The JFK Assassination, An Overview

The JFK Assassination, An Overview

Hey all,

Even today, the JFK case fascinates not just myself, even as a non-American citizen, but many others out there too. Many years have passed of course, almost 50 to be exact, but this natural curiosity of finding the truth about what happened, simply because we truly have a right to know, overwhelms still. Today young and elder people are still looking to learn about the case to some degree and in my opinion that's only a great thing. It shows there's still some need to find the truth even when it looks unlikely, even veering on the impossible. A point in the past where some have just given up.

Anyway, In the past on ATS I've also posted a great deal on the JFK assassination, and I've genuinely tried to bring to light certin parts of the overall case which I find particularly fascinating, and where I think truth can be found most of all. All of these threads can be found here. This time however, I really wanted to try and take the opportunity to post something that's (Hopefully!) truly helpful to more though. Something that may even entice others to do some more research of their own, this, a simple, my simple, overview of the JFK assassination case. One that you may not find beneficial, but one I hope you do.

So, for those of you who have some interest in this case, or for those who may be fairly new, here's my own personal overview, one I hope you find at the very least quite interesting.

To jump to a section, please select it below:

The JFK Assassination, An Overview - Quick Introduction

The Trip to Dallas

The Assassination Of Number 35

The Murder of a Police Officer

Arresting the Suspect

The Murder of the Suspect

Introduction

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John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 pm Central Standard Time (CST) on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was fatally shot while travelling with his wife Jacqueline, Texas governor John Connally, his wife Nellie and secret service agents Roy Kellerman and driver William Greer with-in the Presidential limousine. Kennedy is the most recent of the four United States Presidents who have ever been assassinated while in office.

A short while after the assassination took place the new president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, went about setting up an official investigation into the slaying, this became known commonly as the Warren Commission named after Chief Justice Earl Warren and it investigated the assassination for approximately 10 months eventually coming to the conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating the President and Police Officer J.D. Tippit. They also concluded that Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner, acted alone in assassinating Oswald before he could stand trial for the crimes he was accused of.

Below is an overview of the entire assassination, from the planning of the trip in the first place, to the swearing in of a new President and eventual assassination of Kennedy’s accused killer.

The Trip to Dallas

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John F. Kennedy, at the time of his death, was already beginning his campaign for re-election for the 1964 ticket. The trip to Dallas was not the first he had made in his time but unfortunately it was the unplanned last. The trip there, which is where Kennedy was already a largely unpopular figure, was under consideration for many, many months before it would actually take place, partly because Texas was not just a controversial state for him personally, but also for a democrat at the time.

Seeking re-election however, it seemed like a good idea to attempt to resolve any such disputes in the Southern state, and in early June of 1963, with the help of VP Lyndon Baines Johnson, also a southerner and someone who should’ve been aiding the reputation of Kennedy in such a state, and of course Governor John Connally, initial plans for the trip were made primarily at the Cortez Hotel in El Paso, Texas, this being where JFK had, earlier that day, spoken at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and had stopped in El Paso to discuss the proposed visit with Johnson and Connally among other matters.

The initial plan was for Kennedy to spend a mere day in Texas, while still somehow finding time to travel to Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and then finally Houston but a month or so before the visit an extension of a day was granted to meet such a high demand. According to the Warren Commission report “When Governor Connally called at the White House on October 4 to discuss the details of the visit, it was agreed that the planning of events in Texas would be left largely to the Governor. At the White House, Kenneth O’Donnell, special assistant to the President, acted as coordinator for the trip.”

Security for the trip was also extremely high in large part due to the attack on UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson a month before the Kennedy visit, an attack that saw Stevenson being hit with signs, abused and even spat on by protesters. His response in reply to the incident: “I don’t want to send them to jail. I want to send them to school.”

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(Abraham Bolden)

As well as this, security was high due to another, by far more serious threat. According to Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden, pictured above, there was a foiled assassination plot against the President mere weeks before he was to die which had been uncovered in Chicago, one of the cities Kennedy was set to visit prior to Dallas, on the 2nd of November, this being where JFK was to attend the Army-Air Force football game at Soldier Field and ride in a parade – The route of which was being publicly reported in newspapers prior to the event, as it was in Dallas later that month, all of this forcing Kennedy to reluctantly cancel, the news reporting that he was ill at the time.

In reality he was waved off by the Secret Service according to agent Abraham Bolden firstly due to the threat of a “Right-wing radical and expert marksman” by the name of Thomas Vallee who had a remarkable similarity to Lee Harvey Oswald in terms of their backgrounds and at time had taken a week off work for Kennedy’s visit. After being arrested he was found with an M1 rifle, a handgun and 3,000 rounds of ammo.

And secondly due to a “Cuban Hit Squad” who, at that time, were unaccounted for. According to Bolden they were Initially brought to the attention of authorities after a call from a motel manager who claimed that in the room of 2 suspicious looking Cuban men she “had seen lying on the bed several automatic rifles with telescopic sights, with an outline of the route that President Kennedy was supposed to take in Chicago that would bring him past that building.”

