Possible Evidence in the Sniper’s Lair?

[Richard Hocking]

The Dallas Police produced a variety of items as evidence discovered in or near the Sniper’s Lair in the SE Corner of the 6^th floor. Included were 3 empty shells, some chicken bones, a Dr. Pepper bottle, a lunch bag, some Fritos, a cigarette package, a box with someone’s print on it, and allegedly, a large brown paper bag.

Below is a William Allen photo of the “Sniper’s Window” taken on the afternoon of November 22.

Looking conspicuously out of place is a hammer resting on the window ledge (above the Red arrow).

If the hammer was there when the police first discovered the shells, it should have received the same careful attention as the other items listed above, and dusted for fingerprints. Yet I have found no references to a hammer in any testimony of the Dallas Police personnel that searched the 6^th floor.

If the hammer was not originally there, we are left to struggle with the notion that the Dallas Police carelessly contaminated a Capital murder crime scene by inexplicably leaving a foreign object there.

On the morning of Friday, November 22, 1963, a crew of men were nailing new plywood over the old wooden plank flooring on the 6^th floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building. The crew consisted of TSBD employees Billy Lovelady, Danny Arce, Bonnie Ray Williams and Charles Givens (some accounts include James Jarman). Bill Shelley was the supervisor and stopped by periodically to check on his crew. The crew was working in the SW corner of the 6^th floor. At lunch break, they were working in an area about 15-20 feet from the South wall and roughly the same distance from the West Wall (Givens WC testimony).

The point here is the men and their tools were on the other side of the building from the “Sniper’s Lair”.

The presence of the hammer on the window ledge raises the question, Did a member of the work crew visit the SE window that morning?

[Richard Hocking]

In 2000, Jerry McLeer mentioned the hammer in a discussion about the Sniper's nest.

Below is a link to his article:

http://www.jfkresearch.freehomepage.com/snipersnest.htm

Edited December 30, 2013 by Richard Hocking