APPENDIX XII

Speculations and Rumors

Rlyths 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 t,he facts that led the Commission
to the conclusion that Oswald assassinated President Kennedy, acting
alone and wi-ithout 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 wit.11 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 Commissio71 has inquired into the various hypoth-
eses, 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 report.ing of the fast-crowding events of these 3 days. Most
of the speculation and attempted reconstruction of these events by the
public ce7ltered on these basic questions: Was Lee Harvey Oswald
really the assnssi71 of the President ; why did he do it ; did he have any
accomplices ; and why did Ruby shoot Oswald 1 Many of the theories
and hypot.heses advanced have rested on premises which t.he Commis-
sion feels deserve crit.ical 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, a.ll of the witaesses did not, see and hear the same thing
or i7lterpret 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 difficnlt.
Even the occupants of the cars in the Presidential motorca.de 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
637
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 informnt,ion about the Presidents assassination and its nfter-
math has helped to build up a large number of erroneous conclusions.
The mamler in which local authorities released information about. the
invest.igation, sometimes before it could be verified in all detail, has
further contributed to the fund of ill-founded theories. Typographi-
cal mistakes in the press and failure to transcribe sound accurately
from t.apes resulted in errors, some of which have remained mlcor-
rected 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 state-
ments attributed to doctors at Parkland Memorial Hospitd who at-
tended 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 t.hat com-
plicated 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 pict.ure that Oswald was stancling
on the steps of the entrance to the Texas School Book Depository at
the time the President was shot. Throughout the comltry people re-
ported overheard remarks, conversations, threats, prophesies, and
opinions that seemed to them to have a possible bearing on the assas-
sination. More than a few informants initially tolcl their specula-
tions or professed firsthand information to newspaper and television
reporters. Later, many of them changed or retracted their stories in
telling them to official inve.st.igators.
The U.S. investigative agencies expended much valuable time and
effort inquiring into these leads. Investigations of a vast number of
rumors ancl speculations reached into almost every part of the United
States and to most of the other continents of the world.
The Commissions work was also handicapped by those witnesses
and ot,her persons comlected with the investigation who sold for pub-
lication evidence pertinent. to the investigation. These persons sold
pictures and documents and even recollections, sometimes before the
638
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 fre-
quently 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 bot,h. For complete answers to these speculmations, 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. Oswalds movements between 12 :33 and 1:15 p.m. on Novem-
ber 22,1963.
4. The murder of Patrolman Tippit.
5. Oswald after his arrest.
6. Oswald in the Soviet Union.
7. Oswalds trip to Mexico City.
8. Oswald and U.S. Government, agencies.
9. Conspiratorial relationships.
10. Miscellaneous charges.

THE SOURCEOF THE SHOTS

There have been speculations that some or all of t,he shots aimed
at President Kennedy and Governor Connally came from the railroad
overpass as the Presidential automobile approached it, or from some-
where other than the Texas School Book Depository Building. Re-
lated speculations maintain that the shots came from both the rail-
road 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, to-
gether with the results of the Commissions investigation.
Speculation.-The shots that killed the President came from the
railroad overpass above the triple underpass.
Cmtiti $n.&ng.-The shots that entered the neck and head of
the President and wounded Governor Connally came f ram behind and
above. There is no evidence that any shots were fired at the Presi-
639
 dent from anywhere other than the Texas School Book Depository
Bui1ding.l
Speculation-The railroad overpass was left unguarded on
November 22.
Comissim fZnding.-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 overpass2
XpecuZation.-There are witnesses who alleged that the shots came
from the overpass.
C&&on finding.-The Commission does not have knowledge
of any witnesses who saw shots fired from the qverpass. 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 over-
pass. Most. of these witnesses who discussed the source of the shots
sta.ted that they came from the direction of Elm and Houston Streets.O
Specdatiom-A rifle cartridge was recovered on the overpass.
Comvmimim j%&ng.-No cartridge of any kind was found on the
overpass nor has any witness come forward to claim having found
one.
SpecwJation.-A witness to the assassination said that she saw a
man run behind the concrete wall of the overpass and disappear.
Comui&&on 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 inter-
views with members of the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas
County sheriffs office failed to corroborate Mrs. Hills recollection
or to reveal the identity of the man descrilbed by Mrs. Hi11.6
Speculation.-Immediately after the shooting a motorcycle police-
man was seen racing up the grassy embankment to the right of the
shooting scene pursuing a couple seeking to flee from the overpass.
Commission jki?ing.- There are no witne&es 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 sa,w 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 Deposi-
tory Building.6
Speculation.-More than three shots, perhaps as many as five or
six, were fired a.t 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
644
heard more than three shots but, as fully described in chapter III, the
great majority heard only three shots.
Speculation.-At least four or five bullets have been found.
Cmnrnission findin,g.-After the assassination, metal remains of bul-
lets were recovered. These included an almost whole bullet of 153.6
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.8
Speculation.-A bullet was found on the stretcher used for Presi-
dent Kennedy at Parkland Hospital.
Comrni&on 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.9
Specdution.-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.
Oommi.s&n @ding.-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?O
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
aud therefore hesitated to drive closer to the overpass.
Comm&&m 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 R. 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 momentar-
ily after the shot that struck the President in the head and then speeded
up rapid1y.l
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.
Commi,&on 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
t,hat 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.12
Speculation.-The throat wound sustained by the President was the
result of a shot fired from the front according to doctors at Park-
land Hospital.
Commi&on jkdiq .-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
641
wounds. Subsequently, when the evidence of the autopsy became
available, the doctors at Parkland agreed that it was an exit wound.
Speculation..--It is inconceivable that the doctors at Parkland Hos-
pital did not turn the President over on his face and notice the bullet
hole in the back of his neck.
Comntission 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.
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.
Comm&sion @ding.-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.13

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 packsge he brought with him, that t.here 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 Deposi-
t.ory Building when he was confronted by Patrolman M. L. Baker,
and that there are no eyewitnesses who could identify OswaJd 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.
SpemIation.-Oswald could not have known the motorcade route
before he arrived at work on November 22.
Commi,&m fin&g.-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?6
642
 Speculation.-The route as shown in the newspaper took the motor-
cade through the Triple Underpass via Main Street, a block away from
the Depository. Therefore, Oswald could not have known that the
motorcade YouId pass directly by the Texas School Book Depository
Building.
Conzmission 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 Free-
way. 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.
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 St.reet to bring it by the Texas School Book
Depository Building.
Commi.km 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.*8
Speculation.-The normal and logical route would have been
straight down Main Street through the Triple Underpass to the Stem-
mons Freeway. It is possible to drive from Main onto the access
road to the Stemmons Freeway from a point beyond the underpass.
Co/mrnt&&m @ding.-The normal, direct, and only permissible
route to the Stemmons Freeway from Main Street is via Houston and
Elm Stre&s. Any attempt to turn onto the access road t.o the Stem-
mons 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.10
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.
Comm&sion finding.-According to Osn-alds 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 cur-
tain rods were found.20
SpecuZation.-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.
643
 Comntission finding.-Oswald did not spend the morning in the
company of other workers in the building, and before the assassina-
tion he was last seen in the building on the sixth floor at, about 11:55
a.m. by Charles Givens, another employee.21
Speculation.-It is probable that the chicken lunch, remains of which
were found on the sixth floor, was eaten by an accqmplice of Oswald
who had hidden on the sixth floor overnight.
C&s&n 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?*
SpecuZation.-Laboratory tests showed remains of the chicken lunch
found on the sixth floor were 2 days old.
Comn&sion finding.-The chicken lunch remains had been left
there shortly after noon on November 22 by Bonnie Ray Williams.=
Speculation.-An amateur &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.
Comntission 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 deter-
mined after examination by the FBI and the U.S. Navy Photographic
Interpretation Center to be the shadow from the cartons near the
window.24
Speculation.-A picture published widely in newspapers and maga-
zines after the assassination showed Lee Harvey Oswald standing on
the front steps of the Texas School Book Depository Building shortly
before the Presidents motorcade passed by.
Comrmissi~?~ 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 therc.25
Speculation.-Ths post o&e 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 Oswalds applica-
tion listed the name A. Hide11 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. D uring the summer of 1963, Oswald rented a post
o5ce box in New Orleans, listing the name Hidell in addition to his
own name and that of his wife. Hide11 was a favorite alias used by
Oswald on a number of occasions. Diligent search has failed to re-