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(Thomas Vallee)

They were put under surveillance but Bolden recalled how agents mistakenly made their presence known to the 2 men and they then immediately left the rented room never to be seen again. Officially, they disappeared and were never identified. According to Bolden “No one was sent to the room to fingerprint it or get an ID. The case was lost and that was the end of it.” Information about Vallee, his similarity in appearance and background to Oswald and details of the Cuban hit squad in Chicago were never given to federal agents in Dallas.

Prior to the visit, it was agreed, before the extension, that if there was sufficient time to do so, there would be a motorcade through downtown Dallas, this being the best way for “people to see their President.” Initially it was strongly opposed by Connally due to already time constraints. The Governor stated, however, that “once we got San Antonio moved from Friday to Thursday afternoon, where that was his initial stop in Texas, then we had the time, and I withdrew my objections to a motorcade.”

On the morning of the 22nd of November, 1963, at approximately 11:40 am CST, Kennedy, Jackie, the Conally’s as well as the rest of the Presidential entourage, arrived at Love field, Dallas, Texas, after a short flight from Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth. Earlier that morning it was raining but as it had passed and none more were expected it was decided that the roof would be taken off the Presidential limousine. The plan was for the motorcade to travel from Love Field through downtown Dallas, and end at the trip they would meet at the Dallas Business and Trade Mart for a Presidential speech.

The Assassination Of Number 35

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November 22nd, 1963, It was John F. Kennedy’s 1036th day in office when he was to unfortunately be shot down by assassins bullet’s while travelling through Dealey Plaza, Texas – this in itself being a somewhat controversial location to visit at the time as highlighted in the previous page. Kennedy was very unpopular here and there were already some serious security concerns over his proposed visit, particularly over recent apparent assassination attempts in the previous cities he was visiting before reaching Texas, but Kennedy seeking re-election in 1964 decided it was more than worth the risk still, to his cost as we now know.

Just prior to Kennedy’s visit to Dallas Texas, as a testament to people’s dislike of him in this state, here perhaps more than anywhere else, it was widely known that wanted signs (shown below) calling for his own arrest for treason started to appear around the city.

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On the morning of the 22nd of November, It was a bland, dreary, rainy day. Something vastly different to what we can see in the Zapruder film, this being the sole film which is said to have captured the entire assassination take place from start to finish. As the weather appeared to be clearing and reports for the rest of the day were clear, sunny skies, It was eventually decided by Secret Service personnel it seems, not Kennedy, that the roof of the Presidential Limousine would be left off, something commonly seen in previous Presidential trips in fact. According to the JFK Lancer website:

Another controversy with direct bearing on the criminal investigation of the assassination relates to the origin of the order to remove the bubble-top from the presidential limousine. Kinney adamantly told me that he, and not the president, was solely responsible for the removal of the presidential limousine’s clear roof on November 22, 1963. However, in testimony to the House Select Committee on Assassinations, agents Kellerman and Win Lawson spoke of their involvement in that critical decision.

Kinney passed away on July 21, 1997. This correspondent cannot be definitive regarding the number of individuals involved in the decision to remove the bubble-top. However, based upon thorough investigation of the issue, the strong possibility exists that Lawson, acting through Kellerman and/or Boring, either gave the order or was represented as having given it.

(Source)

After a breakfast speech in Fort Worth the morning of the 22nd, the Presidential entourage boarded Air Force One and after a short 15 minute flight landed at Love Field, Dallas, Texas. At approximately 11:50 CST the Presidential Limousine with the rest of the motorcade was to begin It’s allotted 45 minute journey, although stopping at least twice at the request of Kennedy to greet those waiting for him along the route. They were heading to the Dallas Trade Mart where Kennedy would give a speech and would then go onto attend and speak at a Democratic fund-raising dinner in Austin later in the day before finally he would proceed to the Texas ranch of the Vice President, Lyndon Johnson, the man who would be President by the end of the day.

With the President in the Presidential Limousine at the time it departed from Love Field was his wife Jackie Kennedy sitting alongside him; Governor John Connally alongside his wife Nellie immediately in front of them and 2 secret service agents, William Greer, who was the driver of the limousine, and passenger Roy Kellerman, both agents situated at the very front of the vehicle.

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By 12:30pm CST the Limousine was scheduled to reach the Dallas Trade Mart where Kennedy would give his speech, but due to the previous stops, they were running slightly late and it was at this time that they were to pass the Texas School Book Depository building, this where Lee Harvey Oswald was supposedly laying in wait with his Mannlicher Carcano Rifle ready to strike. The limousine entered Dealey Plaza coming from Main Street, it turned right onto Houston and just seconds later it took the 120 degree turn into Elm Street going onto pass the now infamous Schoolbook Depository Building, the Dal-Tex building and finally the Grassy Knoll as highlighted in the above image.

It was as it made the journey down Elm Street that a total of, according to the Warren Commission, 3 shots rang out, the first of which said to have completely missed the limousine altogether, hitting a tree that was in the way and ricocheting down the street hitting a curb and finally striking witness James Tague situated near the Overpass (pictured below), the second bullet striking President Kennedy in the “base of the neck,” then continuing it’s journey to exit through his throat striking Governor Connally sat directly in front and the third and final bullet striking Kennedy in the upper right portion of his skull, killing him instantly.

