Bledsoe and 24 hours

[Tony Krome]

Mr. BALL - When did you first notify the police that you believe you'd seen Oswald? 
Mrs. BLEDSOE - When I got home, first thing I did I went next door and told them the President had been shot, and he said, "Why, he has got killed." Well, I turned on the radio--television--and we heard ambulances and going around and there was a little boy came in that room in the back and he turned it on, and we listened and hear about the President, only one I was interested in, so, he went on back to work and they kept talking about this boy Oswald and had on a brown shirt, and all of a sudden, well, I declare, I believe that this was this boy, and his name was Oswald---that is---give me his right name, you know, and so, about an hour my son came home, and I told him and he immediately called the police and told them, because we wanted to do all we could, and so, I went down the next night. He took me down, and I made a statement to them

So Porter Bledsoe, Mary Bledsoe's son, called the police Friday evening and relayed information such as his mother seeing Oswald on the bus, and probably mentioned that Oswald had been boarding at their house recently.

Police Chief Curry, the next day, Saturday;

Reporter: How did he get across town? Did he get over by a bus? Car?

Curry: I don't know, we have heard that he was picked up by a negro in a car.

24 hours later on Saturday night, according to Bledsoe, Porter drives her to the police station. Her affidavit is dated the Saturday the 23rd which appears to confirm this.

Curry had 2 avenues to receive information about Oswald boarding a bus, the Bledsoe Friday phone call and the Fritz Oswald interrogations.

Are we to believe the police mouthpiece for the worldwide media, which was the Police Chief himself, was out of the loop? Are we to believe that Police would wait 24 hours before interviewing Bledsoe? Could the bus scenario have been developed after Curry spoke to the media?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Benjamin Cole]

Yes, but did the Negro who picked up LHO have red hair? 

[Steve Thomas]

5 hours ago, Tony Krome said:

Mr. BALL - When did you first notify the police that you believe you'd seen Oswald? 
Mrs. BLEDSOE - When I got home, first thing I did I went next door and told them the President had been shot, and he said, "Why, he has got killed." Well, I turned on the radio--television--and we heard ambulances and going around and there was a little boy came in that room in the back and he turned it on, and we listened and hear about the President, only one I was interested in, so, he went on back to work and they kept talking about this boy Oswald and had on a brown shirt, and all of a sudden, well, I declare, I believe that this was this boy, and his name was Oswald---that is---give me his right name, you know, and so, about an hour my son came home, and I told him and he immediately called the police and told them, because we wanted to do all we could, and so, I went down the next night. He took me down, and I made a statement to them

So Porter Bledsoe, Mary Bledsoe's son, called the police Friday evening and relayed information such as his mother seeing Oswald on the bus, and probably mentioned that Oswald had been boarding at their house recently.

24 hours later on Saturday night, according to Bledsoe, Porter drives her to the police station. Her affidavit is dated the Saturday the 23rd which appears to confirm this.

 

 

 

Tony,

What "little boy" came in that room, and then went back to work?

The only person in this case screwier than Helen Markham is Mary Bledsoe.

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/bledsoe.htm

 

The testimony of Mary E. Bledsoe was taken at 9:30 a.m., on April 2, 1964,

 

Mr. BALL - But, before you go into that, I notice you have been reading from some notes before you.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, because I forget what I have to say.
Mr. BALL - When did you make those notes?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - What day did I make them?
Miss DOUTHIT - When Mr. Sorrels and I were talking about her going to Washington, he made the suggestion that she put all the things down on paper because she might forget something, and I said, "Mary, you put everything on a piece of paper so that you can remember it and you won't forget anything, you know, what happened," and that's when she started making notes.
Mr. BALL - You have made the notes in the last week?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Miss DOUTHIT - At my suggestion and Mr. Sorrels.
Mr. BALL - You didn't make any notes during the week he was there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't pay any attention to him.

 

Mr. BALL - Now, when did you see Oswald again?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I went down to the parade. Oh, when was the parade? The 22d of---the next---22d of February---when was the parade?
Mr. BALL - The 22d of November the President came to Dallas.

 

She talks about Oswald getting on the bus, and then getting off.