644
veal any person in Dallas or New Orleans by that name. It was
merely a creation for his own purposesTB
Speculation.-The Presidents 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.
Commidon 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
1ine.27
Speculation.-Oswald could not have fired three shots from the
Mannlicher-Carcano rifle in 5yi seconds.
Commi.Gm finding.-According to expert witnesses, exacting tests
conducted for the Commission demonstrated that it was possible to fire
three shots from the rifle within 51/ seconds. It should be noted that
the first loaded shell was already in the chamber ready for firing; OS-
wald 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. The) 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.28
Specztlatkm-Oswald did not have the marksmanship ability dem-
onstrated by the rifleman who fired the shots.
Com,mission finding.-Oswald qualified as a sharpshooter and a
marksman with the M-l 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 sub-
stantial aid for rapid, accurate firing. The Commission con-
cluded that Oswald had the capability with a rifle to commit
assassination.20
Specu&ztion.-The name of the rifle used in the assassination ap-
peared on the rifle. Therefore, the searchers who found the rifle on
the sixth floor of the Tex,as School Book Depository should have been
able to identify it correctly by name.
Commitwion jCnding.- An examination of the rifle does not reveal
any manufacturers 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?O
SpecuZatim.-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.
Commi&m finding.-Weitzman, the original source of the specula-
tion 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
645
subsequently arrived and correctly identified the weapon as a 6.5
Italian rifle.3l
Specu7ation.-There is evidence that a second rifle was discovered
on the roof of the Texas School Book Depository or on the overpass.
Commiseion 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.32
Speculation.-It is possible that there was a second Mannlicher-
Ca.rcano rifle involved in the assassination. The Irving Sports Shop
molmted a scope on a rifle 3 weeks ,&fore the assassination.
Comrn&ion finding.-Dial D. Ryder, an employee of the Irving
Sports Shop, has stated that he found on his workbench on Novem-
ber 23 an undated work tag with the name Oswald on it, indicating
that somet.ime during the first 2 weeks of November three holes had
been bored in a rifle and a telescopic sight mounted on it and bore-
sighted. However, Ryder and his employer, Charles W. Greener,
had no recollection of Oswald, of his Mannlicher-Carcano rifle, of the
transaction allegedly represented by the repair tag, or of any person
for whom such a repair was supposedly .made. The rifle found on
the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository had two holes
in it bored for the installation of a scope prior to shipment to Oswald
in March 1063. The Commission concluded that it is doubtful whether
the tag produced by Ryder was authentic. All of the evidence de-
veloped proves that Oswald owned only the one riflrthe Mannlicher-
Carcano-and that he did not, bring it or a second rifle to the Irving
Sports ShopF3
Speculation.-Ammunition for the rifle found on the sixth floor of
the Texas School Book Depository had not been manufactured since
the end of World War II. The ammunition used by Oswald must,
therefore, have been at least 20 years old, making it extremely un-
reliable.
Commission finding.-The ammunition used in the rifle was Ameri-
can ammunition recently made by the Western Cartridge Co., which
manufactures such ammunition currently. In tests with the same
kind of ammunition, experts fired Oswalds Mannlicher-Carcano rifle
more than 100 times without any misfires.s4
Specuhtion.-The assertion that Oswalds palmprint appeared on
the rifle is false. The FBI told newsmen in an off-the-record briefing
sessionthat, there was no palmprint on the rifle.
Comm&&n finding.-The FBI confirmed that the palmprint lifted
by the Dallas police from the rifle found on the sixth floor of the
Texas School Book Depository Building was Oswalds palmprint.
The FBI informed the Commission that no FBI agent made state-
ments of any type to the press concerning the existence or nonexistence
of this print.35
Speculation.-If Oswald had been gloveless, he would have left
fingerprints on the rifle because he would not have had time to wipe
the prints off the rifle after he had fired it.
6443
 Commission jinding.-An FBI fingerprint expert testified that the
poor quality of the metal and wooden parts would cause them to
absorb moisture from the skin, thereby making a clear print unlikely.
There is no evidence that Oswald wore gloves or that he wiped prints
off the rifle. Latent fingerprints were found on the rifle but they
were too incomplete to be identified.3B
Speculation.-Gordon Shanklin, the special agent in charge of the
Dallas office of t.he FBI, stated that the paraffin test of Oswalds face
and hands was positive and proved that he had fired a rifle.
fYomm&sion finding .-The paraffin tests were conducted by mem-
bers of the Dallas Police Department and the technical examinations
by members of the Dallas City-County Criminal Investigation Labora-
tory. The FBI has notified the Commission that neither Shanklin
nor any other representative of the FBI ever made such a statement.
The Commission has found no evidence that Special Agent Shanklin
ever made this statement publicly.s7
Speculation.-Marina Oswald stated that she did not know that her
husband owned a rifle nor did she know that he owned a pistol.
Commission finding.-There is no evidence that Marina Oswald
ever told this to any authorities. On the afternoon of November 22,
she told the police that her husband owned a rifle and that he kept
it in the garage of the Paine house in Irving. Later, at Dallas police
headquarters, she said that she could not identify as her husbands
the rifle shown her by policemen. When Marina Oswald appeared
before the Commission she was shown the Mannlicher-Caroano 6.5
rifle found on the sixth floor of the Depository and identified it as the
fateful rifle of Lee Oswald. 38
Speculation.-The picture of Oswald taken by his wife in March
or April 1963 and showing him with a rifle and a pistol was dot-
tored when it appeared in magazines and newspapers in February
1964. The rifle held by Oswald in these pictures is not the same rifle
that was found on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Deposi-
tory Building.
Commia&m finding.-Life magazine, Newsweek, and the New York
Times notified the Commission that they had retouched this picture.
In doing so, they inadvertently altered details of the configuration of
the rifle. The original prints of this picture have been examined
by the Commission and by photographic experts who have identified
the rifle as a Mannlicher-Carcano 6.5, the same kind as the one found
on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. FBI experts
testified that the picture was taken with Oswalds camera.se
Speculation.-The rifle picture of Oswald was a composite one with
Oswalds face pasted on somebody elses body.
Commi&on @ding.-Marina Oswald has testified that she took
this picture with a camera owned by her husband and subsequently
identified as Oswalds Imperial Reflex camera. She identified the man
in the picture as her husband. Experts also state the picture was
not a composite.4o
647
 Spe.-cu&ztion.-After firing the shots, Oswald could not have disposed
of the rifle and descended the stairs to the lunchroom in time to get
a drink from a soft drink machine and be there when Patrolman
Baker came in.
Comm&Gon finding.-A series of time tests made by investigators
and by Roy S. Truly and Patrolman M. L. Baker at the request of
the Commission, show that it was possible for Oswald to have placed
the rifle behind a box and descended to the lunchroom on the second
floor before Patrolman Baker and Truly got up there. Oswald did
not have a soft drink bottle in his hand at the time he was confronted
by Baker and he was not standing by the soft drink machine. He
was just entering the lunchroom ; Baker caught a glimpse of him
through the glass panel in the door leading to the lunchroom
vestibule.41
Specztlation.-There were other people present in the lunchroom at
t,he time that Baker and Truly saw Oswald there.
Cvmmiwicm finding.- Baker and Truly have both stated that. there
was no one in the lunchroom other than Oswald at the time that they
entered. No other witness to this incident has been found.42
Spec&ztti-Police were sealing off all exits from the building by
the time Oswald got to the second floor.
CmnmLission f&&V.-Police may have begun to take up positions
at the exits to the building as early as 12:33, but it is unlikely
that they had blocked them off completely until 12:37 p.m. at the
earliest. Oswald was seen in an ofjice, walking toward an exit lead-
ing to the front stairway, at about l2:33 p.m. Oswald probably had
at least 7 minutes in which to get out of the building without being
stopped.43

OSWALDS MOVEMENTS BETWEEN 12:33 AND 1:X P.M.