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(An image taken immediately following the assassination – The position of James Tague can be viewed in the middle right side of this image)

The first bullet that is said to have struck Kennedy did so through the “base of his neck” according to the commission exiting through his Adam’s apple and further traveling to strike and injure Governor Connolly situated directly in front causing wounds to his back, chest, wrist and thigh – this being a major part of the Single Bullet Theory they proposed, a theory that Connally seemed to later disagree with. He was quoted as saying “Beyond any question, and I’ll never change my opinion, the first bullet did not hit me. The second bullet did hit me. The third bullet did not hit me.” This a statement to suggest that he had been struck with a separate bullet to the one that had first struck Kennedy in the neck.

Describing the events take place Connally was also quoted as describing his movements as so: “The first sound, the first shot, I heard, and turned and looked right into the President’s face. He was clutching his throat, and just slumped down. He Just had a – a look of nothingness on his face. He-he didn’t say anything. But that was the first shot. The second shot, that hit John – well, of course, I could see him covered with – with blood, and his – his reaction to a second shot. The third shot, even though I didn’t see the President, I felt the matter all over me, and I could see it all over the car.” It was only s Connally was turning to his right, after the first shot had struck Kennedy, that he claimed to have been struck by a bullet. The second shot to strike the Limousine did so directly in the head of Kennedy, this being the fatal shot commonly referred to as Z-313, a reference to frame 313 of the Zapruder film, the frame where the damage to his skull could first be seen.

In the immediate aftermath of the assassination the surrounding crowd, nothing short of horrified at what had just taken place, were seemingly frozen and unsure what to do. Before long the majority of them slowly started to move towards the location behind the picket fence on the Grassy Knoll, presumably as this was where they first suspected a shot to have come from, that or only a small percentage of them thought so and the rest were simply following where others were running to, It’s not fully clear.

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(Witnesses running to the knoll)

We do know however that other witnesses do report strange activity in this area immediately before and after the assassination had taken place. Lee Bowers for example was a witness situated behind the Grassy Knoll in his rail yard tower and he had an almost perfect view of the knoll. He once claimed to JFK researcher Mark Lane that: “At the time of the shooting, in the vicinity of where the two men I have described were, there was a flash of light or, as far as I am concerned, something I could not identify, but there was something which occurred which caught my eye in this immediate area on the embankment. Now, what this was, I could not state at that time and at this time I could not identify it, other than there was some unusual occurrence – a flash of light or smoke or something which caused me to feel like something out of the ordinary had occurred there.”

The Interview with Bowers and Lane can be viewed here:



Sam Holland was another witness and one who more than likely had the greatest view of the assassination of anyone else that day, and he once claimed: “Just about the time that the parade turned on Elm Street, about where that truck is – that bus is now, there was a shot came from up-the upper end of the street. I couldn’t say then, at that time, that it came from the Book Depository book store. But I knew that it came from the other end of the street, and the President slumped over forward like that and tried to raise his hand up. And Governor Connally, sitting in front of him on the right side of the car, tried to turn to his right and he was sitting so close to the door that he couldn’t make it that-a-way, and he turned back like that with his arm out to the left. And about that time, the second shot was fired and it knocked him over forward and he slumped to the right, and I guess his wife pulled him over in her lap because he fell over in her lap.

And about that time, there was a third report that wasn’t nearly as loud as the two previous reports. It came from that picket fence, and then there was a fourth report. The third and the fourth reports was almost simultaneously. But, the third report wasn’t nearly as loud as the two previous reports or the fourth report. And I glanced over underneath that green tree and you see a – a little puff of smoke. It looked like a puff of steam or cigarette smoke. And the smoke was about – oh, eight or ten feet off the ground, and about fifteen feet this side of that tree.”

This interview with Holland can be observed here:



Other witnesses, including Marrion Baker for example, immediately ran to the Texas School Book Depository building, this being where a shot could be heard to have originated from. Whether someone was shooting from somewhere around the knoll though, Is unclear. Whoever they were, if they exist at all, they seemingly made their escape somehow. But if we are to believe the majority of the witnesses present in Dealey Plaza, one thing we can be sure one… there was at least someone shooting from the ground as well as someone, whether It be Oswald or someone else, shooting from a building somewhere behind the Limousine.

By 1pm that day, the 22nd of November, the assassination taking place at approximately 12:30pm, Kennedy was finally confirmed dead at Parkland hospital, this being due to the severe injuries he had sustained, primarily the massive head wound he had suffered. John Connally was immediately taken for surgery following his arrival at Parkland as he had also suffered multiple serious wounds in the attack but none proved fatal and he survived. To his death in 1993 he’s said to have believed that he was struck with a different bullet to the one that had struck Kennedy in the neck thus he did not believe in the Single Bullet Theory.

The attacker who was seemingly shooting from the Texas School Book Depository also somehow seemed to evade capture following the attack and was now on the run.

