags with
some other packages containing his personal belongings and that he had
brought those back from New Orleans with him sometime in September.
He stated that his brother, Robert, lived at 7313 Davenport Street,
Fort Worth, and that the Paines were his closest friends in town. He
denied that he had ever joined the Communist party; that he never had a
Communist card. He did belong to the American Civil Liberties Union and
had paid $5 a year dues. He stated that he had bought the pistol that
was found in his possession when he was arrested about seven months
ago. He refused to answer any questions concerning the pistol or a gun
until he talked to a lawyer.
Oswald stated that at various other times he had been thoroughly
interrogated by the FBI; that they had used all the usual interrogation
practices and all their standard operating procedure; that he was very
familiar with interrogation, and he had no intention of answering any
questions concerning any shooting; that he knew he did not have to
answer them and that he would not answer any questions until he had
been given counsel. He stated that the FBI had used their hard and soft
approach to him, they used the buddy system; that he was familiar with
all types of questioning and had no intention of making any statements.
He said that in the past three weeks when the FBI had talked to his
wife, they were abusive and impolite; that they had frightened his
wife and he considered their activities obnoxious. He stated that
he wanted to contact a Mr. Abt, a New York lawyer whom he did not
know but who had defended the Smith Act “victims” in 1949 or 1950 in
connection with a conspiracy against the Government; that Abt would
understand what this case was all about and that he would give him an
excellent defense. He stated in returning a question about his former
addresses that he lived at 4907 Magazine Street in New Orleans at one
time and worked for the William Riley Company; that he was arrested in
New Orleans for disturbing the peace and paid a $10 fine while he was
demonstrating for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee; that he had a fight
with some anti-Castro refugees and that they were released while he was
fined.
Upon questioning by Captain Fritz, he said, “I have no views on the
President.” “My wife and I like the President’s family. They are
interesting people. I have my own views on the President’s national
policy. I have a right to express my views but because of the charges
I do not think I should comment further.” Oswald said, “I am not a
malcontent; nothing irritated me about the President.” He said that
during 1962 he was interviewed by the FBI and that he at that time
refused to take a polygraph and that he did not intend to take a
polygraph test for the Dallas police. At this time Captain Fritz showed
a Selective Service Card that was taken out of his wallet which bore
the name of Alex Hidell. Oswald refused to discuss this after being
asked for an explanation of it, both by Fritz and by James Bookhout,
the FBI Agent. I asked him if he viewed the parade and he said he had
not. I then asked him if he had shot the President and he said he had
not. I asked him if he had shot Governor Connally and he said he had
not. He did not intend to answer further questions without counsel
and that if he could not get Abt, then he would hope that the Civil
Liberties Union would give him an attorney to represent him. At that
point Captain Fritz terminated the interview at about 11:30 A.M.,
11-23-63.
Thomas J. Kelley
Inspector
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
INTERVIEWS WITH LEE HARVEY OSWALD ON NOVEMBER 23, 1963
At about 12:35 P.M., November 23, 1963, Lee Oswald was interviewed in
the offices of Captain Will Fritz of the Homicide Division, Dallas
Police Department. Among those present at this interview were Inspector
Kelley, Captain Fritz, Detectives Senkel and Tiernon of the Homicide
Division and SA James Bookout, FBI. Captain Fritz conducted the
interview which was concerned mostly with Oswald’s place of residence
in Dallas and was an attempt to ascertain where the bulk of Oswald’s
belongings were located in Dallas. As a result of the interview, Oswald
furnished information to Captain Fritz that most of his personal
effects, including a sea bag, were in the garage at the address of Mrs.
Paine, 2515 West 5th Street, Irving, Texas.
The interview was concluded about 1:10 P.M. and immediately
thereafter members of the Homicide Division secured a search
warrant and recovered Oswald’s effects from the home of Mrs.
Paine. Found among the effects were two different poses in
snapshot type photographs taken of Oswald holding a rifle in
one hand and holding up a copy of a paper called the _Militant_
and “The Worker” in the other hand. Oswald was wearing a
revolver in a holster on his right side. This photograph was
enlarged by the Dallas Police Laboratories and was used as a
basis of additional questioning of Oswald at approximately 6:00
P.M. that same evening.
On November 23, 1963, at 6:00 P.M., in the office of Captain Fritz,
Homicide Division, Dallas Police Department, I was present at an
interview with Oswald. Also present were Captain Fritz, FBI Agent
Jim Bookhoutt, and four officers from the Homicide Division. This
interview was conducted with Oswald for the purpose of displaying to
him the blow-ups of photographs showing him holding a rifle and a
pistol which were seized as a result of the search warrant for the
garage of Mrs. Paine at 2515 West 5th Street, Irving, Texas. When the
photographs were presented to Oswald, he sneered at them saying that
they were fake photographs; that he had been photographed a number
of times the day before by the police and apparently after they
photographed him they superimposed on the photographs a rifle and put
a gun in his pocket. He got into a long argument with Captain Fritz
about his knowledge of photography and asked Fritz a number of times
whether the smaller photograph was made from the larger or whether the
larger photograph was made from the smaller. He said at the proper
time he would show that the photographs were fakes. Fritz told him
that the smaller photograph was taken from his effects at the garage.
Oswald became arrogant and refused to answer any further questions
concerning the photographs and would not identify the photographs as
being a photograph of himself. Captain Fritz displayed great patience
and tenacity in attempting to secure from Oswald the location of what
apparently is the backyard of an address at which Oswald formerly
lived, but it was apparent that Oswald, though slightly shaken by the
evidence, had no intention of furnishing any information.
The interview was terminated at about 7:15 P.M.