One of the major theses urged in support of the theory that Oswald
did not murder Patrolman Tippit was that his known movements after
he left the Texas School Book Depository would not have permitted
him to have arrived at 10th Street and Patton Avenue in time to en-
counter Tippit by 1:16 p.m. Careful reenactments by investigative
agencies and by members of the Commission staff of Oswalds move-
ments from the time he left the Texas School Book Depository until
he encountered Tippit verified that Oswald could reach his rooming-
house at 1026 North Beckley Avenue at approximately 1 p.m. or
earlier. The housekeeper at the roominghouse testified that Oswald
spent only a few minutes at the house, leaving as hurriedly as he
had arrived. During police interrogation after his arrest, Oswald
admitted to riding both bus and taxi in returning to his roominghouse
after the assassination of the President. From 1026 North Beckley
Avenue, Oswald could easily have walked the nine tenths of a mile
to 10th Street and Patton Avenue where he encountered Tippit.
648
 LSyecu?ntion.--A detailed and remarkably clear description of
Oswald was sent over tire police radio in Dallas at 12 :3G p.m., Novem-
ber 22,1963.
Conzmis.~ion finding.-The radio logs of the Dallas Police Depart-
ment and the Dallas County Sheriffs Office show that no description of
a suspect in the assassination of the President was broadcast before
12:45 p.m. on that day. No reference to Oswald by name was broad-
cast before he was arrested. The description of the suspect that WBS
broadcast was similar to that of Oswald, but it lacked some important
specific details such as color of hair and eyes. The information for
the initial broadcasts most probably came from Howard Brennan, who
saw Oswald in t.he window when he was firing the rifle.44
SpemZation.-Oswald did not. have time for all of the movements
imputed to him between his departure from the Texas School Book
Depository and his encounter with Tippit.
Commz&sion finding.-Time tests of all of Oswalds movements
establish that these movements could have been accomplished in t,he
time available to l~im.45
Specu,Zatio71.-Os\~ald was stopped by police as he left the building
and was permitted to pass after he told them he worked in the building.
Cm&&n finding.-The Commission has found no witness who
saw Oswald leave the building. This speculation is probably a mis-
interpretation of the fact that he was stopped in the lunchroom by
Patrolman Baker before he left the building and was allowed to pro-
ceed after Truly, the Depository superintendent, identified him as an
employee there. Police did not seal off t,he building until at least
several minutes after Oswald could have left.48
Speculation..-The log of the cabdriver who took Oswald to North
Beckley Avenue, William W. Whaley, shows that Oswald entered his
cab at 12 :30 p.m. Since this occurred at some distance from the point
of the Presidents assassination, Oswald could not have shot the
President.
Cmnnzission find&g.--Whaieys log does show 12 :30 p.m., but he has
testified that he was not accurate in logging the time that passengers
entered his cab, that he usually logged them at 15-minute intervals,
and that it was undoubtedly some time later than 12:30 when Oswald
entered his cab. Sometimes he did not make entries in his logbook
until three or four trips later. The bus transfer in Oswalds posses-
sion was issued after 12 :36 p.m. The Commission has determined that
Oswald probably entered Whaleys cab at about 12:47 or 12:48 p.m.47
Speculation.-The distance from the Greyhound terminal in Dallas,
where Oswald entered the cab, to North Beckley Avenue, where he
probably left the cab, is something over 3 miles-normally a lo-
minute cab drive. Given the traffic jam that existed at the time, it
is doubtful that Whaley could have made the trip in less than 15
minutes. One estimate has placed the time at 24 minutes from the
Greyhound t,erminal to Oswalds roominghouse.
Commission finding.-The distance from the Greyhound bus termi-
nal at Jackson and Lamar Streets to the 500 block of North Beckley
649
is 2.5 miles. Oswald actually got out in the 700 block of North Beck-
ley. The distance was, therefore, less than 2.5 miles. Whaley has
testified to the Commission that the trip took 6 minutes. Test runs
made by members of the Commission staff under traffic conditions
somewhat similar to those that existed on November 22, took approxi-
mately 5 minutes and 30 seconds. To walk from Beckley and Neely,
which is the 700 block of Beckley, where Oswald probably left the cab,
to 1026 North Beckley, took Commission staff members 5 minutes and
45 seconds.48
Xpecu.?ut&m.-Oswald was on his way to Jack Rubys apartment
when he was stopped by Patrolman Tippit.
Comm&&m finding.-There is no evidence that Oswald and Ruby
knew each other or had any relationship through a third party- or
parties. There is no evidence that Oswald knew where Ruby lived.
Accordingly, there is neither evidence nor reason to believe that
Oswald was on his way to Rubys apartment when he was stopped by
Tippit.4B