The Murder of a Police Officer

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(J.D. Tippit)

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963, wasn’t the only assassination to occur that day. Less than an hour after the slaying of Kennedy in fact, the person many believe to have shot the President 3 times with a Mannlicher Carcano Rifle from the Texas school book depository building 6th floor had also seemed to escape from the building without capture, travel by bus and then taxi to Oak Cliff, a Dallas suburb, visit his rooming house where he’s said to have picked up a weapon and quick change of clothing, travel on foot once more before being stopped by a police officer driving Police car no.10 by the name of J. D. Tippet, before, for seemingly no apparent reason, shooting him multiple times in the chest, before once again managing to escape without immediate capture running to a nearby theater hoping to “blend in with the crowd” and simply watch a movie..

The assassination of Officer Tippit, supposedly at the hands of Lee Harvey Oswald, is a crucial part of the overall case as some claim Oswald couldn’t have made the journey in time to shoot Tippet from his rooming house in the first place, while others claim the fact that he murdered him is nothing short of absolute proof of his previous attack on the President and his willingness to escape, and some others claim that the description of the assassin of this police officer didn’t even remotely fit the description of Oswald or stranger yet, there was even a lone gunman at all, instead 2 of them both travelling in opposite directions following the slaying. This among many other theories presented by researchers of the case.

Immediately following the assassination of John F. Kennedy at approximately 12:30 however, a police officer by the name of Marrion Baker immediately ran into the building as mentioned in the previous page, doing so after seeing birds fly off the roof of the building he claimed as well as distinctively hearing the sound of gunfire originate from high up above him. Being led up the building by Roy S. Truly, as the elevators were not working and Baker didn’t know the building well, coincidentally Oswald’s boss at the time, they both ran into him situated on the second floor lunchroom looking relaxed and merely drinking a coke, this less than 2 minutes after the assassination had taken place where Oswald was said to have fired from the 6th floor. For whatever reason he pointed his gun at Oswald, questioned him briefly and after Truly confirmed he was an employee of his, he was allowed to go on his way. Baker then continued up the building in search of a potential shooter.

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(Officer Baker)

Oswald then immediately left the Texas School Book Depository, most probably heading East on Elm and traveling to a local bus stop. According to the ticket found on Oswald after his arrest later that day, a bus transfer given by driver Cecil J. McWatters marked for the Lakewood-Marsalis route was found in his shirt pocket and was dated for the 22nd of November. It was also determined that he boarded this bus at approximately 12:36 pm that day, 6 minutes after the slaying. As traffic was high and the bus was moving slowly, he only stayed on it for a period of 4 or so minutes, exiting it at around the Field street area.

Oswald then seemed to carry on walking in the direction the bus was travelling in before hailing a cab driven by William Whaley on Lamar Street. He described the events which took place to the Warren Commission as follows.

The man was dressed in faded blue color khaki work clothes, a brown shirt, and some kind of work jacket that almost matched his pants. The man asked, “May I have the cab?”, and got into the front seat. And about that time an old lady, I think she was an old lady, I don’t remember nothing but her sticking her head down past him in the door and said, “Driver, will you call me a cab down here?”

She had seen him get this cab and she wanted one, too, and he opened the door a little bit like he was going to get out and he said, “I will let you have this one,” and she says, “No, the driver can call me one.”

… I asked him where he wanted to go. And he said, “500 North Beckley.”
Well, I started up, I started to that address, and the police cars, the sirens was going, running crisscrossing everywhere, just a big uproar in that end of town and I said, “What the hell. I wonder what the hell is the uproar?”

And he never said anything. So I figured he was one of these people that don’t like to talk so I never said any more to him. But when I got pretty close to 500 block at Neches and North Beckley which is the 500 block, he said, “This will do fine,” and I pulled over to the curb right there. He gave me a dollar bill, the trip was 95 cents. He gave me a dollar bill and didn’t say anything, just got out and closed the door and walked around the front of the cab over to the other side of the street [east side of the street]. Of course, the traffic was moving through there and I put it in gear and moved on, that is the last I saw of him.

(Source)

Upon further review, Whaley confirmed for the commission that he had dropped Oswald off at the 700 block of North Beckley, oddly around a 5 minute walk from his rooming house, this his intended destination of 500 North Beckley. He was also dropped off at approximately 12:54pm CST according to Whaley and after walking the distance to his rooming house would’ve arrived there at approximately 12:59 – 1:00pm, this being the time Earlene Roberts, his housekeeper, also confirms was the time he walked through the front door. Oswald had also conveniently walked in at around the same time she had just turned on the news after a friend called to inform her of the shooting of Kennedy which had taken place a short while before. She briefly spoke to Oswald, “Oh, you are in a hurry” for which she received no reply from him.

Strangely, she also reports that an unknown to her police car turned up outside her house a short while after Oswald had walked in; It beeped It’s horn twice and then proceeded to drive away at speed. Shortly after this incident, one which occurred not long after Oswald arrived in the first place, he came out of his room and then left the house as quickly as he had arrived this time wearing a jacket he had picked up. He was then seen by Earlene with-in a minute or so later standing near the bus stop in front of the house on the east side of Beckley.

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(The location of Oswalds rooming house (north marker) and Tippit’s murder scene (south marker)

A short while after the assassination of John F. Kennedy had taken place, at approximately 12:44 pm, the radio dispatcher on channel 1 ordered all downtown patrol squads to report to Elm and Houston street, the site of the JFK assassination. Around a minute later however the dispatcher ordered No. 78, which was the area Tippit patrolled in the Oak Cliff region of Dallas, to “move into central Oak Cliff area,” something Tippit did so calling in his position at Lancaster and Eighth via his radio at 12:54pm.

