Officer Marrion Baker's mad dash for the.... Dal-Tex building?

[Sandy Larsen]

The official story has long held that police officer Marrion L. Baker found Oswald in the second story lunchroom of the Texas Schoolbook Depository (TSBD) within 90 seconds of the shooting. Officer Baker had to have run immediately and straight for the TSBD in order for this to have occurred so quickly. And indeed the Darnell film does seem to show Baker doing just that.

But it's a mere illusion, as I will show here in this post. Baker didn't run straight for the TSBD. Not to its entrance.

Over the last several years questions have arisen as to whether the second-floor encounter between Baker and Oswald really took place, or if it was just a part of the Warren Commission cover story. Interrogation notes taken by Dallas Police Chief Will Fritz indicate that Oswald informed him that he had been out on the steps of the TSBD during the shooting. These notes were kept secret till 1997. Even Baker, in his first-day statement, said nothing of a lunchroom encounter.

Numerous JFK researchers have since come to believe that the second-floor lunchroom encounter was a cover story designed to detract from the truth -- the truth being that Oswald was really on the first floor near the front entrance of the TSBD during the shooting, and may have actually been standing out on the front landing of the entrance! If the so-called "Prayer Man" is Oswald, Oswald is seen in a couple of film clips that survive to this day.

I will now proceed to prove that officer Baker had no intention of running into the TSBD when he began his mad dash. (I will NOT show that he never entered the TSBD... I believe he did, later.) As you will see, this is yet one more nail in the coffin of the Baker-Oswald second-floor lunchroom encounter myth.

The key to following the path taken by Baker is to follow his footsteps. As obvious as that sounds, it has surprisingly never been done as far as I know. At least not seriously.

I will start off by pointing out the three steps that can be clearly identified in the Darnell clip. In each one Baker is on tippy-toe, and so his toe points to where his foot is touching the ground.

Please click images and video clips to magnify.

Footstep One

Footstep Two

Footstep Three

Note that these footsteps can readily be made out by single stepping through the video clip.

By connecting these three points, one can get a rough idea as to Baker's intended path. But in doing so I found that the path didn't line up with Baker's footsteps that are hidden behind others in the film. I discovered that I could pretty accurately interpolate those locations. What I did was 1) visually estimate the locations, 2) mark them, and 3) draw a straight line intersecting all the estimates.

To double-check my work, I also drew a path of the top of Baker's helmet. For this, I marked the top of each peak (between each step where neither foot is in contact with the ground) and connected these to get a straight line. I then confirmed that the helmet path was parallel to the foot path I had estimated.

Note that the conclusions drawn from this analysis do not depend upon the validity my estimated footstep locations. I use these estimates merely to gain a more accurate understanding as to what Baker's intended path was.

Baker's Initial Path

The blue lines in the video represent Baker's path as he crosses the Elm Street extension. The line drops with the curb on the left. The upper blue line represents the path of the top of Baker's helmet.

Click to enlarge!

It is obvious that Baker was not headed for the TSBD entrance. (He was headed to the right of it.) But if not, what explains the path he is taking? Compare his path to the crosswalk in this (modern) photo:

Officer Baker was simply following the crosswalk. The truth of this will become more apparent as we move on.

Go to the next post for Part 2 of this presentation.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Sandy Larsen

[Sandy Larsen]

Baker's Revised Path

Baker's path veered to the right as he approached the sidewalk on the other side. This becomes clear when we consider footsteps 2 and 3. And also when we analyze the direction of his final step. Unfortunately that one step is hidden behind the man in the suit nearer the camera. However it is not difficult to estimate quite closely where Baker's foot will land.

To help me analyze Baker's final footstep, I drew in red the path of a young lady who is approaching the sidewalk just before the clip ends. Just find the girl whose footsteps touch the red line. I did this because 1) I noticed that her path was parallel to Baker's at first, and 2) Baker's path actually crosses over hers' on his final step. This means that Baker had by then changed direction by close to 70 degrees, in my estimation.

In the clip below I have also drawn a gray line representing the base of the curb. This is useful because a person's shadow will rise the face of the curb as it nears the sidewalk. This is precisely what we see with Baker's shadow as he passes behind the very tall man. At that point he is still approaching the sidewalk, though at an angle, and we see his shadow rise up the face of the curb. This shadow is most easily seen in the bottom-most video of this post. (Studying this requires a lot of concentration, or the use of a animated GIF single stepper.)

Click to enlarge!