MURDER OF TIPPIT
Speculations on the murder of Tippit centered about assertions that
he was elsewhere than he was supposed to be when he was shot, that
he knew the man who shot him, and that the description of the
murderer given by one of the eyewitnesses did not fit Oswalds de-
scription.
The Commission found that Tippit was unquestionably patrolling
in an area to which he had been directed by police headquarters.
There was no evidence to support the speculation that Tippit and
Oswald knew each other or had ever seen each other before. The
description of the murderer imputed to one of the witnesses was denied
by her and had no support from any other eyewitness.
XpecuZation.-Tippit was driving alone in his police car even
though standing orders for police in Dallas were that radio cars of
the type Tippit was driving must have two policemen in them.
CW.WGYG~~ finding.-Dallas police officials stated that department
policy required about 80 percent of the patrolmen on the day shift,
7 a.m. to 3 p.m., to work alone. Tippit was one of the patrolmen as-
signed to work alone that day.5o
Speculation.-Tippit was violating an order he had received the day
before not to leave the sector to which he had been assigned. This
sector was supposed to be in downtown Dallas at the time he stopped
Oswald.
Commission j&ding.-A review of Tippits file in the Dallas Police
Department and the departments radio log revealed that following
the shooting of the President, Tippit was directed to move into and
remain in the cent.ral Oak Cliff area available for any emergency.5
Spemlation.-The police had been withdrawn from the area in
which Tippit found Oswald.
650
 Commission finding.-Other police cars were operat,ing in the Oak
Cliff area at the same time as Tippit. They participated in the sub-
sequent search for and apprehension of Tippits slayer.52
Xj)ecu7ation.-Tippit violated a procedure governing radio cars
when he failed to notify headquarters that he was stopping to ques-
tion a suspect.
Commission @ding.-The Dallas Police Department had no re-
quirement or regulation for police officers to not.ify headquarters
when stopping to que,stion a suspect. Therefore, Tippit did not vio-
1at.e any police radio procedure in failing to notify the radio dis-
patcher that he was stopping Oswald.ss
Xpeculntion.-Tippit could not have recognized Oswald from t,he
description sent out over the police radio.
Comm&sion. f&ruGrzg.-There is no certain way of knowing whether
Tippit recognized Oswald from the description put out. by the police
radio. The Dallas Police Department radio log shon-s that the
police radio dispatcher at 120 p.m. noted a similarity between the
broadcast descriptions of the President% assassin and Tippits slayer.
It is conceivable, even probable, that Tippit stopped Oswald bec.ause
of the description broadcast by the police radio.54
Speculation.-Tippit and his killer knew each other.
Com.missio~z firu7ing.-Investigation has revealed no evidence that
Oswald and Tippit were acquainted, had ever seen each other, or
had any mutual acquaintances. Witnesses to the shooting observed
no signs of recognition between the two men.55
Speculation.-Mrs. Helen Markham, a witness to the slaying of
Tippit, put the time at just after 1:06 p.m. This would have made
it impossible for Oswald to have. committed the killing since he would
not have had time to arrive at the shooting scene by that time.
Commission finding.-The shooting of Tippit has been established
at approximately 1:15 or 1 :16 p.m. on the basis of a call to police head-
quarters on Tippits car radio by another witness to the assassina-
tion, Domingo IGnnvicles. In her various statements and in her
testimony, Mrs. Markham was uncertain and inconsistent in her recol-
lection of the exact tinie of tile slaying.
Specui?ution.--Mrs. Helen Markham is the only witness to the kill-
ing of Tippit.
Commissio,L 7%&g.-Other witnesses to the killing of Tippit in-
clude Domingo Bennvides, who used Tippits car radio to notify the
police dispatcher of the killing at 1 :16 p.m., and William Scoggins,
a cabdriver parked at the corner of 10th Street and Patton Avenue.
Barbara Jeanette Davis and Tirginin Davis saw a num with ;l pistol
in his hand walk across their lawn immediately after they heard the
so~md of theshots that killed Tippjt. The man emptied the shells from
his pistol and turned tlie corner from 10th Street onto Patton Avenue.
All of these witnesses, except Renarides? subseqnetitly picked Oswald
OfIt, of a lineup as the slayer. I3enxvicles did not, feel that he could
make a positive identification and never attended a lineup for the
purpose.57
651
 Speculation.-Mrs. Markham said that the man she saw shooting
Tippit was about 30, short, with bushy hair, and wearing a white coat.
Since Oswald does not fit this description he could not be the killer.
Commzission finding.-In evaluating Helen Markhams testimony
the Commission is aware of allegations that she described the killer
of Patrolman Tippit as short, stocky, and with bushy hair,.which
would not be a correct description of Oswald. It has also been
alleged that Mrs. Markham identified Oswald in the lineup because
of his clothing rather than his appearance. When Oswald appeared
in the lineup at which Mrs. Markham was present, he was not wearing
the jacket which he wore at the time of the shooting, and Mrs. Mark-
ham has testified that her identification was based mostly from his
face. 5* Moreover, Mrs. Markham has denied that she ever described
the man who killed Tippit as short, stocky, and with bushy hair. The
Commission reviewed the transcript of a telephone conversation in
which Mrs. Markham was alleged to have made such a description.
In the transcription Mrs. Markham rea5rmed her positive identifica-
tion of Oswald and denied having described the killer as short, stocky,
and bushy haired.5g
Specu&tion.-Another witness to the slaying of Patrolman Tippit,
an unidentified woman, was interviewed by the FBI but was never
called as a witness by the Presidents Commission on the Assassination
of President Kennedy. This witness is alleged to have stated that
she saw two men involved in the shooting and that they ran off in
opposite directions afterward.
C&&n @&ng.-The only woman among the witnesses to the
slaying of Tippit known to the Commission is Helen Markham. The
FBI never interviewed any other woman who claimed to have seen
the shooting and never received any information concerning the exist-
ence of such a witness. Two women, Barbara Jeanette Davis and
Virginia Davis, saw the killer immediately after the shooting as
he crossed the lawn at the corner of Patton Avenue and 10th Street,
but they did not witness the shooting itself. They were both intcr-
viewed by the FBI and appeared before the Commission. The Com-
mission has no evidence that there was any witness to the slaying
other than those identified in chapter IV?O
Speculation.--No witness saw Oswald between the time he was
sup@ to have reloaded his gun near the scene of the slaying and
his appearance at the shoestore on Jefferson Boulevard.
~cmvnviss&m $no?ing.-Six witnesses identified Oswald as the man
they saw in flight after the murder of Tippit. The killer was
seen, gun in hand, by Ted Callaway and Sam Guinyard in t,he block
of Patton Avenue between 10th Street and Jefferson Boulevard after
the shooting of Tippit. They saw him run to Jefferson and turn right.
On the evening of November 22, Callaway and Guinyard picked
Oswald out of a police lineup as the man they saw with the gun.
Two other men, Warren Reynolds and Pat Patterson, saw a man
with a pistol in his hand running south on Patton Avenue. They
followed him for a block on Jefferson Boulevard and then lost sight
652
of him. Both men subsequent,ly identified pictures of Oswald as the
man t.hey saw with the gun. Harold Russell also saw a man with a
gun running south on Patton Avenue and later identified him from
pictures as Oswald. Mrs. Mary Brock saw a man she later identified
as Oswald walk at a fast, pace into the parking lot behind the service
station at the corner of Jefferson and Crawford, where Oswalds
jacket was found shortly after.6l
Speeulntion.-When Oswaid left his roominghouse at, about 1 p.m.
on November 22 he had on a zipper-type tan plaid jacket.
Commission @ding.-The jacket that Oswald was wearing at the
time of the slaying of Tippit was a light-gray jacket. According to
Marina Oswald, her husband owned only two jackets-one blue and
the other light gray. The housekeeper at 1026 North Beckley Avenue,
Mrs. Earlene Roberts, was not certain about the color of the jacket
t,hat Oswald was wearing when he left the house.62
SpeczcZation.-Oswald wore an olive-brown plain jacket which is
visible in all the pictures of him after his arrest.
Comntission finding.-At the time of his arrest, Oswald was not
wearing a jacket. The jacket that was subsequently recovered in a
parking lot and identified as Oswalds was a light-gray one. There
are no witnesses who have stated that Oswald was wearing an olive-
brown jacket immediately before or after his arrest. The Commis-
sion has seen no pictures of Oswald t,aken subsequent to his arrest
that show him in such a jacket.. Pictures taken short.ly after his
arrest show him in the shirt that Mrs. Bledsoe described him as wear-
ing when she saw him on the bus at approximately 1:40 p.m.=
Speculation.-Oswalds landlady, Mrs. A, C. Johnson, said that
Oswald never had a gun in the room.
Commission &ding.--In her testimony before the Commission, Mrs.
Johnson said that he never brought that rifle in my house. * * * He
could have had this pistol, I dont know, because they found the
scabbard. 6* As shown in chapter IV, Oswald kept his rifle in the
Paine garage in Irving while he was living in Dallas during October
and November. The pistol was small and easily concealed.s5
Spe~ZL&m..--There was absolutely no place to hide a gun in
Oswalds room at 1026 North Beckley Avenue.
CommL&m @ding.-In the search of Oswalds room after his
apprehension police found a pistol holster. Oswalds landlady, Mrs.
A. C. Johnson, stated that she had not seen the holster before.
There is no reason to believe that Oswald could not have had both a
pistol and the holster hidden in the room. Oswalds pistol was a
small one with the barrel cut down to 21/d inches. It could have been
concealed in a pocket of his clothes.ss
Spe&&on.-Oswald did not pick up the revolver from his room
at 1 p.m.
Commission finding.-There is reason to believe that Oswald did
pick up the revolver from his room, probably concealing it beneath
his jacket. This likelilwod is reinforced by the finding of the pistol
holster in the room after the assassination, since this indicates that

653
Oswald did not store the pistol at the home of Mrs. Paine where he
spent t.he night, before the assassinationG7
Speculation.-No one saw Oswald enter the Texas Theatre.
Comission findin.g.-A nearby shoe store manager, Johmiy C.
Brewer, and the theatre cashier, Julia Postal, saw Oswald enter the
lobby of the theatre from where he went on int,o the theatre proper.@
Speculation.-Not a single one of the people in the Texas Theatre at
the time of Oswalds arrest has come forward or been brought for-
ward to give an eyewitness account of the arrest.
Commission finding.-Johnny C. Brewer, the shoe store manager,
and two patrons of the theatre-John Gibson and George Jefferson
-4pplin, Jr.-were present in the theatre and testified before the Com-
mission on the circumstances of Oswalds arrest at. the Texas Theatre.
Only 6 or 7 people were seated on the main floor of the theatre.6g
Speculation.-There is no independent witness aside from the police
who test.ified that. Oswald was carrying a gun when arrested by the
police.
Commission finding.-Johnny Brewer testified before the Commis-
sion that he saw Oswald pull a gun and that he saw it taken away
from him by a policeman.To

OSWALD AFTER HIS ARREST

The Commission found that assertions that the Dallas police treated
Oswald brutally and denied him his constitutional rights to legal
counsel had no foundation in fact. Insinuations that Dallas police
officials and District Attorney Henry M. Wade fabricated or altered
evidence to establish the guilt of Oswald were .baseless. It is true
that police officials and the district attorney made errors in giving
evidential information to the press, but these were clearly the result
of misapprehensions or ignorance rather than intent, and at the worst
represent bad judgment. At least one imputed fabrication of fact,
further embellished by repetition, never really occurred. Sinister
connotations were evoked by the attribution to the district attorney of
the statement that a taxic.ab driver named Darryl Click drove Oswald
from downtown Dallas to the area of his roominghouse in Oak Cliff.
It has been correctly ascertained that no such taxicab driver existed in
Dallas. On the other hand, the district attorney, who was quoted in
a newspaper transcript as making the statement, never made the state-
ment nor did any one else. Sudio tapes of the dist,rict attorneys
press conference make clear that the person who transcribed the con-
ference rendered a reference to the Oak Cliff area of Dallas as a
person, Darryl Click. This error in transcription is the sole source
for the existence of a Darryl Click as a taxicab driver.
Speculation.-Oswald was the victim of police brutality.
Commission finding.-Oswald resisted arrest in the Texas Theatre
and drew a gun. He received a slight cut over his right eye and a
654
bruise under his left eye in the course of his struggles. During the
time he was in police custody, he was neither ill-treated nor abused.71
Speculation.-Oswald was never formally charged with the assas-
sination of the President; he was charged only with the shooting of
Patrolman J. D. Tippit.
Commission finding.-Oswald was arraigned for the murder of
President Kennedy before Justice of the Peace David Johnston on
the fourth floor of the Police Department building at 1:35 a.m., No-
vember 23. Previously, he had been arraigned before Johnston for
the murder of Tippit at 7 :lO p. m., November 22.72
Spewlation.-The police questioned Oswald extensively about the
Tippit murder on the first day of his detention. They did not question
him about the assassination of President Kennedy.
CommLssion finding.-Dallas police officials st.ated that they ques-
tioned Oswald repeatedly on November 22 about the assassination of
President Kennedy and his relationship to it. At the first interroga-
tion, Captain Fritz asked Oswald to account for himself at the time
the President was shot. FBI agents who were present also stated that
he was questioned about the assassination of the President.Ts
Speculation.-Oswalds attempts to get legal counsel were delib-
erately thwarted by the police and he was cut off from outside calls
that would have permitted him to obtain a lawyer.
Commission findins.-On November 23, Oswald was visited by the
president of the Dallas Bar Association, H. Louis Nichols, who offered
him help in getting a lawyer; Oswald refused the offer. Oswald was
told by the police that he could use the telephone when he wished, and
he did make telephone calls. He attempted to call attorney John
Abt in New York but was unsuccessful in reaching him. Mrs.
Paine testified that at Oswalds request she tried without sucwss to
reach Abt. Oswald was also visited by his wife, mother, and brother,
to any of whom he could have turned for help in getting counsel?