Thomas J. Kelley
Inspector
[Illustration]
CO-2-34,030
U. S. Secret Service
November 29, 1963
Chief Inspector Kelley
Preliminary Special Dallas Report # 3
Covers third interview with Oswald and circumstances immediately
following his murder
This interview started at approximately 9:30 AM on Sunday, November
24, 1963. The interview was conducted in the office of Captain Will
Fritz of the Homicide Bureau, Dallas Police. Present at the interview
in addition to Oswald were Captain Fritz, Postal Inspector Holmes,
SAIC Sorrels, Inspector Kelley and four members of the Homicide Squad.
The interview had just begun when I arrived and Captain Fritz was
again requesting Oswald to identify the place where the photograph of
him holding the gun was taken. Captain Fritz indicated that it would
save the Police a great deal of time if he would tell them where the
place was located. Oswald refused to discuss the matter. Captain Fritz
asked, “Are you a Communist?” Oswald answered, “No, I am a Marxist
but I am not a Marxist Leninist”. Captain Fritz asked him what the
difference was and Oswald said it would take too long to explain it to
him. Oswald said that he became interested in the Fair Play for Cuba
Committee while he was in New Orleans; that he wrote to the Committee’s
Headquarters in New York and received some Committee literature and a
letter signed by Alex Hidell. He stated that he began to distribute
that literature in New Orleans and it was at that time that he got into
an altercation with a group and he was arrested. He said his opinions
concerning Fair Play for Cuba are well known; that he appeared on Bill
Stukey’s television program in New Orleans on a number of occasions and
was interviewed by the local press often. He denies knowing or ever
seeing Hidell in New Orleans, said he believed in all of the tenets
of the Fair Play for Cuba and the things which the Fair Play for Cuba
Committee stood for which was free intercourse with Cuba and freedom
for tourists of the both countries to travel within each other’s
borders.
Among other things, Oswald said that Cuba should have ~folded~ full
diplomatic relationship with the United States. I asked him if he
thought that the President’s assassination would have any effect on
the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. He said there would be no change in
the attitude of the American people toward Cuba with President Johnson
becoming President because they both belonged to the same political
party and the one would follow pretty generally the policies of the
other. He stated that he is an avid reader of Russian literature
whether it is communistic or not; that he subscribes to “The Militant”,
which, he says, is the weekly of the Socialist party in the United
States (it is a copy of “The Militant” that Oswald is shown holding in
the photograph taken from his effects at Irving Street). At that time
he asked me whether I was an FBI Agent and I said that I was not that
I was a member of the Secret Service. He said when he was standing in
front of the Textbook Building and about to leave it, a young crew-cut
man rushed up to him and said he was from the Secret Service, showed a
book of identification, and asked him where the phone was. Oswald said
he pointed toward the pay phone in the building and that he saw the man
actually go to the phone before he left.
I asked Oswald whether as a Marxist he believed that religion was an
opiate of the people and he said very definitely so that all organized
religions tend to become monopolistic and are the causes of a great
deal of class warfare. I asked him whether he considered the Catholic
Church to be an enemy of the Communist philosophy and he said well,
there was no Catholicism in Russia; that the closest to it is the
Orthodox Churches but he said he would not further discuss his opinions
of religion since this was an attempt to have him say something which
could be construed as being anti-religious or anti Catholic.
Capt. Fritz displayed an Enco street map of Dallas which had been found
among Oswald’s effects at the rooming house. Oswald was asked whether
the map was his and whether he had put some marks on it. He said it
was his and remarked “My God don’t tell me there’s a mark near where
this thing happened”. The mark was pointed out to him and he said “What
about the other marks on the map?--I put a number of marks on it. I was
looking for work and marked the places where I went for jobs or where I
heard there were jobs”.
Since it was obvious to Captain Fritz that Oswald was not going to be
cooperative, he terminated the interview at that time.
I approached Oswald then and, out of the hearing of the others except
perhaps one of Captain Fritz’s men, said that as a Secret Service
agent, we are anxious to talk with him as soon as he had secured
counsel; that we were responsible for the safety of the President;
that the Dallas Police had charged him with the assassination of the
President but that he had denied it; we were therefore very anxious to
talk with him to make certain that the correct story was developing
as it related to the assassination. He said that he would be glad to
discuss this proposition with his attorney and that after he talked
to one, we could either discuss it with him or discuss it with his
attorney, if the attorney thought it was the wise thing to do, but
that at the present time he had nothing more to say to me. Oswald was
then handed some different clothing to put on. The clothing included a
sweater. Captain Fritz made a number of telephone calls to ascertain
whether the preparations he had placed into effect for transferring
the prisoner to the County Jail were ready and upon being so advised,
Captain Fritz and members of the Detective Bureau escorted Oswald from
the Homicide Office on the third floor to the basement where Oswald was
shot by Jack Ruby.
On the completion of the interview, SAIC Sorrels and I proceeded to the
office of the Chief of Police on the third floor and were discussing
the interview when we heard that Oswald had been shot. We both ran
down the steps to the basement. I arrived in the ante-room where they
had dragged Oswald. SAIC Sorrels located and interviewed Ruby. Someone
was bending over Oswald with a stethoscope and he appeared to be
unconscious in very serious condition at that time. I asked Captain
Fritz what had happened and he said Oswald had been shot by one Jack
“Rubio” whom the police knew as a tavern operator. Shortly thereafter
a stretcher arrived and I accompanied the stretcher to the ambulance
which had been hastily backed into the garage. I observed that during
the transfer that Oswald was unconscious; when the ambulance drove
away from the building, I attempted to board a cruiser that apparently
was going to follow the ambulance but I was unable to get into the
car before it pulled away. Special Agents Warner and Patterson had
heard of the shooting on their radio, proceeded to Parkland Hospital
where Oswald was being taken and arrived vary shortly after Oswald
had arrived at the emergency entrance and was being taken into the
emergency treatment room. One or the other of these agents was in close
proximity to Oswald while he was being treated. When I arrived at
the hospital, I rode up on the elevator with Dr. Shaw who had looked
at Oswald as he had come in and was being recalled to the operating
room where Oswald had been taken. While Oswald was in the operating
room, no one other than medical personnel was present but a Dallas
policeman who had accompanied Oswald in the ambulance was standing in
the doorway of the operating room in operating room scrub clothes. No
other investigating personnel were in the vicinity. In the immediate
vicinity of the detective was Special Agent Warner. Oswald made no
statements from the time he was shot until the time of his death.