 

Mr. BALL - Was there traffic? Was the traffic heavy?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, it was awful in the city, and then they had roped off that around where the President was killed, shot, and we were the first car that come around there, and then all of us were talking about the man, and we were looking up to see where he was shot and looking---and then they had one man and taking him already got him in jail, and we got----"Well, I am glad they found him."

 

If the passengers on Bledsoe's bus were talking about the police having picked somebody up for shooting JFK, she couldn't have seen Oswald. He was long gone at that point.

 

Mr. BALL - Uh-huh. Now, did you ever see Oswald in a lineup?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Never did see Oswald after he was arrested?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Not after he got off the bus; no.
Mr. BALL - But, you looked at the pictures of Oswald?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - Showed you the pictures of Oswald?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - The man down at the police station, he had a picture of him with a gun, and said, "Do you recognize him?"
And I said, "Yes; it is Oswald." That is the one that I remember him.
Mr. BALL - Do you know the name of the man who showed you the picture of the man with the gun?

 

Mr. BALL - Now, I have got a piece of clothing here, which is marked---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That is it.
Mr. BALL - Commission Exhibit 150.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That is it.
Mr. BALL - This is a shirt.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That is it.
Mr. BALL - What do you mean by "that is it?"
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Because they brought it out to the house and showed it.

 

Mr. BALL - Had you ever seen him wear this shirt before, when he was around your house?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - First time you ever saw the shirt was when you saw him on the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.

 

When she went down to the police station to give a statement, they showed her a picture of Oswald with a gun, which didn't come into evidence until Saturday the 23rd. She only recognized CE 150, because it was the shirt the police, at some point, brought out to her house.

Steve Thomas

 

[Tony Krome]

6 hours ago, Steve Thomas said:

Tony,

What "little boy" came in that room, and then went back to work?

The only person in this case screwier than Helen Markham is Mary Bledsoe.

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/bledsoe.htm

 

The testimony of Mary E. Bledsoe was taken at 9:30 a.m., on April 2, 1964,

 

Mr. BALL - But, before you go into that, I notice you have been reading from some notes before you.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, because I forget what I have to say.
Mr. BALL - When did you make those notes?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - What day did I make them?
Miss DOUTHIT - When Mr. Sorrels and I were talking about her going to Washington, he made the suggestion that she put all the things down on paper because she might forget something, and I said, "Mary, you put everything on a piece of paper so that you can remember it and you won't forget anything, you know, what happened," and that's when she started making notes.
Mr. BALL - You have made the notes in the last week?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Miss DOUTHIT - At my suggestion and Mr. Sorrels.
Mr. BALL - You didn't make any notes during the week he was there?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No; I didn't pay any attention to him.

 

Mr. BALL - Now, when did you see Oswald again?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Well, I went down to the parade. Oh, when was the parade? The 22d of---the next---22d of February---when was the parade?
Mr. BALL - The 22d of November the President came to Dallas.

 

She talks about Oswald getting on the bus, and then getting off.

 

Mr. BALL - Was there traffic? Was the traffic heavy?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Oh, it was awful in the city, and then they had roped off that around where the President was killed, shot, and we were the first car that come around there, and then all of us were talking about the man, and we were looking up to see where he was shot and looking---and then they had one man and taking him already got him in jail, and we got----"Well, I am glad they found him."

 

If the passengers on Bledsoe's bus were talking about the police having picked somebody up for shooting JFK, she couldn't have seen Oswald. He was long gone at that point.

 

Mr. BALL - Uh-huh. Now, did you ever see Oswald in a lineup?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - Never did see Oswald after he was arrested?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Not after he got off the bus; no.
Mr. BALL - But, you looked at the pictures of Oswald?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - Showed you the pictures of Oswald?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - The man down at the police station, he had a picture of him with a gun, and said, "Do you recognize him?"
And I said, "Yes; it is Oswald." That is the one that I remember him.
Mr. BALL - Do you know the name of the man who showed you the picture of the man with the gun?

 

Mr. BALL - Now, I have got a piece of clothing here, which is marked---
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That is it.
Mr. BALL - Commission Exhibit 150.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That is it.
Mr. BALL - This is a shirt.
Mrs. BLEDSOE - That is it.
Mr. BALL - What do you mean by "that is it?"
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Because they brought it out to the house and showed it.