OSWALD IN THE SOVIET UNION

Oswalds residence in the Soviet Union for more than 2% years
aroused speculation after his arrest that he was an agent of the Soviet
Union or in some way affiliated with it. This speculation was sup-
ported by assertions that he had received exceptionally favored treat-
ment from the Soviet Government in securing permission to ent.er and
leave the country, especially the latter, because his Russian wife and
child were permitted to leave with him. The careful analysis of these
speculat.ions in chapter VI of this report led to the Commissions con-
clusion that there is no credible evidence that Oswald was an agent of
the Soviet Government and that he did not receive unusually favorable
treatment in entering or leaving the Soviet Union or in returning to the
United States.
655
 Speculation.--A young private in the Marine Corps in the 1950s
could not study Marxism, learn Russian, and read Soviet, newspapers
without any adverse repercussions in his unit.
Commission finding.-Although Oswalds interest in the Soviet
Union was well known, his interest in Marxism was apparently known
to only a few of his fellow marines. While st.a.tioned in California,
he studied Russian. In February 1959, while still in the Marines, he
took an official test on his proficiency in Russian and was rated Poor.
In California at about this time he probably rea.d a Russian-language
newspaper. The reactions of his fellow Marines who were aware of
his interests in Marxism and the Soviet Union were apparently not
antagonistic and did not deter him from pursuing these interests.75
Speculation.-Oswald learned Russian during his service in the Ma-
rines as part of his military training.
C&&on @ding.-Oswald never received any training from the
Marine Corps in the Russian language. His studies of Russian were
entirely on his own time and at his own initiative.7s
Speculation.-Oswald could not have saved $1,600 from his Marine
pay for his trip to Russia in 1959.
CommL+on finding.-In November 1959, Oswald told an American
reporter in Moscow, Aline Mosby, that he had saved $1,500 (not $l,-
600) while in the Marines. It is entirely consistent with Oswalds
known frugality that he could have saved the money from the $3,452.20
in pay he received while he was in the Marines. Moreover, despite
his statement to Aline Mosby, he may not actually have saved $1,500,
for it was possible for him to have made the trip to Russia in 1959
for considerably lessthan that amount.
Speculation.--It is probable that Oswald had prior c0nt.act.s with
Soviet agents before he entered Russia in 1959 because his application
for a visa was processed and approved immediately on receipt.
Corn&&n finding.-There is no evidence that Oswald was in touch
with Soviet agents before his visit to Russia. The time that it took
for him to receive his visa in Helsinki for entrance to the Soviet Union
was shorter than the average but not beyond the normal range for the
granting of such visas. Had Oswald been recruited as a Russian agent
while he was still in the Marines, it is most improbable that he would
have been encouraged to defect. He would have been of greater value
to Russian intelligence as a Marine radar operator than as a defector.7
Specu+?ation.--Soviet suspicion of Oswald is indicated by the fact
that he was sent off to work in a radio plant in Minsk as an unskilled
hand at the lowest rate of pay although he qualified as a trained radar
and electronics technician.
Commi&on finding.--The Soviet Government probably was suspi-
cious of Oswald, as it would be of any American who appeared in Mos-
COW and said he wanted to live in the Soviet Union. Under the cir-
cumstances it is to be expected that he would be placed in a position
that would not involve national security. Moreover, Oswald had
been a radar operator, not a technician, in the Marines. His total
income in Russia was higher than normal because his pay was sup-
656
plemcntetl for about a year by payments from the Soviet Red Cross,
an offic.inl agency of the Soviet Government. Oswald believed that
these payments really came from the MVD. It is a policy of the
Soviet Government to subsidize defectors from Western nations who
settle in the Soviet Union, in order that. their standard of living may
not be too much lower than their previous standard in their own
country.7g
SpecuZntiolz.-Os~vald was trained by the Russians in a special
school for assassins at Minsk.
Commission finding.-Commission investigations revealed no evi-
dence to support this claim or the existence of such a school in Minsk
during the time Oswald was there. OsTvald belonged to a hunting
club near Minsk, but there is no evidence that this was other than an
ordinary hunting c1ub.80
Speculation.-Marina Oswalds father was an important part of
the Soviet intelligence apparatus.
Corn/mission finding.-Marina Oswalds father died while she was
still an infant. This reference is presumably to her uncle, Ilya Prusa-
kov, who was an executive in the lumber indust,ry, which position
carried with it. the rank of lieutenant colonel or colonel in the Ministry
of Internal Affairs (MVD) . Since 1953 the MVD has not been con-
cerned with internal security or other police functions81
Speculation.-It was most exceptional that Oswald was able to
bring his wife and child out of the Soviet,Union with him.
Commission finding.-There is no reason to believe that the Oswalds
received unusually favorable treatment in being permitted or assisted
to leave the Soviet Union together. Other American citizens have
brought their Russian wives out of the Soviet Union, both before and
after Oswald.sz
Speculation.-Oswald never would have been permitted to return
to the United States if Soviet intelligence had not planned to use
him in some way against the United States.
Commission finding.-There is no evidence that Oswald had any
working relationship with the Soviet Government or Soviet intelli-
gence. The Russians have permitted other American defectors to
return to the United States.83
Speculation.-Since the exit visa for Marina Oswald was granted
so promptly the Soviet authorities must have wanted Marina to ac-
company her husband.
Commission finding.--Marina Oswalds exit visa application was
not acted upon with unusual rapidity. It took at least 5$ months
from the time the Oswalds applied until they were notified of per-
mission in December 1961. There have been many instances where
visas were granted more quickly to other Soviet wives of American
cit.izens.84
SpecuZation.-Soviet authorities gave Oswald notice a month and
a half in advance that they had granted him an exit visa, an un-
precedented act for the Soviet Government.

657
 Commission. finding.-The Oswalds were notified on December 25,
1961, that their requests for exit visas had been granted by Soviet
authorities. Marina Oswald picked up her visa, valid until Decem-
ber 1, 1962, on January 11, 1962, 17 days after receiving notice that
it was available. Oswald did not pick up his visa until May 22. The
Soviets did not give the Oswalds any advance notice; the visas could
have been picked up immedia,tely had the Oswalds so desired. Be-
cause his exit visa had a 45-day expiration time after date of issuance,
Lee Oswald delayed picking it up until he knew when he was leaving.
He could not arrange a departure date until he received permission
from the Department of State in May to return to the United Stat-F5

OSWALDS TRIP TO MEXICO CITY

Oswalds trip to Mexico City in late September and early October
1963, less than 2 months before he assassinated President Kennedy,
has provoked speculation that it was related in some way to a con-
spiracy to murder the President. Rumors include assertions that
he made a clandestine flight from Mexico to Cuba and back and
that he received a large sum of money-usually estimated at $5,000-
which he brought back to Dallas with him. The Commission has no
credible evidence that Oswald went to Mexico pursuant to a plan to
assassinate President Kennedy, that he received any instructions re-
lated to such an action while there, or that he received large sums of
money from any source in Mexico.
SpeczLZation.-Oswald could not have received an American pass-
port in June 1963 within 24 hours without special intervention on his
behalf.
Commission finding.-Oswalds passport application was processed
routinely by the Department of State. No person or agency inter-
vened specially on his behalf to speed the issuance of the passport.
The passports of 24 other persons, on the same list sent to Washington
from New Orleans, were authorized at the same t.ime. The Passport
Office of the Department of State had no instructions to delay issu-
ance of or to deny a passport to Oswald.*6
Speculation.-The Walter-McCarran Act specifically requires any-
one who has attempted to renounce his U.S. citizenship to file an
affidavit stating why he should receive a U.S. passport. Therefore,
Oswald should have been required to file such an affidavit before re-
ceiving his passport in June 1963.
Commission finding.-The Internal Security Act of 1950 (Walter-
McCarran ,4ct) contains no reference to an affidavit being required
of a U.S. citizen who has attempted to expatriate himself.87
Specu.Zation.-Oswnld did not have money for his trip to Mexico in
September 1963.
Commission finding.-An analysis of Oswalds finances by the
Commission indicates that he had sufficient money to make the t,rip
to and from Mexico City. There is no evidence that he received any