He was unconscious during the ambulance run to the hospital which I
verified through Detective Daugherty, who accompanied him. He did not
regain consciousness at any time during the treatment until he died. At
the time of his death, myself, Detective Daugherty and Colonel Garrison
of the Texas State Police were on the fifth floor of the hospital
arranging a security room in which to take Oswald, in the event he
survived the operating room treatment. It was never necessary to use
this room and upon learning of his death, I proceeded to the morgue
to arrange for his family to view the body. When the family heard of
the death they were in the process of being interviewed by Special
Agents Kunkel and Howard, and requested to be brought to the hospital.
Oswald’s brother, Robert, who had also come to the hospital, was being
interviewed by Special Agent Howlett. Before the post mortem was
performed, Oswald’s family, with the exception of Robert, viewed the
body. Robert arrived too late to view the body before the autopsy had
started and was not permitted by hospital authorities to view the body.
The family was accompanied during the viewing by the hospital chaplain.
After making arrangements through the chaplain and another clergyman
for the burial of the body, the family was returned to a secluded spot
under the protection of Special Agents Kunkel and Howard, and the
Irving Texas police. Precaution was taken to insure their safety in
view of the excitement caused by the killing of Oswald. Special Agents
Howard and Kunkel did an excellent job in handling the security of this
family detail and insuring their safety. Thereafter, I was called by
SAIC Bouck who advised me that the President and the Attorney General
were concerned about the safety of this family and instructed that all
precautions should be taken to insure that no harm befell them. SAIC
Bouck was advised that the family was presently under our protection;
we would continue providing protection until further notice.
Later that same day, I was contacted by SA Robertson of the FBI who
asked whether we had someone with the family. He was assured that we
had. He requested to be advised where the family had been taken. Since
their ultimate destination was unknown to me at the time, I assured
him that when I learned of their whereabouts I would relay it to him.
He said that they received instructions from the Attorney General and
President Johnson that precaution should be taken to insure the family
safety.
At 11 pm, Sunday, November 24th, I was advised of the location of the
family and immediately notified Robertson and inquired whether they
now wished to take over their protection. He said no they had no such
instructions, they merely wished to be assured that someone was looking
out for their safety. I assured them that adequate protection was being
provided and that they were available for interviews by the FBI. He
stated that they did not wish to interview the family at this time;
that they merely wanted to make sure they were in safe hands.
TJK:VS
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REPORT OF U.S. POSTAL INSPECTOR H. D. HOLMES
Dallas, Texas
December 17, 1963
_MEMORANDUM OF INTERVIEW_
Informal memorandum furnished by Postal Inspector H. D. Holmes, Dallas,
Texas, of an interview he took part in with Lee H. Oswald on Sunday
morning, November 24, 1963, between the approximate hours of 9:25 a.m.
to 11:10 a.m. Those present, in addition to Inspector Holmes, were
Captain Will Fritz, Dallas Police, Forrest V. Sorrels, Local Agent in
Charge, Secret Service, and Thomas J. Kelly, Inspector, Secret Service.
In addition, there were three Detectives who were apparently assigned
to guarding Oswald as none of them took part in the interrogation.
Oswald at no time appeared confused or in doubt as to whether or not
he should answer a question. On the contrary, he was quite alert and
showed no hesitancy in answering those questions which he wanted to
answer, and was quite skillful in parrying those questions which he did
not want to answer. I got the impression that he had disciplined his
mind and reflexes to a state where I personally doubted if he would
ever have confessed. He denied, emphatically, having taken part in or
having had any knowledge of the shooting of the policeman Tippitt or of
the President, stating that so far as he is concerned the reason he was
in custody was because he “popped a policeman in the nose in a theater
on Jefferson Avenue.”
P. O. BOXES--He was questioned separately about the three boxes he
had rented, and in each instance his answers were quick, direct and
accurate as reflected on the box rental applications. He stated without
prompting that he had rented Box 2915 at the Main Post Office for
several months prior to his going to New Orleans, that this box was
rented in his own name, Lee H. Oswald, and that he had taken out two
keys to the box, and that when he had closed the box, he directed that
his mail be forwarded to him at his street address in New Orleans.
He stated that no one received mail in this box other than himself, nor
did he receive any mail under any other name than his own true name;
that no one had access to the box other than himself nor did he permit
anyone else to use this box. He stated it was possible that on rare
occasions he may have handed one of the keys to his wife to go get his
mail but certainly nobody else. He denied emphatically that he ever
ordered a rifle under his name or any other name, nor permitted anyone
else to order a rifle to be received in this box. Further, he denied
that he had ever ordered any rifle by mail order or bought any money
order for the purpose of paying for such a rifle. In fact, he claimed
he owned no rifle and had not practiced or shot a rifle other than
possibly a .22, small bore rifle, since his days with the Marine Corp.
He stated that “How could I afford to order a rifle on my salary of
$1.25 an hour when I can’t hardly feed myself on what I make.”
When asked if he had a post office box in New Orleans he stated that
he did, for the reason that he subscribed to several publications, at
least two of which were published in Russia, one being the hometown
paper published in Minsk where he met and married his wife, and that
he moved around so much that it was more practical to simply rent post
office boxes and have his mail forwarded from one box to the next
rather than going through the process of furnishing changes of address
to the publishers. When asked if he permitted anyone other than himself
to get mail in box 30061 at New Orleans, he stated that he did not. It
will be recalled that on this box rent application he showed that both
Marina Oswald and A. J. Hidell were listed under the caption “Persons
entitled to receive mail through box”. After denying that anyone
else was permitted to get mail in the box, he was reminded that this
application showed the name Marina Oswald as being entitled to receive
mail in the box and he replied “well so what, she was my wife and I see
nothing wrong with that, and it could very well be that I did place her
name on the application”. He was then reminded that the application
also showed the name A. J. Hidell was also entitled to receive mail in
the box, at which he simply shrugged his shoulders and stated “I don’t
recall anything about that”.
