Search the Community

Escape From The TSBD- The Fire Escape Plan There has been a lot of discussion on how assassins could escape from the TSBD after the assassination. Various plans have been suggested. Some are more plausible than others but, none seem to be really fit for all to agree. There were assassins in the TSBD on the day President Kennedy was assassinated. Everyone agrees that there was an assassin or, assassins in the TSBD on the 6th floor at the time of the assassination. Witnesses variably list one, two, or possibly a third seen in the 6th floor Sniper’s Nest window. Others were seen in other windows. These were professional assassins not, a lone nut gunman without a motive or, questionable motives. They would have an escape plan. But, how was that done is the question. There is an interesting statement that can be found at: http://jfkthelonegunmanmyth.blogspot.com/2013/01/roy-truly-truly-interesting-character_14.html “First, let’s keep one important point in mind. The assassination of the democratically elected President was carried out in the most heinously arrogant manner. The conspirators decided to assassinate the President in full public view and in broad daylight. Furthermore, the sniper in the 6th floor window of the TSBD had stuck the barrel of the rifle out of the window and did not use a silencer/suppressor to mask the sound of the shots. Now, the sound of the shots would have undoubtedly drawn the attention of many Police Officers and witnesses in Dealey Plaza towards the TSBD – which, of course, it did. The conspirators would surely have realised that many Police Officers could have almost immediately stormed into the TSBD and apprehended the assassin(s) on the 6th floor.” Keep this in mind as we go over the exits available to be used in an escape plan. These are: Doorways on the 1st floor of the TSBD The fire escape Repelling out a window or off the roof Helicopter escape from the roof As we descend through this list the escape routes become increasingly improbable. One of the 1st floor exits seem the best way to go for assassins to escape the building. There were numerous exits on the first floor. Here is a 1st floor plan for exits out of the building: Every face of the building has an exit point on the 1st floor. Any floor above the 1st floor, floors 2 through 7, has exits that will bring you down to the 1st floor except for one. That is the fire escape. It takes you outside and down to the Houston Street. Keeping in mind what was said on the jfkthelonegunmanmyth internet site, if you were an assassin would you want to exit the building on the 1st floor? The probability you would be seen by someone and more importantly remembered would be a risk to high to commit to for an escape route TSBD for professional assassins. This is a point of contention that can’t be resolved. I am choosing to decide against the 1st floor exit plans for the sake of this argument. It is not important whether you actually fired from the 6th floor Sniper’s Nest, the assassins were there and would be co-conspirators in need of an escape route just as if they were the real shooters. If you didn’t use the exits on the 1st floor or the fire escape then how would you escape from the building after the assassination?

Death of the Lone Gunman Theory and the Zapruder film I went to Dealey Plaza at about the same time I started thinking about the Kennedy assassination. Robert Groden and his crew were set up there about July 17, 2015. Somehow, I got the notion he was responsible for X marks the spot. If not, Robert, I stand corrected and apologize. They were nice people until I screwed up and said I could paint the head wound in the Zapruder film better. That ended the conversation dramatically as the fellow turned and walked away. In recent times, if most people say that the Zapruder film is a hoax then we need to move on to something else. So, what did the witnesses say happened about X marks the spot? I surveyed 50 witnesses who were the closest to the alleged sniper’s nest and those that said they saw something happen in the TSBD on various floors. This is because the Lone Gun Man theorists say that Lee Oswald fired his rifle from the eastern-most window on the 6th floor of the TSBD. And, this is the central core of that theory. A list of these witnesses is at the end of this discussion. Although I do include information on where the shots came from that is not the focus of this survey. Other people have done that. What I was interested in was where the witness was and where the President was when the witness heard shots. I biased he study. The bias is to what the witness said in their first testimony to either the FBI, the Dallas authorities, or the Secret Service. That was preferred over their later testimony. I thought their memories would be the freshest and they would not be as much influenced by others on what they said. I noticed in reading these testimonies that they evolved from November, 1963 to March, 1964. This evolution generally favored the Lone Gun Man theory. A good example is the testimony of Bonnie Ray Williams. First, he said he heard shots when the presidential limousine turned from Main Street onto Houston Street. Second, he changed that to when the limousine turned into the intersection of Elm and Houston. Third, he again changed that to after the limousine passed his position. This seems to have satisfied the FBI. If you were a smart lawyer wouldn’t you like to have this kind of testimony to work with? So, you can redo this survey with later testimony and change the numbers somewhat. There was not any complex statistical methods applied, there was no test of significance, no correlation ratios, or analysis of variance done. What was used is just simple addition and percentages. Here are the results. Where The President Was When Shots Occurred One witness, Bonnie Ray Williams, locates the President at the intersection of Main and Houston Streets turning onto Houston St, when he heard two shots. 