Just prior to calling his position a description of a shooter also came over the radio at 12:45 pm, again at 12:48 pm, and again at 12:55 pm, the suspect they were looking for was a “white male, approximately 30, slender build, height 5 foot 10 inches, weight 165 pounds,” a description fitting someone like Oswald.

At approximately 1:15pm, a short while after Oswald left his rooming house in North Beckley, Tippit was travelling east on 10th Street, passed the intersection of 10th and Patton about eight blocks from where he had reported at 12:54 pm, where he stopped a man fitting the previous description given out on the radio. According to witnesses they exchanged words for a short while before Tippit, who was sitting in his car and talking through the right front or vent window, then got out and began to walk towards the man before, for no apparent reason at the time, he let off several shots, striking Tippit with 4 of them. The gunman then left the scene at pace heading in the direction of Patton Avenue, ejecting the empty cartridge cases and throwing them into a nearby bush.

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(Scene of the murder)

Domingo Benavides, one of the witnesses to the shooting, ran to the scene after the shooter had made his escape and almost immediately used Tippit’s police radio to report the shooting which had taken place, the time of which was at exactly 1:16pm according to the police records. He then went to look for the empty shells which he saw being thrown into the bushes, finding them and handing them over to Patrolman J. M. Poe who arrived on the scene shortly after the shooting.

Some witnesses claim that the man involved in the shooting came from the direction of East, others say he came from the completely opposite direction, and others like Acquilla Clemons and Frank Wright for example claim that there was even 2 men involved in the shooting, both running in opposite directions, one even getting into a nearby car. It seems that few witnesses were actually ever able to conclusively identify Oswald as the sole killer.

Tippit, according to the majority of witnesses, was dead before any such help could arrive and attempt to save his life and Oswald, who was never identified conclusively as the killer, was not at the scene at the time, he was elsewhere. He was seen later seen and arrested after “acting suspiciously” in a Texas theater on West Jefferson Boulevard.

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(Tippit’s wife at his funeral)

On the 25th of November, 1963, an hour after the funeral of John F. Kennedy, the funeral for the slain police officer occurred and was attended by hundreds of fellow officers as well as many civilians. It was held at the Beckley Hills Baptist Church. Tippit, escorted by around 15 police motorcycles, was rested on sloping grounds of Laurel Land Memorial Park, his casket draped in roses by family, friends and colleagues of his.

Arresting the Suspect

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In the immediate aftermath of the shooting of J.D. Tippit at around 1:22pm, this close to 10 minutes later, Dallas police sent over the radio the description of the man they were now looking for in Oak Cliff, “a white male about thirty, five foot eight inches, black hair, slender, wearing a white jacket, white shirt and dark slacks,” a description given by some witnesses on the scene and a description fitting the assassin of President John F. Kennedy who had been slain almost a full hour earlier at that time.

A short while later, in the parking lot behind a service station near the murder scene, a light-colored jacket lying under the rear of one of the cars was said to have been found by Captain Westbrook, this was also said to have belonged to Oswald. In an attempt to evade capture once again he took it off and placed it there. According to officials, Oswald had 2 jackets; the first being found in the Texas School Book Depository 6th floor and the second was the one he picked up at the rooming house and was later found by police near the Tippit murder scene.

The jacket has become a popular talking point since the assassination and is still one today in fact. Some witnesses, such as Earlene Roberts and Ted Callaway for example claim he, the shooter of Tippet, was wearing a darker jacket than the one that was found by police. Callaway claiming “I thought it had a little more tan to it.” Other witnesses say it was about right and some others even say it was lighter.

According to the Warren Commission, Oswald traveled around eight blocks from the scene of the murder of Tippit, traveling West on the North side of Jefferson Boulevard. Due to the sheer number of police cars with their sirens on now driving all over the place, particularly as the murder of Tippit had occurred just around the corner, Oswald was seemingly searching for a place to hide and ducked into a nearby theater.

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(The supposed location of the Tippit murder scene (right) and the Texas theater (left))

Originally John Brewer, manager at a shoe store near the Theater, had heard about the assassination of the President and now the assassination of a local police officer, as the latter had also quickly made news, went outside after hearing a horde of sirens pass by, as did others.

Upon doing so he, according to the Commission, claimed to have seen a man enter his store after a police car drove by at speed. After it disappeared the strange man also reappeared and “looked over his shoulder and turned around and walked up West Jefferson towards the theatre.” He then entered without paying. Brewer claimed “He just looked funny to me. … His hair was sort of messed up and looked like he had been running, and he looked scared, and he looked funny.” “The police cars were racing up and down Jefferson with their sirens blasting and it appeared to me that this guy was hiding from them. He waited until there was a break in the activity and then he headed west until he got to the Texas Theatre.”