He stated that when he came back to Dallas and after he had gone to
work for the Texas School Book Depository, he had rented a box at the
nearby Terminal Annex postal station, this being Box 6225, and that
this box was also rented in his name, Lee H. Oswald. He stated he had
only checked out one key for this box, which information was found
to be accurate, and this key was found on his person at the time of
his arrest. He professed not to recall the fact that he showed on the
box rental application under name of corporation “Fair Play For Cuba
Committee” and “American Civil Liberties Union”. When asked as to why
he showed these organizations on the application, he simply shrugged
and said that he didn’t recall showing them. When asked if he paid the
box rental fee or did the organizations pay it, he stated that he paid
it. In answer to another question, he also stated that no one had any
knowledge that he had this box other than himself.
ORGANIZATIONS- MEMBERSHIP IN--With respect to American Civil Liberties
Union he was a little evasive stating something to the effect that
he had made some effort to join but it was never made clear whether
he had or had not been accepted. He stated that he first became
interested in the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, after he went to New
Orleans, that it started out as being a group of individuals who, like
him, who thought and had like political opinions. They did decide to
organize, and did organize after a fashion, but denied that they had
any president or any elected officers. He stated that he, himself,
could probably be considered the secretary since he wrote some letters
on their behalf and attempted to collect dues which, if I recall, were
$1.00 per month. He also stated that there was a “Fair Play for Cuba
Committee” in New York which was better organized. He denied that he
was sent to Dallas for the purpose of organizing such a cell in Dallas.
When asked if he was a communist, he stated emphatically not, that
he was a Marxist. Someone asked the difference and he stated that a
communist is a Lenin-Marxist, that he himself was a pure Marxist, and
when someone asked the difference, he stated that it was a long story
and if they didn’t know, it would take too long to tell them. He stated
further that he had read about everything written by or about Karl Marx.
When asked as to his religion, he stated that Karl Marx was his
religion, and in response to further questioning he stated that some
people may find the Bible interesting reading, but it was not for him,
stating further that even as a philosophy there was not much to the
Bible.
MARINE CORP SERVICE--Captain Fritz made some mention of his
dishonorable discharge from the Marine Corp at which point he bristled
noticeably, stating that he had been discharged with an “honorable”
discharge and that this was later changed due to his having attempted
to denounce his American Citizenship while he was living in Russia. He
stated further that since his change of citizenship did not come to
pass, he had written a letter to Mr. Connally, then Secretary of the
Navy, and after considerable delay, received a very respectful reply
wherein Connally stated he had resigned to run for Governor of Texas,
and that his letter was being referred to the new Secretary, a Mr.
Cork, Kurth, or something like that. He showed no particular animosity
toward Mr. Connally while discussing this feature.
MAP--Captain Fritz advised him that among his effects in his room,
there was found a map of the City of Dallas that had some marks on
it and asked him to explain this map. Oswald said he presumed he had
reference to an old City map which he had on which he had made some
X’s denoting location of firms that had advertised job vacancies. He
stated that he had no transportation and either walked or rode a bus
and that as he was constantly looking for work, in fact had registered
for employment at the Texas Employment Bureau, and that as he would
receive leads either from newspaper ads or from the Bureau or from
neighbors, he would chart these places on the map to save time in his
traveling. He said to the best of his recollection, most of them were
out Industrial, presumably meaning Industrial Blvd. When asked as to
why the X at the location of the Texas School Book Depository at Elm
and Houston, he stated that “Well, I interviewed there for a job, in
fact, got the job, therefore the X”.
When asked as to how he learned about this vacancy, he stated that “Oh,
it was general information in the neighborhood, I don’t recall just
who told me about it, but I learned it from people in Mrs. Paynes’
neighborhood” and that all the people around there were looking out for
possible employment for him.
ACTIVITY JUST PRIOR TO AND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION
ATTEMPT--To an inquiry as to why he went to visit his wife on Thursday
night, November 21, whereas he normally visited her over the weekend,
he stated that on this particular weekend he had learned that his wife
and Mrs. Payne were giving a party for the children and that they were
having in a “houseful” of neighborhood children and that he just didn’t
want to be around at such a time. Therefore, he made his weekly visit
on Thursday night.
When asked if he didn’t bring a sack with him the next morning to work,
he stated that he did, and when asked as to the contents of the sack,
he stated that it contained his lunch. Then, when asked as to the size
or shape of the sack, he said “Oh, I don’t recall, it may have a small
sack or a large sack, you don’t always find one that just fits your
sandwiches.” When asked as to where he placed the sack when he got in
the car, he said in his lap, or possibly the front seat beside him, as
he always did because he didn’t want to get it crushed. He denied that
he placed any package in the back seat. When advised that the driver
stated that he had brought out a long parcel and placed it in the back
seat, he stated “Oh, he must be mistaken or else thinking about some
other time when he picked me up.”
When asked as to his whereabouts at the time of the shooting, he stated
that when lunch time came, and he didn’t say which floor he was on, he
said one of the Negro employees invited him to eat lunch with him and
he stated “You go on down and send the elevator back up and I will join
you in a few minutes.” Before he could finish whatever he was doing,
he stated, the commotion surrounding the assassination took place
and when he went down stairs, a policeman questioned him as to his
identification and his boss stated that “he is one of our employees”
whereupon the policeman had him step aside momentarily. Following this,
he simply walked out the front door of the building. I don’t recall
that anyone asked why he left or where or how he went. I just presumed
that this had been covered in an earlier questioning.