 

Mr. BALL - Had you ever seen him wear this shirt before, when he was around your house?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - No.
Mr. BALL - First time you ever saw the shirt was when you saw him on the bus?
Mrs. BLEDSOE - Uh-huh.

 

When she went down to the police station to give a statement, they showed her a picture of Oswald with a gun, which didn't come into evidence until Saturday the 23rd. She only recognized CE 150, because it was the shirt the police, at some point, brought out to her house.

Steve Thomas

 

Steve, actually, Bledsoe's testimony is quite enlightening. If you wish to believe Curry was NOT out of the loop, and he was up to date with developments, there was no Bledsoe phone call to police Friday night, and there was no mention of a bus during the Fritz/Oswald interrogations.

Curry, on Saturday, mentioned that he had heard Oswald was picked up by a negro in a car. We know Roger Craig passed information to that effect to Fritz on Friday afternoon. What this tells us, is that there was communication between Fritz and Curry. Curry and Fritz had their heads together discussing how Oswald got across town. Note that Fritz tells Curry about the negro/car but not the bus.

What fits the "Lone Nut" picture better, the bus/cab story or the negro chauffeur? 

Re: "little boy", Bledsoe mentions "we" and "next door", so it may be the case that she was at the neighbors where this little boy was.

Re: Sorrels and Bledsoe. I believe it was Sorrels that intimidated Jean Hill and told her there were 3 shots ONLY. Now we have Sorrels closely advising Bledsoe.

Re: heavy traffic, Milton Jones said that the bus was held up for an hour, that police were searching the bus looking for weapons. Does Bledsoe have that in her notes?

Re: line up, Notice that none of the landlords at Marsalis and Beckley attended a line up?

Re: CE150, so a key piece of evidence (Oswald's shirt) was taken out to Bledsoe's house? haha ok

Edited June 1, 2021 by Tony Krome

[Tony Krome]

So far I have shown that Curry, on Saturday, had the Oswald/negro/car information from Fritz via Roger Craig. Curry knew nothing about a bus.

The Texas Theatre;

A straight line from the street, there is Julia Postal's Box Office, the doors to the lobby, and the doors to the theatre concession area where Butch Burroughs worked.

Mr. BALL. The last time you had seen him before he ducked in, he was just standing outside of the door, was he? 
Mrs. POSTAL. No, sir; he was still just in----just off of the sidewalk, and he headed for the theatre. 
Mr. BALL. Were the doors of the theatre open? 
Mrs. POSTAL. No, sir. 
Mr. BALL. It was closed? 
Mrs. POSTAL. It was closed. 
Mr. BALL. And you didn't see him actually enter the theatre then? 
Mrs. POSTAL. No, sir. 

The lobby doors, just behind the Box Office, would have been open, but the theatre doors, that Julia mentioned, were closed. They would have been closed because the movie "War is Hell" commenced from 1:20pm.

Mr. BALL. Did you see that man come in the theatre? 
Mr. BURROUGHS. No, sir; I didn't. 

Burroughs would have been there alone stocking confectionary while patrons were watching the movie adjacent to his location. He later assumed that if the man that Julia Postal saw came into the building, he went up the balcony stairs that were between the lobby doors and the closed theatre doors.

That aside, we have Oswald sitting in the lower level of the theatre. If Oswald arrived earlier, it all makes sense.

Mr. BALL. Now, did many people go into the theatre from the time you opened at the box office until about 1:15 or so? 
Mrs. POSTAL. Some. 
Mr. BALL. How many? Can you give me an estimate? 
Mrs. POSTAL. I believe 24. 

Dealey Plaza 12:40pm;

Roger Craig witnesses the Oswald/negro/car and reports it later that day;

Mr. CRAIG - ..... Captain Fritz then asked him  ........  "What about this station wagon?" ........ Captain Fritz then told him, as close as I can remember, that, "All we're trying to do is find out what happened, and this man saw you leave from the scene." And the suspect again interrupted Captain Fritz and said, "I told you people I did." 

Note: Craig does not report that Fritz mentioned a bus. This would be after the first round of interrogation that Hosty attended. If a bus was bought up in the interrogation Fritz would have questioned Oswald while Craig was there as to why his story had changed.

If you want to believe Bledsoe, and if you want to believe nobody bothered to tell Curry about a bus, that's fine. But it sure looks like Oswald was picked up by a dark complected person in a car and was driven directly to the Texas Theatre to arrive before the theatre doors were closed.