Julia Postal, whom was selling tickets at the theater in question had also come out of her booth to get a better view of the commotion with the police sirens outside, as did Brewer leaving his shop seconds before. With leaving her position she failed to notice that Oswald had illegally entered the theater. Brewer, who had already been watching Oswald as he claimed he was suspicious looking, saw him enter without paying and informed Postal. Brewer told Postal that he had seen the man “ducking into” his store and then the theater seemingly terrified of the police cars. Due to hearing about the 2 assassinations beforehand, to both Tippit around the corner and JFK in Dealey Plaza, the police were called to investigate the man who happened to be Oswald as they feared he was who they were looking for at that time.

At 1:45pm, now over an hour after the assassination of JFK, and around half an hour after the assassination of J. D. Tippit, approximately 15 police officers had now surrounded the Texas theater where their assassin was supposedly hiding with no apparent escape possible.

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(The Texas theater as seen in more modern times)

Patrolman Nick McDonald, R. Hawkins, T. A. Hutson, and C. T. Walker, first entered the theatre from the rear while the rest went through the entrance, both sets of officers covering both doors at the same time to avoid any escape. Brewer was then briefly interviewed by McDonald and after having the cinema lights turned on and after viewing the film “War Is Hell,” Brewer then pointed out to the police the man that had illegally entered. It was Oswald situated on his own towards the right center rear of the main floor.

According to some, Oswald, upon entering the theater late, sat next to almost every one else on the ground floor who was here, which were around 6-7 different people on the main ground floor alone and around the same number in the balcony. Due to this some have come to the conclusion Oswald was specifically here to meet someone, a “handler” of some sort.

McDonald first searched two men in the center of the main floor, about 10 rows from the front while those Officers who had entered the front of the cinema questioned and searched those on the balcony. McDonald then walked out of the row up the right center aisle where he finally reached Oswald. McDonald asked him to “get on his feet” which Oswald did so raising both his hands at the same time, then just prior to being searched, Oswald was claimed to have said, “Well, it’s all over now,” hinting that he was about to surrender, although the vast majority of those present claim to have actually not heard him say this, before he struck the officer between the eyes with his left fist. A fight between them broke out with Oswald appearing to try and grab the gun from McDonalds waste and the two men falling back into the seat Oswald was previously sat in.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/gj50368d3e.jpg[/atsimg]

(The seat Oswald was sat in just prior to his arrest from the theater as seen in modern times)

Due to this a scuffle between them broke out before more officers could come in and subdue Oswald. McDonald sustained minimle injuries in the fight, a grazed cheek from where a gun had been pulled away from Oswalf for example. Witnesses also reported hearing the sound of a snap or loud clicking noise, this was seemingly the sound a gun misfiring. Eventually Oswald was subdued by police and for the first time that day, he was handcuffed and officially under arrest. Upon being taken out from the theater, Oswald was heard to be crying out aginst the police, swearing at them and and claiming Police Brutality, he also made sure to very clearly yell out to the rather large crowd that had gathered outside that he “was not resisting arrest.”


By 1:51 pm that day, police car no. 2 reported by radio that it was on It’s way to headquarters with a suspect. Despite the fact that the description given out over the radio of a suspect in both assassinations was incredibly similar, Oswald was solely arrested under suspicion of murdering J.D. Tippit, not John F. Kennedy. They arrived at the station at approximately 2pm.

Captain Fritz arrived at police headquarters from the Texas School Book Depository at around 2:15pm after a brief stop at the sheriff’s. Entering the homicide and robbery bureau office, he saw two detectives standing there with Sgt. Gerald L. Hill, the man who had driven Oswald to the police station from the theatre. According to Hill in his Commission testimony, Fritz told the detective to get a search warrant and head to an address owned by Oswald of all people, when asked why Fritz replied, “Well, he was employed down at the Book Depository and he had not been present for a roll call of the employees.” Hill replied back with, “Captain, we will save you a trip … there he sits.”

The Murder of the Suspect

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/dc50369bf5.jpg[/atsimg]

(Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald)

Oswald, while in police custody, was Interrogated extensively, although despite this no records, written or audio, were even taken during the entire time according to Captain Will Fritz who was in charge. As well as Fritz, who was in charge of the interrogations which were taking place, many others were also present during Oswald’s questioning between the period of sometime just after 2pm when he arrived at the Police station after his previous arrest on the 22nd right to his own murder on the 24th of November at 11:21am, 2 days later at the hands of Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner claiming to be grief stricken at the murder of the President supposedly at the hands of Oswald.

All in all, Oswald was questioned for approximately 12 hours during his time with the Dallas police, the entire time continuing to deny having any involvement in the murder of John F. Kennedy and Dallas Police Officer J. D. Tippit. As well as questioning under Interrogation from Dallas captain Fritz and Chief of Police Jesse Curry, representatives of other law enforcement agencies were also present during the questioning, including the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service to name a few.

Just over an hour after arriving at the Police Station media reporters were first being made aware of Oswald’s potential involvement with not just the murder of a Police Officer, but now with the murder of John F. Kennedy. Reporters and cameramen literally flooded into the relatively small police headquarters joining those few who had been present when Oswald first arrived and congregated in the corridor of the third floor, which was where the questioning took place, Oswald’s cell however being on the fifth floor.

On more than one occasion, Jack Ruby, the man who murdered Oswald days later in the basement of the Police Station, could be observed in the hallways and later that evening seemingly blending in with reporters during Oswald’s one and only press conference, albeit a brief one, Ruby apparently stalking Oswald, a direct contradiction of his later claim that the shooting was a “spur of the moment” kind of event.