A. J. HIDELL IDENTIFICATION CARD--Captain Fritz asked him if he knew
anyone by the name of A. J. Hidell and he denied that he did. When
asked if he had ever used this name as an alias, he also made a denial.
In fact, he stated that he had never used the name, didn’t know anyone
by this name, and never had heard of the name before. Captain Fritz
then asked him about the I.D. card he had in his pocket bearing such a
name and he flared up and stated “I’ve told you all I’m going to about
that card. You took notes, just read them for yourself, if you want to
refresh your memory.” He told Captain Fritz that “You have the card.
Now you know as much about it as I do.”
* * * * *
About 11:00 a.m. or a few minutes thereafter, someone handed through
the door several hangers on which there were some trousers, shirts,
and a couple of sweaters. When asked if he wanted to change any of his
clothes before being transferred to the County jail, he said “Just give
me one of these sweaters.” He didn’t like the one they handed him and
insisted on putting on a black slip-over sweater than had some jagged
holes in it near the front of the right shoulder. One cuff was released
while he slipped this over the head, following which he was again
cuffed. During this change of clothing, Chief of Police Curry came into
the room and discussed something in an inaudible undertone with Captain
Fritz, apparently for the purpose of not letting Oswald hear what
was being said. I have no idea what this conversation was, but just
presume they were discussing the transfer of the prisoner. I did not go
downstairs to witness the further transfer of the prisoner.
H. D. HOLMES
Postal Inspector
Dallas 22, Texas
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APPENDIX XII
Speculations and Rumors
Myths have traditionally surrounded the dramatic assassinations of
history. The rumors and theories about the assassination of Abraham
Lincoln that are still being publicized were for the most part first
bruited within months of his death. Wherever there is any element
of mystery in such dramatic events misconceptions often result from
sensational speculations.
Lacking the testimony of Lee Harvey Oswald, it has been necessary to
reconstruct painstakingly all of the facts that led the Commission to
the conclusion that Oswald assassinated President Kennedy, acting alone
and without advice or assistance. The Commission has found no credible
evidence that he was a member of a foreign or domestic conspiracy of
any kind. Nor was there any evidence that he was involved with any
criminal or underworld elements or that he had any association with his
slayer, Jack Ruby, except as his victim. The evidence on these issues
has been set forth in great detail in this report.
In addition the Commission has inquired into the various hypotheses,
rumors, and speculations that have arisen from the tragic developments
of November 22-24, 1963. It is recognized that the public judgment of
these events has been influenced, at least to some extent, by these
conjectures.
Many questions have been raised about the facts out of genuine
puzzlement or because of misinformation which attended some of the
early reporting of the fast-crowding events of these 3 days. Most of
the speculation and attempted reconstruction of these events by the
public centered on these basic questions: Was Lee Harvey Oswald really
the assassin of the President; why did he do it; did he have any
accomplices; and why did Ruby shoot Oswald? Many of the theories and
hypotheses advanced have rested on premises which the Commission feels
deserve critical examination.
Many people who witnessed the assassination and the killing of Oswald
or were present in the area were a major source of diverse and often
contradictory information. As is easily understood under such
circumstances, all of the witnesses did not see and hear the same thing
or interpret what they saw and heard the same way and many changed
their stories as they repeated them. Moreover, they were interviewed
at different times after the event by different people and often under
circumstances which made accurate reporting extremely difficult.
Even the occupants of the cars in the Presidential motorcade were not
entirely in agreement in their accounts because they, too, saw and
heard what happened from different positions. Moreover, those closest
to the assassination were subjected to a physical and emotional strain
that tended to affect their recollections of what they thought they
saw or heard. Consequently, the presentation of the news from Dallas
included much misinformation. This, to some extent, was unavoidable,
but the widespread and repetitive dissemination of every scrap of
information about the President’s assassination and its aftermath
has helped to build up a large number of erroneous conclusions. The
manner in which local authorities released information about the
investigation, sometimes before it could be verified in all detail, has
further contributed to the fund of ill-founded theories. Typographical
mistakes in the press and failure to transcribe sound accurately from
tapes resulted in errors, some of which have remained uncorrected in
print at the time of the publication of this report.
Much of the speculation that has persisted in one form or another since
November 22-24 came from people who usually spoke in good faith. Some
of the errors have resulted simply from a lack of complete knowledge at
the time of the event. In this category are the statements attributed
to doctors at Parkland Memorial Hospital who attended the dying
President and described his wounds to the press afterward. It remained
for the autopsy in Washington, completed early the next morning, to
ascertain the full facts concerning the wounds. The correction of
earlier assertions of fact on the basis of later and fuller analysis
or investigation is a normal part of the process of accumulation of
evidence. But it is not often that the process is conducted in such
an intense glare of worldwide publicity, and later corrections have
difficulty overtaking the original sensational reports.
There is still another category of speculation and rumor that
complicated and broadened the work of the Commission. Numerous people
claimed to have seen Oswald or Ruby at various times and places in
the United States or abroad. Others insisted that during the days
following the assassination, they had detected significant actions on
television that were witnessed by no one else. Still others assumed
from a widely published picture that Oswald was standing on the steps
of the entrance to the Texas School Book Depository at the time the
President was shot. Throughout the country people reported overheard
remarks, conversations, threats, prophesies, and opinions that seemed
to them to have a possible bearing on the assassination. More than a
few informants initially told their speculations or professed firsthand
information to newspaper and television reporters. Later, many of
them changed or retracted their stories in telling them to official
investigators.
The U.S. investigative agencies expended much valuable time and effort
inquiring into these leads. Investigations of a vast number of rumors
and speculations reached into almost every part of the United States
and to most of the other continents of the world.