The "suspect" in the charade that Brewer and Postal refer to, more than likely came from the Tippit shooting. This guy's objective was to draw attention and to steer attention to the Texas Theatre where Oswald was already seated so that the arrest could be effected.

Edited June 2, 2021 by Tony Krome

[David Andrews]

In the South of that period, the description "little boy" was familiar for a youngish man, c. 18 to 25.  In this case, for a neighbor, hence familiar to the speaker.  It's a down-homeism.

Edited June 2, 2021 by David Andrews

[Tony Krome]

Retracing Brewer's and Postal's suspect, we arrive at the Tippit shooting scene.

This scene has several links to Jack Ruby's temp employee, Crafard;

1, A telephone number found in Crafard's notebook is the same number of the Tippit witness Davis residence on the corner of Tenth/Patton (CD 717)

2. Crafard frequented the same Eat Well Cafe where Tippit witness Helen Markham worked (CE 2250)

 

 

[Tony Krome]

 

Note in the affidavit below how a shell is "found" after the police had already left. Something tells me they got the count wrong. We know that different brand bullets were used to shoot Tippit which may indicate more than one shooter. Did they at first think that Tippit was hit with three bullets? Remember that one bullet hit a button which only left a superficial wound. It may well be the case that another shell had to be later found.

Keep in mind that it was a crime scene and one of their own was killed. The police were told that the gunman emptied his revolver as he crossed the yard. But a 16 year old can later find a shiny shell where trained police officers can not?

On the document below, I've added the matching telephone number found in Crafard's notebook that he used for compiling calls for Jack Ruby.

 

[John Butler]

Some witnesses said there were 5 or 6 shots at the Tippit murder.  Is this the "missing" shell that is being mentioned here?  Instead of 3 Winchester shell and 1 Remington the "missing" shell would make 3 Winchesters and 2 Remingtons?  Any other information on Dhority and the shell manufacturer?  Or, was this lost by the wayside?

 

[Steve Thomas]

48 minutes ago, Tony Krome said:

Keep in mind that it was a crime scene and one of their own was killed. The police were told that the gunman emptied his revolver as he crossed the yard. But a 16 year old can later find a shiny shell where trained police officers can not?

 

Tony,

Something I have never been able to understand...

Domingo Benevides walks up to J.M. Poe, hand him two bullets in a cigarette package and say's "Here are the bullets that killed the officer."

Poe hands them to Pete Barnes of the Crime Lab, who is onsite with a fingerprint kit, dusting Tippits car for fingerprints, and Barnes does not dust the shell casings for prints.

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/poe.htm

Mr. BALL. Domingo told you who was running across the lawn?
Mr. POE. A man, white man.
Mr. BALL. What was he doing?
Mr. POE. He was unloading his pistol as he run.
Mr. BALL. And what did he say?
Mr. POE. He said he picked the two hulls up.
Mr. BALL. Did he hand you the hulls?
Mr. POE. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did you put any markings on the hulls?
Mr. POE. I couldn't swear to it; no, sir.
Mr. BALL. What did you do with the hulls?
Mr. POE. I turned the hulls into the crime lab, which was at the scene.
Mr. BALL. Do you know the name of the man with the crime lab or from the crime lab?
Mr. POE. I couldn't swear to it. I believe Pete Barnes, but I wouldn't swear to it.

 

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/barnes.htm

 

Mr. BELIN. Anything else that you did out at the crime scene?
Mr. BARNES. I photographed the scene; yes. There was a couple of hulls that was turned over to me.
Mr. BELIN. Do you mean empty shell casings?
Mr. BARNES. Empty .38 caliber hulls was turned over to me at the scene by patrolman--I believe I would be safe in saying Poe, but I am not sure about that.
Mr. BELIN. How do you spell that?
Mr. BARNES. P-o-e, I believe is the way he spells it.
Mr. BELIN. You think he was the one that turned over some shells?
Mr. BARNES. I believe it is. I am not too sure right now, but I believe that is what is on the report. I would have to check it to be sure.

 

Mr. BELIN. What did you do when you got to the scene?
Mr. BARNES. The first thing that I did was to check the right side of Tippit's car for fingerprints.