Baker's Last Step

I believe that I have fairly estimated the location of Baker's last step in the clip, and that the blue line above fairly represents his path. His destination clearly was not the TSBD.

For those skeptical of my estimated location of Baker's final step, I post here a useful repeating clip that can help each individual in determining where they believe Baker's final step was. I am confident that nobody will conclude a footstep location that puts Baker on a path anywhere close to the the TSBD entrance.

Click to enlarge!

From studying this clip, it is clear to me that Baker is now running close to parallel with the curb (gray line). In contrast, the young woman is running toward the curb. You can see this by comparing the two in this repeating clip. They are running close to perpendicular to one another.

Still Not Convinced?

If you're not convinced that Baker is running perpendicular to the path of the young lady, ask yourself this simple question: Why is it we see primarily the woman's rear end, whereas we see primarily Baker's right side? (Look again at the last video.) The woman is running toward the sidewalk, and if Baker were doing the same (near the end of the clip) then we'd be seeing his rear end too!

They are running in perpendicular paths.

Shadows

What do the shadows in this video reveal? What I first noticed is that a lot of the people on the road are walking/running along the axis of their shadows. This was my first clue that they weren't moving in haphazard directions. My second clue was that there seemed to be no common destination... just someplace to the right of the TSBD entrance. It was when I found the picture of the crosswalk that my suspicion was confirmed that they were all merely following the crosswalk. Which, of course, makes sense.

The significance of this is that Baker was also following the crosswalk... the left side of it. He likely did so to a large extent because not following the crosswalk would have meant colliding with those in the crowd. To me it is seems clear that Baker was interested in something to the right of the TSBD, and that in his estimation the quickest way of getting there was to follow the crowd across the crosswalk, and then turn toward his desired destination after passing the bulk of those in his crosswalk. That is a speculative comment. But I think there is no speculation in pronouncing that:

Marrion Baker was not headed for the TSBD. Not to go inside. No way.

Other Observations

Note that the lengths of people's shadows in the clip are pretty close to their heights. Since Baker's shadow had just "touched" the curb at the end of the clip, we know that he was roughly 6 ft away from the curb. The width of the sidewalk is 10 ft. So he was still 16 ft away from the TSBD entrance when the clip ends. At this point in time he was located right in front of the postal mail receptacle on the right side of the TSBD entrance. We know that because he was crossing the young woman's path (red line) at that time, and that woman was headed toward that mailbox, as indicated by extending her red line up on the sidewalk.

(See Tom Neal's Post 119 on page 8 for an accurate calculation of shadow length, and my Post 125 on page 9 for info on taking curb height into account for shadows, and for a calculation of Baker's distance from the curb. These show that Baker's shadow length was actually about 9.75 ft and that he was actually located about 7.7 ft from the sidewalk.)

In order for Baker to enter the TSBD after the video clip ends, he would have had to back up several feet and make an abrupt left turn before resuming his mad dash.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Sandy Larsen

[Sandy Larsen]

[reserved]

Edited April 18, 2016 by Sandy Larsen

[Sandy Larsen]

[reserved]

[Guest]

That Baker's last step gif is a nifty piece of work Sandy, the focus on Baker on that very last bit is clearer than anywhere else I have seen. Well done.

[Robert Prudhomme]

Excellent work, Sandy. As Bart stated, this is the clearest presentation of Baker on film I have seen to date. If only Darnell had tracked Baker for two more seconds!

[Robert Prudhomme]

Or did he?

[Sandy Larsen]

Excellent work, Sandy.

Thanks Bob. And Bart.

As Bart stated, this is the clearest presentation of Baker on film I have seen to date.

If only Darnell had tracked Baker for two more seconds!

Well I'm hoping that people will realize that it doesn't matter that Darnell didn't track Baker a little longer. Even if we forget about Baker's final footstep altogether and focus only on the three steps that can be clearly seen, the video shows that Baker was headed toward the south-west corner of the TSBD.... certainly not its entrance.

But if you do include an estimated location for the final footstep, then it appears that Baker was actually planning to cross Houston Street at its crosswalk, perhaps to go to the Dal-Tex building.

No matter how you look at it, Baker clearly wasn't making a dash for the TSBD entrance.

Edited April 18, 2016 by Sandy Larsen

[Michael Walton]

Hi Sandy,

I have some questions - and sorry to play the role of devil's advocate here - but what is the point if Baker was heading to the Dal-Tex building and changed directions and went to the TSBD instead?