The Commission’s work was also handicapped by those witnesses and other
persons connected with the investigation who sold for publication
evidence pertinent to the investigation. These persons sold pictures
and documents and even recollections, sometimes before the Commission
had an opportunity to receive their evidence. Some of the evidence
thus published was changed from its original form and gave misleading
impressions to the public. The piecemeal release of this evidence,
sometimes in distorted or exaggerated form, and often out of context,
provided the basis for new speculations and rumors or served to
reinforce already current ones. The practice was frequently harmful to
the work of the Commission and a disservice to the public.
This appendix is intended to clarify the most widespread factual
misunderstandings. False or inaccurate speculations concerning the
assassination and related events are set forth below together with
brief summary statements of what the Commission has found to be the
true facts. The citation following each Commission finding is either
to that portion of the report in which the subject is discussed more
fully, to the evidence in the record supporting the finding, or to
both. For complete answers to these speculations, the sources cited
in the footnotes should be consulted. The speculations are considered
under the following headings:
1. The source of the shots.
2. The identity of the assassin.
3. Oswald’s movements between 12:33 and 1:15 p.m. on November 22, 1963.
4. The murder of Patrolman Tippit.
5. Oswald after his arrest.
6. Oswald in the Soviet Union.
7. Oswald’s trip to Mexico City.
8. Oswald and U.S. Government agencies.
9. Conspiratorial relationships.
10. Miscellaneous charges.
THE SOURCE OF THE SHOTS
There have been speculations that some or all of the shots aimed at
President Kennedy and Governor Connally came from the railroad overpass
as the Presidential automobile approached it, or from somewhere other
than the Texas School Book Depository Building. Related speculations
maintain that the shots came from both the railroad overpass and the
Texas School Book Depository Building. These are supported by a number
of assertions that have been carefully examined by the Commission
in the course of its investigation and rejected as being without
foundation. They are set forth below, together with the results of the
Commission’s investigation.
_Speculation._--The shots that killed the President came from the
railroad overpass above the triple underpass.
_Commission finding._--The shots that entered the neck and head of the
President and wounded Governor Connally came from behind and above.
There is no evidence that any shots were fired at the President from
anywhere other than the Texas School Book Depository Building.[A12-1]
_Speculation._--The railroad overpass was left unguarded on November 22.
_Commission finding._--On November 22 the railroad overpass was guarded
by two Dallas policemen, Patrolmen J. W. Foster and J. C. White, who
have testified that they permitted only railroad personnel on the
overpass.[A12-2]
_Speculation._--There are witnesses who alleged that the shots came
from the overpass.
_Commission finding._--The Commission does not have knowledge of
any witnesses who saw shots fired from the overpass. Statements or
depositions from the 2 policemen and 13 railroad employees who were on
the overpass all affirm that no shots were fired from the overpass.
Most of these witnesses who discussed the source of the shots stated
that they came from the direction of Elm and Houston Streets.[A12-3]
_Speculation._--A rifle cartridge was recovered on the overpass.
_Commission finding._--No cartridge of any kind was found on the
overpass nor has any witness come forward to claim having found
one.[A12-4]
_Speculation._--A witness to the assassination said that she saw a man
run behind the concrete wall of the overpass and disappear.
_Commission finding._--Mrs. Jean L. Hill stated that after the firing
stopped she saw a white man wearing a brown overcoat and a hat running
west away from the Depository Building in the direction of the railroad
tracks. There are no other witnesses who claim to have seen a man
running toward the railroad tracks. Examination of all available
films of the area following the shooting, reexamination of interviews
with individuals in the vicinity of the shooting, and interviews with
members of the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas County sheriff’s
office failed to corroborate Mrs. Hill’s recollection or to reveal the
identity of the man described by Mrs. Hill.[A12-5]
_Speculation._--Immediately after the shooting a motorcycle policeman
was seen racing up the grassy embankment to the right of the shooting
scene pursuing a couple seeking to flee from the overpass.
_Commission finding._--There are no witnesses who have ever stated this
and there is no evidence to support the claim. A motorcycle policeman,
Clyde A. Haygood, dismounted in the street and ran up the incline. He
stated that he saw no one running from the railroad yards adjacent to
the overpass. Subsequently, at 12:37 p.m., Haygood reported that the
shots had come from the Texas School Book Depository Building.[A12-6]
_Speculation._--More than three shots, perhaps as many as five or six,
were fired at the President and Governor Connally.
_Commission finding._--The weight of the evidence indicates that three
shots were fired, of which two struck President Kennedy. There is
persuasive evidence from the experts that one of these two bullets also
struck Governor Connally. Some witnesses claimed that they heard more
than three shots but, as fully described in chapter III, the great
majority heard only three shots.[A12-7]
_Speculation._--At least four or five bullets have been found.
_Commission finding._--After the assassination, metal remains of
bullets were recovered. These included an almost whole bullet of 158.6
grains, fragments weighing 44.6 grains and 21.0 grains, and other
fragments too small to be identified. These metal remains indicate that
at least two shots were fired. The Commission believes that three shots
were fired.[A12-8]
_Speculation._--A bullet was found on the stretcher used for President
Kennedy at Parkland Hospital.
_Commission finding._--No bullet was found on the stretcher used by
President Kennedy. An almost whole bullet was found when it rolled off
the stretcher used by Governor Connally.[A12-9]
_Speculation._--A bullet was found in the grass near the scene of the
assassination shortly afterward by a deputy sheriff of Dallas County,
E. R. Walthers.
_Commission finding._--Walthers has denied that he found a bullet at
any time or that he told anyone that he had found one. With another
deputy sheriff he made a diligent search for such a bullet 2 or 3 days
after the assassination.[A12-10]
_Speculation._--The Presidential car stopped momentarily or almost came
to a complete halt after the first shot. This is evidence that the
driver had the impression that the first shot came from the front and
therefore hesitated to drive closer to the overpass.