Oswald’s “Hallway Interviews” with newsmen, including the infamous Friday night Press Conference, can be viewed here.

Quite late on the 22nd of November, 1963, and after a great deal of questioning under Interrogation at this point as well as various official Police Line ups, Oswald was then to come face to face with a horde of media reporters keen to ask him further questions. It was these questions that Oswald declared that he had not been arrested for the murder of the President but that: “No, I have not been charged with that. In fact, nobody has said that to me yet. The first thing I heard about it was when the newspaper reporters in the hall asked me that question.” In previous “hallway interviews” he also claimed to have been arrested for living in the soviet union, as well as his famous line, “I’m just a patsy.”

Although a confession from Oswald was never once given, he was charged with the murder of J. D. Tippit shortly after 7pm after facing a great deal of questioning and 2 Police Line ups at 4:05 pm and then 6:20 pm. Despite this a third Line up was organised for 7:40 pm. A short while later Oswald was then taken for an official paraffin test where it was concluded that he hadn’t previously fired a rifle, this test later being regarded as “unreliable.” At around 1:30am, now on the 23rd of November, Oswald was charged with the murder of John F. Kennedy.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/kn50369c62.jpg[/atsimg]

After being charged with the 2 murders Oswald was then allowed to rest for the rest of the night and up until approximately 10:25 am that Saturday morning. It was here that a new set of questioning began lasting a full hour and 1 minutes. At 12:35, just over one full day since the assassination of John F. Kennedy, he was taken for an additional set of questioning, these lasting around half an hour.

A short while after 1pm Marina Oswald (his wife) and Marguerite Oswald (his mother) visited him for the first time. A short while after they left Oswald attempted to call an attorney in New York, John Abt. Oswald was recorded as saying: “I want that attorney in New York, Mr. Abt. I don’t know him personally but I know about a case that he handled some years ago, where he represented the people who had violated the Smith Act… I don’t know him personally, but that is the attorney I want… If I can’t get him, then I may get the American Civil Liberties Union to send me an attorney.” Abt, however, was on holiday in Connecticut and caims at no time did Oswald or anyone on his behalf attempt to contact him prior to Oswald’s murder. He also claimed that “if I were requested to represent him, I felt that it would probably be difficult, if not impossible, for me to do so because of my commitments to other clients.”

Through out the day Oswald was also visited by his brother, Robert, as well as facing more scientific testing to prove, or dis-prove, his involvement in the assassinations which took place the day before. He also faced yet another dose of Interrogation at the hands of Captain Fritz between around 6 to 7:15 pm. At 8 p.m. he was also allowed to call the home of Ruth Paine which was where his wife was staying, Ruth however not allowing him to speak with her.

The next set of questioning came the next day on the 24th of November. Oswald was signed out of jail at approximately 9:30 am and immediately taken to the office of Captain Fritz, the location of the previous set of questioning lasting numerous hours at this point. At 11:15 Oswald was being taken to a transfer car waiting for him in the basement of the Dallas Police headquarters ready to take him to the county jail, although he never made it there.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/ie50369ddb.jpg[/atsimg]

At 11:21 pm, Oswald appearing in the basement seconds before, Dallas Nightclub owner Jack Ruby jumped from the crowd and shot Oswald at point blank range in the stomach injuring him massively on live television in front of millions of Americans. Oswald was immediately taken to Parkland hospital and was pronounced dead at 1:07 pm. Coincidentally, he was to die in the same hospital as both John F Kennedy and J. .D. Tippit. Jack Ruby later claimed it was an attempt at “…saving Mrs. Kennedy the discomfiture of coming back to trial.”

Years later however Jack Ruby began to change his story to a more conspiracy-themed one, claiming that “The world will never know the true facts of what occurred, my motives.. The people had, that had so much to gain, and had such an ulterior motive for putting me in the position I’m in, will never let the true facts come above board to the world.” He was asked by a reporter “Are these people in very high positions, Jack?” To which he replied “yes.”

On another occasion Ruby was observed as saying “I want to correct what I said before about the Vice-President. When I mentioned about Adlei Stevenson, If he was Vice-President there would never have been an assassination of our beloved President Kennedy. ” When asked “Would you explain again?”, he replied ” Well, the answer is the man in office now [Lyndon Johnson].”

To what extent, if any, Oswald was involved in either the murder of President John F. Kennedy or Police Officer J. D. Tippit, we’ll never know. He was murdered by Jack Ruby before he could stand trial and will always be remembered as the probable assassin, even today. Jack Ruby also died on the third of January, 1967 taking any more secrets he had with him.

Thanks to all of those who've taken the time to read. Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

reply to post by Rising Against



I know they are

S&F

wow thats a lot of info

This subject is one that fascinates me...

I will have a read tomorrow but for now... star and flag simply because of the massive amount of effort you have put in.

I look forward to an evening of reading.

Peace

incredible,
thankyou so much! that was a great read!