And more importantly, does it really matter?

FWIW, I do suspect that shots came from the D-T building because that building had a far more advantageous sight line of Elm Street and there were no trees blocking the motorcade route. I've read that some believe that shots were fired as low as the 3rd floor as seen in the photo below:

View from D-T Building

But I don't think it could have happened that low because the SS car would have been blocking the view to Kennedy. But anyway, I'm just wondering about your post and whether speculation if Baker was heading to that building does anything for researchers, new and old alike?

Thanks, Michael W.

PS - nice work on the GIFs

[Sandy Larsen]

I just added the following to my argument:

From studying this clip, it is clear to me that Baker is now running close to parallel with the curb (gray line). In contrast, the young woman is running toward the curb. You can see this by comparing the two in this repeating clip. They are running close to perpendicular to one another.

Still Not Convinced?

If you're not convinced that Baker is running perpendicular to the path of the young lady, ask yourself this simple question: Why is it we see primarily the woman's rear end, whereas we see primarily Baker's right side? (Look again at the last video.) The woman is running toward the sidewalk, and if Baker were doing the same (near the end of the clip) then we'd be seeing his rear end too!

They are running perpendicular paths.

[Sandy Larsen]

Hi Sandy,

I have some questions - and sorry to play the role of devil's advocate here - but what is the point if Baker was heading to the Dal-Tex building and changed directions and went to the TSBD instead?

And more importantly, does it really matter?

FWIW, I do suspect that shots came from the D-T building because that building had a far more advantageous sight line of Elm Street and there were no trees blocking the motorcade route. I've read that some believe that shots were fired as low as the 3rd floor as seen in the photo below:

View from D-T Building

But I don't think it could have happened that low because the SS car would have been blocking the view to Kennedy. But anyway, I'm just wondering about your post and whether speculation if Baker was heading to that building does anything for researchers, new and old alike?

Thanks, Michael W.

PS - nice work on the GIFs

Michael,

If Baker ran to the Dal-Tex building or elsewhere for a few seconds and then quickly changed his mind and entered the TSBD instead, then there would be no consequence. Because the official story would remain essentially unaffected.

But what are the odds of that happening? It's much more likely that Baker carried through with (or at least began) his original intent... whatever that was. And if that took, say, 30 seconds or longer, the official narrative would be destroyed.

This is similar to the argument WC apologists use when they say that the postal money order used to purchase the rifle somehow was processed without getting the expected bank stamps. Well, sure... anything is possible. But is it likely?

[Ron Ecker]

Regardless of the other people, the crosswork, the placement of his feet, etc., it looks pretty clear to me at the end of the clip that Baker is running right past the TSDB entrance. The most likely destination therefore being the Dal Tex Building. And in such a hurry to get there, why would he suddenly change his mind? (Maybe he ran into Howard Brennan who set him straight.)

Edited April 18, 2016 by Ron Ecker

[Ron Ecker]

dupe

Edited April 18, 2016 by Ron Ecker

[Chris Davidson]

Sandy,

I think we've discussed this before.

Truly changes the trajectory of Baker's run. See gif.

He does appear to be running past the steps (could have been a split second decision). If he was going to run up the stairs initially, he more than likely would have entered on the left side of the handrail where the others are moving through. The right side is much too congested.

chris

[David Von Pein]

[Marrion] Baker had no intention of running into the TSBD when he began his mad dash, and didn't enter till later. As you will see, this is yet one more nail in the coffin of the Baker-Oswald second-floor lunchroom encounter myth.

The key to following the path taken by Baker is to follow his footsteps. As obvious as that sounds, it has surprisingly never been done. At least not seriously.

[...]

Marrion Baker was not headed for the TSBD. Not to go inside. No way.

The utter desperation of conspiracy theorists is astounding, as Sandy Larsen's ludicrous claim regarding Police Officer Marrion L. Baker in this thread clearly demonstrates.

Sandy thinks Baker told one lie after another FOR DECADES ON END after the assassination.

Now, all Sandy needs to do is to logically and reasonably tell us Why Marrion Baker would want to tell a bunch of lies about his movements on November 22, 1963.

Was he paid very handsomely for lying so much, Sandy? Or did the FBI threaten Baker's life if he didn't go along with the "LN" story?

Here's the proof that Sandy Larsen is dead wrong ----> MARRION BAKER INTERVIEW (1964)

Edited April 18, 2016 by David Von Pein