24 or nearly half of the 50 witnesses, about 48%, who had been surveyed made statements that located the President turning into the intersection of Elm Street and Houston Street, or in front of the TSBD when shots were heard. In later testimony in their statements some changed their testimony to indicate the President had passed by their location thus indicating he was further down the street towards the Grassy Knoll. 8 witnesses, about 16%, located the President at or near the Grassy Knoll. 11 witnesses, about 22%, did not give enough information to indicate where the President was located when shots were heard. 1 witness located the assassination location as near the Triple Underpass. 5 witnesses, about 10%, didn’t know where the president was when they heard shots. Where The Shots Came From 9 witnesses, 18%, said they did not know where the shots came from. 12 witnesses, 24%, didn’t say where the shots came from. 1 witness, 2%, said they came from up in the air and didn’t know for sure. If you combine the first 3 bullet points you come up with 22 witnesses or 44% didn’t know where the shots came from or didn’t say. 3 witnesses, 6%, said the shots came from the Triple Underpass. 6 witnesses, 12%, said the shots came from the 6th floor of the TSBD. 7 witnesses, 14%, said the shots came from the TSBD. If you combine the last two bullet points on the TSBD then you would have 13 witnesses, 26%, who said shots came from the TSBD. 1 witness, Junior Jarmen on the 5th floor, said he heard shots from low and to the left. 1 witness, Billy Lovelady, heard shots from across the street. 1 witness heard shots from the Court House. 1 witness heard shots from the Court Records building. When you combine the last 4 bullet points of witnesses hearing shots from near Houston Street you have 8%. 1 witness heard shooting in front of the TSBD and thought is was a party celebration. 7 witnesses, 14%, said they heard shooting from the Grassy Knoll. With 48% of the witnesses surveyed saying the shooting began when the President’s limousine turned into the intersection of Elm and Houston or was in front of the TSBD casts reasonable doubt on the Lone Gun Man theory. And, in court in with a jury, if there is reasonable doubt about an event then that event didn’t happen. You can’t use it. So, there goes a good deal of evidence about the Kennedy assassination. Beyond a reasonable doubt is a killer. Because of reasonable doubt you cannot prove that Lee Oswald or anyone fired a rifle from the alleged sniper’s nest. Here’s a brief explanation concerning witnesses closest to the alleged sniper’s nest. There were 3 men on the 5th floor of the TBSD when the assassination occurred. They were just below the sniper’s nest. They are: Harold Norman- testified in detail about shooting from the sniper’s nest Bonnie Ray Williams- said essentially the same as Norman but in less detail James “Junior” Jarmen- said in his Warren Commission testimony he heard shots from low and to the left. What’s going on there? Shots from the Dal-Tex? There were 4 women two floors below the sniper’s nest and about 40 feet away on the 4th floor. Forty feet away is less than the average distance across an American home. They should have heard what the men heard. Vickie Adams- said she was at the third sets of windows from the east side of the building on the fourth floor. She heard shots in the direction of the Grassy Knoll Sandra Styles- couldn’t tell where the shots came from Dorothy Garner- said she heard shooting coming from the west. Elsie Dorman- said she heard shooting coming from the Court Records Building. If you were a smart defense lawyer wouldn’t you love to have this kind of testimony to work with? A good question is why didn’t the investigators pick up on this? Five out of seven witnesses closest to the sniper’s nest said they did not hear shots coming from the alleged sniper’s nest. Read what Barry Krusch has to say about the legal consequences of reasonable doubt in his book Impossible: The Case Against Lee Harvey Oswald. It only takes one incidence of reasonable doubt to cast a whole pile of evidence into disarray. List of 50 witnesses closest to alleged Sniper’s Nest 6th Floor Witnesses Jack Daugherty- not there at the time of the assassination Bonnie Ray Williams- not there at the time of the assassination Witnesses outside the TSBD who saw something on the 6th floor or elsewhere Carolyn Walther Mrs. Pearl Springer Arnold Rowland Garland Slack James Worrell Robert Edwards Ronald Fischer Amos Euins Harold Brennan Mrs. Earle Cabell Robert Jackson Malcom Couch Tom Dillard James Underwood 5th Floor Witnesses Harold Norman Bonnie Ray Williams James “Junior” Jarman Mary Hollies- the two women are included here due to Mary Hollies 2011 statements. They will only be counted once Betty Alice Foster The Fourth Floor Witnesses: They Were: Elsie Dorman Sandra Styles Vickie Adams Dorothy Garner Mary Hollies- allegedly on the 5th floor Betty Alice Foster- allegedly on the 5th floor Ruth Nelson Yola Hopson 3rd Floor Witnesses: They were: Steven Wilson Doris Fay Burns Sandra Sue Ellerson Edna Case The Second Floor Witnesses They were: Carol Hughes Vida Lee Whatley? Geneva Hine Geraldine Reid (aka Jeraldean or Geraldean) Lee Harvey Oswald First Floor Witnesses They were: Eddie Piper Troy West Out Front of the TSBD Witnesses Betty Jean Thornton William “Bill” Shelley Billy Lovelady Carolyn Arnold Danny Arce Jane Berry Judith McCully Ochus Cambell Otis Neville Williams Pauline Sanders (Mrs. Robert E. Sanders) Mrs. R. A. Reid Virginia Rackley *Not all of these witnesses provided relevant testimony. Lee Oswald and Vida Lee Whatley are examples.