658
assistance in tinnncing his trip to Mexico. The total cost of his 7-day
trip has been reliably estimated at less than $EEL~~
Speculntion.-Oswald was accompanied on his trip to Mexico Cit)
by a. man and two women.
Co77r77~i.w07~ findjllg.-InvestiFntion has revealed that Oswald
tr:lreled alone on the bus. Fellow pnssengers on the bus between
Houston and Mexico City hnve stated that he appeared to be trnw-
ing alone ant1 th:lt they had not previously known him.sg
Sl,eot7ntio?z.-~~I~ile in Mexico, OS-\\-nld made. n chundestine flighi
to Hnvnnn and back.
Gom,m,isnion $wZing.-The Commission has found no evidence that
Oswald made any flight, to Cuba while he was in Mexico. He never
received permission from the Cuban Government to enter Cuba nor
from the Mexican Government to leave Mesico bound for Cuba. A
confidential check of tile. Cuban airline in Mexico City indicates that
Oswald never :Ippcared nt its office there.w
*C/)rr?r7ntioll.--Os\\-ald came back from Mexico Cit.y n-ith $5,000.
Commission jS;r~g.--No evidence hns ever been supplied or ob-
tained to support this allegation. Oswalds actions in Mexico City
nnd after his return to Dallas lend no support to this spe,culation.gl
PpccuZntion.-011 November 27, 1063, in n speech at the University
of Hnvnnn, Fidel Castro, llnder the influence of liquor, said The first
time that Os~wld n-as in Cuba * * *. Castro therefore had knowl-
edge that Oswald had mnde s~lrreptitious visits to Cuba.
Commkxion finding.-Castros spe,echesare monitored directly by
the U.S. Information Agency ns he delivers them. A tape of this
speech reveals that it did not rontnin the alleged slip of the tongue.
Castro clid refer to Oswalds visit. to the Cuban Embassy in Mexico
which he immediately corrected to Cubnn consulate. The Commis-
sion has found no evidence that Oswald had made surreptitious visits
to Cuba.=

OSWALD AND U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Rumors and speculations that Oswnld \vi\s in some way :lssocinted
with or used by iIp?lIcies of the U.S. Go\-ernnient grew out of his
Russian period and his investigation by the FI31 after his return to
the Inited States. Tnsinuntionr were nlnde that Oswald hat1 been
:I CIA agent or had some relationship nit11 the CL1 ant1 that this
explained the supposed ease with which he received Iwq)orts a11d
Gas. Speculation that he had some working relationship wi-itli the
FBI was based on an entry in Osw~lds notebook giving tile n:we
and telephone number of an agent from the FISI office in D;~ll:ls. The
Directors of the CIA and the FnI IN\-e test ifietl before the Conlmis-
sion that Oswald was never in the employ of their iIgellcies in :ln~-
capacity. The Commission hns conclucletl on the ljnsis of its own in-
yestigations of the files of Federal agencies tllat Oswnltl I\-as not and
had never been an agent of any agency of the V.S. Governnlent (aside

659
from his service in the Marines) and was not and had never been used
by any U.S. Government agency for any purpose. The FBI was
interested in him as a former defector and it maintained a file on him.
Specu&ion.-Oswald was an informant of either the FBI or the
CIA. He was recruited by an agency of the U.S. Government and
sent to Russia in 1959.
Commission finding.-Mrs. Marguerite Oswald frequently ex-
pressed the opinion that her son was such an agent, but she stated
before the Commission that I cannot prove Lee is an agent. es The
Directors of the CIA sand of the FBI testified before the Commission
that Oswald was never employed by either agency or used by either
agency in any capacity. Investigation by the Commission has revealed
no evidence that Oswald was ever employed by either the FBI or CIA
in any capacity.w
Speculation.-Oswald told Pauline Bates, a public stenographer in
Fort Worth, Tex., in June 1962, that he had become a secret agent
of the U.S. Government and that he was soon going back to Russia
for Washington.
Comm&sion finding.-Miss Bates denied a newspaper story report-
ing that Oswald had told her that he was working for the U.S. De-
partment of State. She stated that she had assumed incorrectly that
he was working with the Department of State when he told her that
the State Department had told him in 1959 that he would be on his
own while in the Soviet Union.s5
Speculation.-The FBI tried to recruit Oswald. An FBI agents
name, telephone number, and automobile license number were found
among Oswalds papers.
Commi.&on finding.-FBI officials have testified that they had never
tried to recruit Oswald to act on behalf of the FBI in any capacity.
The Commissions investigation corroborates this testimony. An FBI
agent, James P. Hosty, Jr., had given his name and telephone number
to Mrs. Ruth Paine so that she could call and give him Oswalds
address in Dallas when she learned it. Mrs. Paine and Marina Oswald
have stated that Mrs. Paine gave Oswald a slip of paper with the
agents name and telephone number on it. Marina Oswald had taken
down the license number of Hostys car on one of his visits and given
it to her husband.@
Speculation.-Dallas police must have known where Oswald was
living in the city because Mrs. Paine had given the address of Oswalds
room on North Beckley Avenue to the FBI some time before the
assassination.
Commi&on finding.-Mrs. Paine had never given the address of
Oswalds roominghouse to the FBI, nor had she known the address
prior to the assassination. Therefore, the Dallas police could not have
learned the address from the FBI which did not know the address
before the assassination. The Dallas Police did not know that Oswald
was in the city before the assassination.s7
Speculation.-It has been FBI policy for 29 years to inform em-
ployers of Communists or suspected Communists employed by them.
660
It is a mystery, therefore, how Oswald retained his job at the Texas
School Book Depository.
Commission fino?ing.- The FBI advised the Commission that it has
never been its policy to inform employers that they have Communists
or suspected Communists working for them and that the FBI does
not, disseminate internal security information to anyone outside the
executive branch of the U.S. Government. FBI agents had no con-
tacts with Texas School Book Depository officials until after the
assassination.g8
Spec&tion.-Municipal and Federal police had observed Oswald
closely for some time but had not regarded him as a potential killer.
Commis.sion finding.-The Dallas police had not been aware of
Oswalds presence in the city before the assassination. The FBI knew
that, Oswald was in Dallas from an interview with Mrs. Paine, but
no ,FBI agents had interviewed him there before the assassination.
The FBI had not, regarded him as a potential killer.9e
Speculation.-The FBI probably knew that Oswald had the rifle
before the Presidents murder because it was most unlikely that it
could have traced the ownership of the rifle within 1 day if it had not
already had informat,ion on the rifle.
Commi&sion finding.- The FBI successfully traced t.he purchase of
the rifle by Oswald within 24 hours of the assassination. It had had
no previous information about the rifle.OO
Spec&ztion.-The FBI interviewed Oswald 10 days before the assas-
sination.
Comnn&sion finding.-The last FBI interview with Oswald, before
the assassination, took place in New Orleans in August 1963, when he
asked to see an FBI agent after his arrest by police for disturbing the
peace, the outcome of his distribution of Fair Play for Cuba handbills.
Neither Special Agent Hosty nor any other FBI agent saw or talked
with Oswald between his return to Dallas, on October 3, and Novem-
ber 22. Hosty did interview Mrs. Paine at her home about Oswald
on November 1 and 5, 1963. He also saw Marina Oswald briefly on
November 1 at Mrs. Paines house, but he did not interview her.:

CONSPIRATORIAL RELATIONSHIPS
Rumors concerning accomplices and plots linked Oswald and Ruby
with each other, or with others, including Patrolman J. D. Tippit,
Gen. Edwin A. Walker, and Bernard Weissman of the nonexistent
American Fadtfinding Committee, in a conspiratorial relationship.
The Commission made intensive inquiry into the backgrounds and
relationships of Oswald and Ruby to determine whether they knew
each other or were involved in a plot of any kind with each other or
others. It was unable to find any credible evidence to support the
rumors linking Oswald and Ruby directly or through others. The
Commission concluded that they were not involved in a conspiratorial
relationship with each other or with any third parties.
661
 Specu,Zation.-Lee Harvey Oswa.ld, Jack Ruby, and Patrolman
J. D. Tippit. lived within a few blocks of each other.
CommGsion finding.-Oswalds room was 1.3 miles from Rubys
apartment and Tippit lived 7 miles away from Ruby. Tippits resi-
dence was about 7 miles from Oswalds room.o2
Speculation.-Since Oswald did not have the money to repay the
$435.61 he had received from the Department of State to cover part
of the expenses of his return from Russia, he must have received help
from some other source. Ruby lent Oswald money to pay back the
loan and lent him small amounts of money thereafter.
Commission finding.-The Commission has IW credible evidence that
Oswald received any money from Ruby or anyone else to repay his
State Department loan, nor that he received small amounts of money
from Ruby at any time. An exhaustive analysis of Oswalds income
and expenditures, made for the Commissi,on by an Internal Revenue
Service expert, reveals that Oswald had sufficient funds to make the
State Department repayments from his earningslo
Speculation.-Just before Oswald was shot by Ruby, he looked di-
rectly at Ruby in apparent recognition of him.
Commission finding.-The Commission has been unable to establish
as a fact any kind of relationship between Ruby and Oswald other
than that Oswald was Rubys victim. The Commission has examined
television tapes and motion picture films of the shooting and has been
unable to discern any facial expression that could be interpreted to
signify recognition of Ruby or anyone else in the basement of the
building.lO
Speculation.-The Dallas police suspected Oswald, and Ruby of be-
ing involved in an attack on General Walker and planned to arrest
the two when the FBI intervened, at the request of Attorney General
Robert F. Kennedy, and asked the police not to do so for reasons of
state.
Commission @ding.-This allegation appeared in the November
29,1963, issue (actually printed on November 25 or 26) of a German
weekly newspaper, Deutsche National Zeiting und Soldaten Zeitung,
published in Munich. The allegation later appeared in the National
Enquirer of May 17, 1964. The Commission has been reliably
informed that the statement was fabricated by an editor of the news-
paper. No evidence in support of this statement has ever been ad-
vanced or uncovered. In their investigation of t,he attack on General
Walker, the Dallas police uncovered no suspects and planned no ar-
rests. The FBI had no knowledge that Oswald was responsible for
the attack until Marina Oswald revealed the information on December
3, 1963.O
Speculation.-Ruby and Oswald were seen together at the Carousel
Club.
Commimh finding.-All assertions t.hat Oswald was seen in the
company of Ruby or of anyone else at the Carousel Club have been
investigated. None of t,hem merits any credence.1o6
662
 L$peczc7ation.--Oswald and General Walker were probably ac-
quainted with each other since Oswalds notebook contained Walkers
name and telephone number.
Commission finding.-A Uthough Oswalds notebook contained
Walkers name and telephone number there was no evidence that the
two knew each other. It is probable that this information was in-
serted at. the time that Oswald was planning his attack on Walker.
General Walker stated that he did not know of Oswald before the
assassination.07
SpecuZntion.-Patrolman J. D. Tippit, Bernard Weissman, and Jack
Ruby met by prearrangement on November 14, 1963, at the Carousel
Club.
Comm?&ion finding.-Investigation has revealed no evidence to sup-
port this assertion. Nor is there credible evidence that any of the
three men knew ea.ch other.lO*
Speculation.-Rubys sister, Mrs. Eva Grant, said that Ruby and
Tippit were like two brothers.
Com,mission finding.-Mrs. Grant has denied ever making t.his state-
ment or any statement like it, saying it was untrue and without founda-
tion. Ruby was acquainted with another Dallas policeman named
Tippit, but t,his was G. M. Tippit of the special services bureau of the
department, not the Tippit who was killed.10g
Speculation.-Jack Ruby was one of the most notorious of Dallas
gangsters.
Commission finding.-There is no credible evidence that, Jack Ruby
was active in the criminal underworld. Investigation disclosed no
one in either Chicago or Dallas who had any knowledge that Ruby
was associated with organized criminal activit.y.O
Speculation.-The shooting in Dallas on January 23,1964, of War-
ren A. Reynolds, who witnessed the flight of Patrolman Tippits
slayer on November 22 and followed him for a short distance, may
have been connected in some way with the assassination of President
Kennedy and the slaying of Patrolman Tippit.. A man arrested for
the attempt on Reynolds, Darrell Wayne Garner, was released as a
result, in part, of testimony by Betty (Nancy Jane Mooney) Mac-
Donald, who had allegedly worked at one t,ime as a stripper at Jack
Rubys Carousel Club.
Commission finding.-This rumor, originally publicized by a news-
paper columnist on February 23, 1964, was apparently based on the
alleged connection between Betty MacDonald and the Carousel Club.
Investigation revealed no evidence that. she had ever worked at. the
Carousel Club. Employees of the club had no recollection that she
had ever worked there. Betty MacDonald was arrested and charged
wit,11 disturbing the peace on February 13, 1964. After being placed
in a cell at the Dallas city jail, she hanged herself. The Commission
has found no evidence that. the shooting of Warren Reynolds was in
any way related to the assassination of President. Kennedy or the mur-
der of Patrolman Tippit.l
663
 OTHER RUMORS AND SPECULATIONS
Many rumors and speculations difficult to place in the categories
treated above also required consideration or investigation by the Com-
mission. In some way or other, much of this miscellany was related
to theories of conspiracy involving Oswald. The rest pertained to
peripheral aspects t.hat were of sufficient import to merit attention.
The Commissions findings are set forth below.
#ye&a&n.-Oswald was responsible in some way for the death
of Marine Pvt. Martin D. Schrand.
Commission finding.-This rumor was mentioned by at least one
of Oswalds fellow Marines. Private Schrand was fatally wounded
by a discharge from a riot-type shotgun while he was on guard duty
on January 5, 1958, near the carrier pier, U.S. Naval Air Station,
Cubi Point, Republic of the Philippines. The official Marine investi-
gation in 1958 found that Schrands death was the result of an acci-
dental discharge of his gun and that no other person or persons were
involved in t.he incident. The rumor that Oswald was involved in
Schrands death in some way may have had its origin in two circum-
stances : (1) Oswald was stationed at Cubi Point at the time of
Schrands death ; (2) on October 27, 1957, while stationed in Japan,
Oswald accidentally shot himself in the left elbow with a .22 derringer
that he owned. The Commission has found no evidence that Oswald
had any connection with the fatal shooting of Private Schrand.
Speculation.-The Texas School Book Depository is owned and
operated by the city of Dallas, and Oswald was therefore a municipal
employee. Accordingly, he could have secured his job at the De-
pository only if someone in an official capacity vouched for him.
Commission finding.-The Texas School Book Depository is a pri-
vate corporation unconnected with the city of Dallas. Oswald there-
fore was not a municipal employee. He obtained his posit.ion at the
Depository with the assistance of Mrs. Ruth Paine, who learned of
a possible opening from a neighbor and arranged an interview for
him with Superintendent Roy S. Truly at the Depository.1*3
Spe&ation.-Prior to the assassination Dallas police searched
other buildings in the area of the Texas School Book Depository but
not the School Book Depository itself.
Commission finding.-The Dallas police and the Secret Service both
not.ified the Commission that,, other than the Trade Mart, they had
searched no buildings along the route of the Presidents motorcade
or elsewhere in Dallas in connection with the Presidents visit. It
was not Secret Service practice to search buildings along the routes
of motorcades.*
8pecutation.-Sh eriff E. J. Decker of Dallas County came on the
police radio at 12:25 p.m. with orders to calm trouble at the Texas
School Book Depository.
(?omminsion finding.-The final edition of the Dallas Times-Herald
of November 22 (p. 1, col. 1) reported that Sheriff Decker came on the
air at 12 :25 p.m. and stated : I dont know whats happened. Take