Originally posted by Rising Against
Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

My thoughts are quite simple:

First: A young man in todays age has put together a much more detailed and readable account of this assassination than a group of older, "more knowledgeable" men in the short time of ten months, thereafter on that fateful day. I say "more knowledgeable" in quotes because I firmly believe you, RisingAgainst, have true knowledge on the subject and that the group of men known as the Warren Commission did not. I believe they were paid to tell a lie, and succeeded in duping an entire generation. Until now.

Second: It is apparent to me, and alot of other people, that JFK was killed for a reason and by people who always will remain behind the shadows of the regimes around the world. They are the men who make the decisions to allow rulers to rule and despots to reign, but also to allow those who go against them, to die.
There is no other explanation for the secrecy, the witnesses that have "died" and the numerous fabrications that couldn't even explain the number of bullets in the beginning. In short it was planned and, mysteriously, the cover-up prevails today. No one knows the truth. How convenient.

I am a firm believer that these men continue to run things today.
And they have gotten exactly what they wanted until recently.

The internet is making it extremely difficult to hide these days and these men know it.
If, that is, any of them are alive today. But the mindset gets passed on...

Finally: Truly a great piece of summarized information, as with all your JFK threads, RA...

I applaud your valiant efforts in making this more transparent than ever before.
You have done what government officials could not and can not.


You have enlightened me. (and I'm sure numerous others)

reply to post by havok


Thank you for your kind words Havok, I hope you know that they're truly appreciated.

I really do hope you're correct in saying that others have gained something from this and my other postings on this case. It's honestly important to me not just because of any personal reason, but because I really do believe there's truth to be found here, in fact no I just know it. I hope that in at least some small way my posts have helped in coming loser to those truths.

reply to post by Muckster


Thanks Muckster.

Hope you found the time to read and I'd love to hear your thoughts, and not just on this thread, as it is but an overview, but the overall case itself.

reply to post by Rising Against


What a great synopsis thread. It's really brilliant. But you skipped over the Fort Worth breakfast. So you missed LBJ's popeye and you missed the boys choir singing "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You" and you missed the look on JFK's face when he heard the boys singing the words to that song and you missed the awkwardness with the gift of the hat.

I often wondered why JFK didn't don the hat at that moment (he would win the applause of the crowd for sure!) but he refrained from doing so. What a momentous moment.

Another thing you should look at is that "Wanted" poster. You seemed to make a lot of fuss about the JFK wanted poster and this set the tone in your article that "Dallas hated Kennedy" when that is not the case. Dallas welcomed JFK to Texas with open arms. All you need to see are the crowds on the Dallas streets to affirm the fact that Dallas was indeed welcomed to Texas by adoring crowds.

Even so, JFK made jokes, at the Fort Worth breakfast, that conceded to Jackie's celebrity status, over his own. And he is the President of the United States! You can't miss this breakfast and LBJ's popeye or the boys choir. I have to warn you, it's reaaaaaaaaallly creeeeeeeeeeepy.

reply to post by Rising Against


I always read your threads on this issue,
I was in grade school when it happened,
and you help me to understand things I experienced at the time,
and was too young, at the time to comprehend.
Thanks

You put a great deal of information into a very short read.... I have been reading everything I have been able to get my hands on the assassination beginning with an "Extra" edition of The Dallas Times Herald that was given to me along with 25 cents for helping a guy carry a couple of newspaper bundles from the bus stop on Field street between Main and Elm streets around the corner on Elm that afternoon in Dallas... I read in that newspaper that three or four Secret Service men had been sent from Dallas to Midland to brief a "business man" about the assassination... Thirty four years later I purchased a book titled ZR Rifle that was based on the records that Cuban intelligence had about the assassination... I was surprised that George Herbert Walker Bush had been referred to as a "business man" in this book... It wasn't that he was mentioned in the book but that the descriptive words business man in the newspaper and in the Cuban documents both included the quotation marks and also mentioned Midland Tx... I have always had the feeling that GHWB was in Dallas that day and a passenger in the car with the Secret Servicemen..... I lost a huge collection of news articles, books and magazines on the topic.... They were lost in a fire in late 1987 but have over the years bought numerous books to replace the ones I'd lost or were written later....The offspring of the people behind the murder of JFK and their offspring will make sure that we will never know without some doubt, who was pulling the strings that resulted in JFK's death.... We'll never again have a chance to elect another president that isn't afraid to stand up to the ultra wealthy evil bastard power brokers.....

reply to post by SayonaraJupiter


They say you can kill a man once you know the power of the evil eye. Of course then you get caner and die slowly but still.

Originally posted by r2d246
reply to post by SayonaraJupiter

 

They say you can kill a man once you know the power of the evil eye. Of course then you get cancer and die slowly but still.

LBJ's 'popeye' at the Fort Worth breakfast is required viewing IMO.
And here is another very famous wink taking place after the assassination. That's Albert Thomas giving the wink.

Albert Richard Thomas (April 12, 1898 - February 15, 1966) was a Democratic Congressman from Houston, Texas for 29 years and was responsible for bringing the Johnson Space Center to Houston.

Thanks guys but let's just remember that this is only supposed to be a mere overview of the case, not an in-depth analysis of every possibility or "thing" that is or seems to be out of place in some fashion or another.

I wrote it so It could be relatively short and at the same time full of information that covers the major points of what took place. If It achieves that then my work is done.