_Commission finding._--The Presidential car did not stop or almost come
to a complete halt after the firing of the first shot or any other
shots. The driver, Special Agent William E. Greer, has testified that
he accelerated the car after what was probably the second shot. Motion
pictures of the scene show that the car slowed down momentarily after
the shot that struck the President in the head and then speeded up
rapidly.[A12-11]
_Speculation._--The Presidential car had a small round bullet hole in
the front windshield. This is evidence that a shot or shots were fired
at the President from the front of the car.
_Commission finding._--The windshield was not penetrated by any
bullet. A small residue of lead was found on the inside surface of the
windshield; on the outside of the windshield was a very small pattern
of cracks immediately in front of the lead residue on the inside. The
bullet from which this lead residue came was probably one of those
that struck the President and therefore came from overhead and to the
rear. Experts established that the abrasion in the windshield came from
impact on the inside of the glass.[A12-12]
_Speculation._--The throat wound sustained by the President was the
result of a shot fired from the front according to doctors at Parkland
Hospital.
_Commission finding._--Doctors at Parkland Hospital originally believed
that the throat wound could have been either an entry or exit wound,
but they made no examination to determine entry and exit wounds.
Subsequently, when the evidence of the autopsy became available, the
doctors at Parkland agreed that it was an exit wound.[A12-13]
_Speculation._--It is inconceivable that the doctors at Parkland
Hospital did not turn the President over on his face and notice the
bullet hole in the back of his neck.
_Commission finding._--Doctors at Parkland Hospital have testified that
the President remained on his back while he was at Parkland Hospital
for treatment and that they did not turn him over at any time; they
were busy trying to save his life. Consequently, they were never aware
of the hole in the back of his neck until they were notified of it
later.[A12-14]
_Speculation._--The first shot struck the President in the throat as
the car was proceeding along Houston Street toward the Texas School
Book Depository. The car then made a left turn on to Elm Street and
proceeded for some distance before additional shots were fired at the
President.
_Commission finding._--Before the autopsy findings made it clear that
the shots were fired from the rear, there was speculation that the
first shot may have been fired before the Presidential car turned on
to Elm Street. As this report demonstrates, all of the shots that
struck the President were fired from the rear and in a time period
inconsistent with the theory that the first shot struck him while his
car was coming down Houston Street. Motion pictures taken at the time
show that the first shot struck the President after the car had turned
onto Elm Street and was proceeding away from the Depository.[A12-15]
THE ASSASSIN
Speculations tending to support the theory that Oswald could not
have assassinated President Kennedy are based on a wide variety of
assertions. Among these are statements that Oswald could not have been
acquainted with the motorcade route before he came to work on November
22, that he may well have carried curtain rods rather than a rifle in
a brown paper package he brought with him, that there may have been
other people in the building who could have fired the rifle, that
Oswald could not have fired the shots in the time available to him,
that he was not a good enough marksman to have scored the hits with the
rifle, that there were other people in the lunchroom of the Depository
Building when he was confronted by Patrolman M. L. Baker, and that
there are no eyewitnesses who could identify Oswald as having been in
the window. Each of these speculations is dealt with below in the light
of the testimony and evidence considered by the Commission.
_Speculation._--Oswald could not have known the motorcade route before
he arrived at work on November 22.
_Commission finding._--The motorcade route was published in both Dallas
papers on November 19 and was therefore available at least 72 hours
before Oswald reported for work on November 22.[A12-16]
_Speculation._--The route as shown in the newspaper took the motorcade
through the Triple Underpass via Main Street, a block away from the
Depository. Therefore, Oswald could not have known that the motorcade
would pass directly by the Texas School Book Depository Building.
_Commission finding._--The motorcade route as published showed the
motorcade turning right off Main Street onto Houston for one block
and then left on Elm to the access road to the Stemmons Freeway. This
route was clearly indicated in published descriptions and maps of the
motorcade route. There was no mention of continuing on Main Street
through the Triple Underpass.[A12-17]
_Speculation._--The motorcade route was changed on November 22 after
the map had been printed. The motorcade was shifted from Main Street
over to Elm Street to bring it by the Texas School Book Depository
Building.
_Commission finding._--The motorcade route was decided upon on November
18 and published in the Dallas newspapers on November 19. It was not
changed in any way thereafter. The route called for the motorcade to
turn off Main Street at Houston, go up to Elm, and then turn left on
Elm Street.[A12-18]
_Speculation._--The normal and logical route would have been straight
down Main Street through the Triple Underpass to the Stemmons Freeway.
It is possible to drive from Main onto the access road to the Stemmons
Freeway from a point beyond the underpass.
_Commission finding._--The normal, direct, and only permissible route
to the Stemmons Freeway from Main Street is via Houston and Elm
Streets. Any attempt to turn onto the access road to the Stemmons
Freeway from Main Street beyond the Triple Underpass would have been
extremely difficult because of a concrete strip dividing Elm and Main
Streets. Such an attempt would have required making an S-turn beyond
the strip at a very tight angle, thereby slowing the Presidential car
almost to a stop.[A12-19]
_Speculation._--Oswald may well have carried curtain rods to work on
November 22 in the brown paper package he was observed to bring into
the building because he lived in a room where he needed them.
_Commission finding._--According to Oswald’s landlady at 1026 North
Beckley Avenue, Mrs. A. C. Johnson, the room had venetian blinds,
curtain rods, and curtains while Oswald was living there. The curtain
rods in the Paine garage that belonged to Mrs. Paine were still there
after Oswald went to work on November 22. Mrs. Paine and Marina Oswald
testified that Oswald had not spoken to them about curtain rods. After
the assassination the empty package was found near the window from
which the shots were fired, but no curtain rods were found.[A12-20]
_Speculation._--Oswald spent the morning of November 22 in the company
of other workers in the building and remained with them until they went
downstairs to watch the President go by, no later probably than 12:15.