664
 every available man from the jail and the office and go to the railroad
yards off Elm near the triple underpass. The article in the Times-
Herald did not mention the time that the President was shot. The
radio log of the Dallas County Sheriffs 05ce shows that Sheriff
Decker came on the air at 40 seconds after 12:30 p.m. and stated:
Stand by me. All units and officers vicinity of station report to the
railroad track area, just north of Elm-Report to the railroad track
area, just, north of Elm. The radio log does not show any messages
by Sheriff Decker between 12 :2O p.m. and 40 seconds after 12 :30 p.m.lX5
Xpecdatioa.-Police precautions in Dallas on November 22 included
surveillance of many people, among them some who did no more than
speak in favor of school integration.
Commixsion finding.-The Dallas Police Department notified the
Commission that on November 22 it had no one under surveillance as
a precaution in connection with President Kennedys visit except at
the Trade Mart. The Commission received no evidence that the Dallas
police had under surveillance people who spoke in favor of school
integration.116
Speculntjo~,.-OS\\-:lld \vas seen at shooting ranges in the Dallas area
practicing firing with a rifle.
Commission finding.-Marina Oswald stated that on one occasion
in March or ;ipril 1963, her husband told her that, he was going to
practice firing with the rifle. Witnesses have testified that they saw
Oswald at shooting ranges in the Dallas area during October and
November 1963. Investigation has failed to confirm that the man seen
by these witnesses was 0swald.l
Speculation.-Oswald could drive a car and was seen in cars at
various places.
Commkwon finding.-Oswald did not have a drivers license.
Marina Oswald and Ruth Paine have testified that he could not drive
a car, and there is no confirmed evidence to establish his presence at
any location as the driver of a car. Mrs. Paine did give Oswald
some driving lessons and he did drive short distances on these
occasions.11e
SpecuZntion.-Oswald received money by Western Union telegraph
from time to time for several months before the assassination of
President Kennedy.
CommGion finding.-An employee in the Western Union main office
in Dallas, C. A. Hamblen, made statements that he remembered seeing
Oswald there on some occasions collecting money that had been tele-
graphed to him. In his testimony before the Commission, Hamblen
was unable to state whether or not the person he had seen was Lee Har-
vey Oswald. Western Union o5cials searched their records in Dallas
and other cities for the period from June through November 1963 but.
found no money orders payable to Lee Oswald or to any of his known
aliases. A Western Union o5cial concluded that the allegation was a
figment of Mr. Hamblens imagination.11g The Commission has
found no evidence to contradict this conclusion.2o
665
 Speculation.-On his way back from Mexico City in October 1963,
Oswald stopped in Alice, Tex., to apply for a job at the local radio
station.
Commission finding.-This rumor apparently originated with the
manager of radio station KOPY, Alice, who stated that Oswald visited
his oflice on the afternoon of October 4 for about 25 minutes. Accord-
ing to the manager, Oswald was driving a battered 1953 model car
and had his wife and a small child in the car with him. Oswald
traveled from Mexico City to Dallas by bus, arriving in Dallas on
the afternoon of October 3. The bus did not pass through Alice. On
October 4, Oswald applied for two jobs in Dallas and then spent the
afternoon and night wit.11 his wife and child at the Paine residence
in Irving. Investigation has revealed that Oswald did not own a car
and there is no convincing evidence that he could drive a car. Accord-
ingly, Oslvald could not have been in Alice on October 4. There is no
evidence tllat he stopped in Alice to look for a job on any occasion.lZ1
S13ecuZatioll.-Os\~ald or accomplices had made arrangements for
his getaway by airplane from an airfield in the Dallas area.
Commission finding.-Investigation of such claims revealed that
they had not the slightest substance. The Commission found no evi-
dence that Oswald had any prearranged plan for escape after the
assassination.122
Specu&ion.-One hundred and fifty dollars was found in the
dresser of Oswalds room at 1026 piorth Beckley Avenue after the
assassination.
Commission finding.-No money was found in Oswalds room after
the assassination. Oswald left $170 in the room occupied by his wife
at the Paine residence in Irving. At the time of his arrest Oswald had
$13.87 on his person.lz3
Specu&tion.--After Oswalds arrest, the police found in his room
seven metal file boxes filled with the names of Castro sympathizers.
Commission finding.-The Dallas police inventories of Oswalds
property taken from his room at 1026 North Beckley Avenue do not
include any file boxes. A number of small file boxes listed in the in-
ventory as having been taken from the Paine residence in Irving con-
tained letters, pict.ures, books and literature, most of which belonged
to Ruth Paine, not to Oswald. No lists of names of Castro sym-
pathizers were found among these effects.lZ4
Speculation.-Oswald% letters vary so greatly in quality (spelling,
grammar, sentence structure) t.hat he must have had help in pre-
paring the better constructed letters or someone else wrote them for
him.
Commission finding.-There is no evidence that anyone in the United
States helped Oswald with his better written letters or that anyone
else wrote his letters for him. His wife stated that. he would write
many drafts of his more importhnt letters. His mother indicated that
he would work hard over the drafts of some of his letters. It is
clear that he did take greater pains with some of his let.ters than with
others and that the contrasts in quality were accordingly substantial.
666
It is also clear that even his better lvritten letters contained some dis-
tinctive elements of spelling, rwnnmar, and punc.tuntion that were
common to his poorer efforts. Oswald wrote in his diary that he
received help from his Intourist Guide, Rima Shirokova, in the
preparation of his letter of October 16,1959, to the Supreme Soviet.125
Apecu7ntion.--A Negro janitor who was a witness to the shooting and
was supposed to be able to identify Oswald as the killer was held in
protective custody by the Dallas police until he could appear before
the President,% Commission on the Assassinabion of President
Kennedy.
Commission finding.-Investipatioll revealed that this story had no
foundat.ion in fact. No such witness was kept in protective custody by
the Dallas police for appearance before the Commission. The story
had its origin in a newspaper account based on hearsay.lz6
BpecuZa.tion.-The Secret Service incarcerated Marina Oswald im-
mediately after the assassination.
Comm.i,wion finding.-Marina Oswald was given protection by the
Secret Service for a period of t.ime after the assassination. She had
freedom to communicate with others at anytime she desired, to go
where she pleased, or to terminate the protection at any time.*?
Speculation.-Mrs. Marguerite Oswald was shown a photograph of
Jack Ruby by an FBI agent the night before Ruby killed her son.
Pommission finding.-On the night of November 23, 1963, Special
Agent. Bardwell D. Odum of the FBI showed Mrs. Marguerite Oswald
a picture of a man to determine whether the man was known to her.
Mrs. Oswald stated subsequently that the picture was of Jack Ruby.
The Commission has examined a copy of the photograph and deter-
mined that it was not a picture of Jack Ruby.lZ8
Speculation.-The son of the only witness to the Tippit slaying
was arrested after talking to some private investigators and soon
plunged to his death from an unbarred jail window.
CommGwion finding.--According to Mrs. Helen Markham, one of
the witnesses to the Tippit slayin,,cr Mrs. Marguerite Oswald and two
men who claimed to be reporters from Philadelphia sought. to inter-
view her on ,June 27, 1964. Mrs. Markham did not wish to be inter-
viewed and put them off. L4fter\varcl, Mrs. Markhams son, William
Edward Markham, talked with Mrs. Oswald and the men about the
Oswald matter and the shooting of Patrolman Tippit. William Ed-
ward Markham had been in Norfolk, Va., at the time of the nssassina-
tion and had not. returned to Dallas until May 7, 1964. He had no
personal knowledge of the shooting of Patrohnnn Tippit. On June
30, 1964, another of Mrs. Markhams sons, James Alfred Markham,
was arrested at Mrs. Markhams apartment. by Dallas Police on a
charge of burglary. While trying to escape,he fell from the bathroom
of the apartment to a concrete driveway about 20 feet below. He was
taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, treated for injuries, and after
Sl/, hours was taken to jail. As of July 31, 1964, he was in Dallas
County Jail awaiting trial. There was also a warrant outstanding
against him for parole violation.129

667
 SpecuZution-.-The headquarters detachment of the U.S. Army, un-
der orders from [Secretary of Defense Robert S.] McNamaras office,
began to rehearse for the funeral more than a week before t.he assassi-
nation.
Commission $nding.-This assertion is based on an interview with
U.S. Army Capt. Richard C. Cloy that appeared in the Jackson, Miss.,
Clarion-Ledger of February 21,1964. The newspnper quotes Captain
Cloy, who was a member of the Army unit charged wit.h conducting
funeral ceremonia.ls in honor of deceased Chiefs of State, as having
said that, we were in a state of readiness and had just finished a
funeral reheArsa because there was grave concern for President
Hoovers health. Rut we never expected that our practice was pre-
paring us for President Kennedy. Iso
Speculation.-The ship in which Oswald went to Europe in 1959
stopped in Havana on the way.
Commission @ding.-Oswald boarded the SS Marion Lykes in
New Orleans and it sailed on September 20, 1959. It docked in Le
Havre, France, on October 8 with only one previous stop-at another
French port, La Pallice.131

668