 

The only mention of Benavides in the DPD Archives Index is a Report by James Leavelle.
DPD Archives Box 16, Folder# 12, Item# 6.
http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box1617.htm

It's dated the 22nd, and it had to have been written up after 6:30PM, because he mentions the 6:30 lineup.
Leavelle wrote, "Another witness who saw the officer laying in the street, but did not see the suspect was a Domingo Benavides..."
Leavelle wrote that Benavides found two shells and turned them over to Poe, who in turn, turned them over to Pete Barnes, who "dusted the car for prints".

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/benavide.htm

Mr. BELIN - What else did you see?
Mr. BENAVIDES - Then I seen the man turn and walk back to the sidewalk and go on the sidewalk and he walked maybe 5 foot and then kind of stalled. He didn't exactly stop. And he threw one shell and must have took five or six more steps and threw the other shell up, and then he kind of stepped up to a pretty good trot going around the corner.

 

Poe's after-action report dated 11/22/63
DPD Archives, Box 1, Folder# 4, Item# 5
http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box1.htm
Poe wrote, "Unidentified witness handed Officer Poe two empty hulls in an empty cigarette package and stated, "These were the bullets that killed the officer.". The bottom of the Report is marked “Pending”.

 

Steve Thomas

[Tony Krome]

6 hours ago, Steve Thomas said:

Mr. BELIN - What else did you see?
Mr. BENAVIDES - Then I seen the man turn and walk back to the sidewalk and go on the sidewalk and he walked maybe 5 foot and then kind of stalled. He didn't exactly stop. And he threw one shell and must have took five or six more steps and threw the other shell up, and then he kind of stepped up to a pretty good trot going around the corner.

The gunman was very close to the Tippit car (around 5ft) when he carried out the unloading procedure as seen in the photo below. I assume that all chambered rounds, both used and unused dropped into the gunman's palm. He then picks out one used shell and throws it, takes 5 or 6 more steps, picks out another used shell and throws it.

Just before the gunman disappeared around the corner of Tenth/Patton, he then reloaded the unused rounds;

Mr. BELIN - Do you remember if he was trying to put anything in the gun also? 
Mr. BENAVIDES - Yes. As he turned the corner he was putting another shell in his gun. 

Benavides tells us that the weapon the gunman had, dispensed 2 used shells, even though he heard 3 shots.

[Tony Krome]

11 hours ago, Steve Thomas said:

Poe hands them to Pete Barnes of the Crime Lab, who is onsite with a fingerprint kit, dusting Tippits car for fingerprints, and Barnes does not dust the shell casings for prints.

So we question the actions of the gunman, who could plainly see that the car, driven by Benavides, had pulled up adjacent to his position. The gunman knew he was being witnessed. What does he do? He makes an obvious show of dispensing two empty shells. He wasn't wearing gloves that I'm aware of, so he knew the shells he touched, as he threw them, had his prints on them. At the very least, one of the shells, which Benavides said he picked up, then dropped, would have had prints on it.

Benavides said both shells, that he ended up placing in an empty cigarette box, were "chrome";

Mr. BENAVIDES - Yes. Well, right after that I went back and I knew exactly where they was at, and I went over and picked up one in my hand, not thinking and I dropped it, that maybe they want fingerprints off it, so I took out an empty pack of cigarettes I had and picked them up with a little stick and put them in this cigarette package; a chrome looking shell. 
Mr. BELIN - A chrome looking shell? 
Mr. BENAVIDES - Yes, sir. 

CE 594--Four expended cartridge cases retrieved from the scene of
the Tippit murder, designated Q74 through Q77 by the FBI. Q75 and Q76 are .38
special caliber of Western Cartridge Co. manufacture; Q74 and Q77 are .38
special caliber of Remington-Peters manufacture.

 

[Tony Krome]

17 hours ago, Tony Krome said:

Did they at first think that Tippit was hit with three bullets?

The report below says exactly that;

 

[Tony Krome]

On 6/1/2021 at 5:30 PM, Tony Krome said:

Police Chief Curry, the next day, Saturday;

Reporter: How did he get across town? Did he get over by a bus? Car?

Curry: I don't know, we have heard that he was picked up by a negro in a car.

Statement below relative to what Curry told reporters;

 

[Tony Krome]

"Oswald" threatened to kill Markham;