_Commission finding._--Oswald did not spend the morning in the company
of other workers in the building, and before the assassination he was
last seen in the building on the sixth floor at about 11:55 a.m. by
Charles Givens, another employee.[A12-21]
_Speculation._--It is probable that the chicken lunch, remains of which
were found on the sixth floor, was eaten by an accomplice of Oswald who
had hidden on the sixth floor overnight.
_Commission finding._--The chicken lunch had been eaten shortly after
noon on November 22 by Bonnie Ray Williams, an employee of the Texas
School Book Depository, who after eating his lunch went to the fifth
floor where he was when the shots were fired. Oswald did not eat the
chicken lunch, nor did he drink from the soft drink bottle found near
the chicken lunch.[A12-22]
_Speculation._--Laboratory tests showed remains of the chicken lunch
found on the sixth floor were 2 days old.
_Commission finding._--The chicken lunch remains had been left there
shortly after noon on November 22 by Bonnie Ray Williams.[A12-23]
_Speculation._--An amateur 8-millimeter photograph taken at 12:20 p.m.,
10 minutes before the assassination of President Kennedy, showed two
silhouettes at the sixth-floor window of the Depository.
_Commission finding._--A film taken by an amateur photographer,
Robert J. E. Hughes, just before the assassination, shows a shadow
in the southeast corner window of the sixth floor. This has been
determined after examination by the FBI and the U.S. Navy Photographic
Interpretation Center to be the shadow from the cartons near the
window.[A12-24]
_Speculation._--A picture published widely in newspapers and magazines
after the assassination showed Lee Harvey Oswald standing on the front
steps of the Texas School Book Depository Building shortly before the
President’s motorcade passed by.
_Commission finding._--The man on the front steps of the building,
thought or alleged by some to be Lee Harvey Oswald, is actually Billy
Lovelady, an employee of the Texas School Book Depository, who somewhat
resembles Oswald. Lovelady has identified himself in the picture, and
other employees of the Depository standing with him, as shown in the
picture, have verified that he was the man in the picture and that
Oswald was not there.[A12-25]
_Speculation._--The post office box in Dallas to which Oswald had the
rifle mailed was kept under both his name and that of A. Hidell.
_Commission finding._--It is not known whether Oswald’s application
listed the name A. Hidell as one entitled to receive mail at the box.
In accordance with U.S. Post Office regulations, the portion of the
application listing the names of persons other than the applicant
entitled to receive mail was discarded after the box was closed on May
14, 1963. During the summer of 1963, Oswald rented a post office box
in New Orleans, listing the name “Hidell” in addition to his own name
and that of his wife. Hidell was a favorite alias used by Oswald on a
number of occasions. Diligent search has failed to reveal any person in
Dallas or New Orleans by that name. It was merely a creation for his
own purposes.[A12-26]
_Speculation._--The President’s car was going at a speed estimated at
from 12 to 20 miles per hour, thus presenting a target comparable to
the most difficult that a soldier would encounter under battlefield
conditions.
_Commission finding._--During the period between the time that the
first and second shots struck the President, the Presidential car was
traveling at an average speed of approximately 11.2 miles per hour.
Expert witnesses testified that the target is regarded as a favorable
one because the car was going away from the marksman in a straight
line.[A12-27]
_Speculation._--Oswald could not have fired three shots from the
Mannlicher-Carcano rifle in 5½ seconds.
_Commission finding._--According to expert witnesses, exacting tests
conducted for the Commission demonstrated that it was possible to fire
three shots from the rifle within 5½ seconds. It should be noted that
the first loaded shell was already in the chamber ready for firing;
Oswald had only to pull the trigger to fire the first shot and to
work the bolt twice in order to fire the second and third shots. They
testified that if the second shot missed, Oswald had between 4.8 and
5.6 seconds to fire the three shots. If either the first or third
shot missed, Oswald had in excess of 7 seconds to fire the three
shots.[A12-28]
_Speculation._--Oswald did not have the marksmanship ability
demonstrated by the rifleman who fired the shots.
_Commission finding._--Oswald qualified as a sharpshooter and a
marksman with the M-1 rifle in the Marine Corps. Marina Oswald
testified that in New Orleans her husband practiced operating the bolt
of the rifle. Moreover, experts stated that the scope was a substantial
aid for rapid, accurate firing. The Commission concluded that Oswald
had the capability with a rifle to commit assassination.[A12-29]
_Speculation._--The name of the rifle used in the assassination
appeared on the rifle. Therefore, the searchers who found the rifle on
the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository should have been
able to identify it correctly by name.
_Commission finding._--An examination of the rifle does not reveal any
manufacturer’s name. An inscription on the rifle shows that it was made
in Italy. The rifle was identified by Captain Fritz and Lieutenant Day,
who were the first to actually handle it.[A12-30]
_Speculation._--The rifle found on the sixth floor of the Texas School
Book Depository was identified as a 7.65 Mauser by the man who found
it, Deputy Constable Seymour Weitzman.
_Commission finding._--Weitzman, the original source of the speculation
that the rifle was a Mauser, and Deputy Sheriff Eugene Boone found the
weapon. Weitzman did not handle the rifle and did not examine it at
close range. He had little more than a glimpse of it and thought it
was a Mauser, a German bolt-type rifle similar in appearance to the
Mannlicher-Carcano. Police laboratory technicians subsequently arrived
and correctly identified the weapon as a 6.5 Italian rifle.[A12-31]
_Speculation._--There is evidence that a second rifle was discovered on
the roof of the Texas School Book Depository or on the overpass.
_Commission finding._--No second rifle was found in either of these
places or in any other place. The shots that struck President Kennedy
and Governor Connally came from the rifle found on the sixth floor of
the Texas School Book Depository.[A12-32]
_Speculation._--It is possible that there was a second
Mannlicher-Carcano rifle involved in the assassination. The Irving
Sports Shop mounted a scope on a rifle 3 weeks before the assassination.