Was the Tippit crime scene gunman Curtis LaVerne Craford?

[Greg Doudna]

Was the Tippit crime scene gunman Curtis LaVerne Craford? 

Consider the possibility that the killing of Tippit was related to the killing of Oswald, done by the same people for essentially the same reason: silencing of witnesses with deadly knowledge. In Oswald’s case, that he had been working for an agency of the government. In Tippit’s case, that he would have been able to tell that of Oswald.

On the killing of Oswald, consider that that was a killing ordered above Ruby’s level and that the killing of Tippit may be understood similarly, done by the same interests who killed Oswald.

In such a context the question is raised: might the killer of Tippit have been Curtis LaVerne Craford (1941-2011), aka Larry Crafard, the recent hire of Jack Ruby of Oct and Nov 1963? The case that Craford was the killer of officer Tippit:

º Craford agrees in physical description with that of the Tippit gunman of witnesses, including features in which Craford differs from Oswald (shorter height, darker hair).

º At the same time Craford was often mistakenly identified as Oswald by witnesses, raising the question whether the same phenomenon may account for the Tippit crime scene witnesses who believed the Tippit gunman had been Oswald.

º At the time of the Tippit killing Craford was in the direct employ of a representative of the interests who had Oswald killed two days later, who in fact was the gunman who carried out the killing of Oswald two days later, Jack Ruby.

º According to what he told in later life to Peter Whitmey, Craford said he had experience as a killer for hire in California before he came to Dallas and linked up with Ruby.

º Craford’s arrival to Dallas and hire by Ruby in Oct 1963 with ill-defined job duties and invitation to live on the premises of the Carousel Club, almost looks as if he had been sent to Dallas on referral by underworld interests outside Dallas.

º The character of the killing of Tippit, with the gunman moving around the patrol car to fire two final shots into Tippit prone on the ground at close range including a coup de grace into the right temple, and what witnesses described as the killer’s deliberate, unhurried, controlled lope as he left the scene while simultaneously reloading, has the appearance of a professional killing or execution, not a killing of impulse or passion, consistent with Craford’s confessed experience in murder for hire at this stage of his life. (more: https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/28031-reconstruction-of-the-shots-in-the-tippit-killing/)

º Craford precipitously left Dallas less than 24 hours after the killing of Tippit, with no forewarning or known farewells. According to his account to the FBI he decided to hitchhike to Michigan with only $7 in his pocket.

º A prima facie excellent candidate for the murder weapon used in the Tippit killing, a snub-nosed Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolver, found in a paper bag on a downtown Dallas street by a citizen at 7:30 am Sat morning Nov 23, 1963, which may reasonably be suspected of having been used in a recent homicide before its abandonment some time during the night of Nov 22/23, was found in a location consistent with having been tossed from a car window compatible with known movements of Craford in a car in that area at ca. 5-6 am that morning. (more: https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/27932-the-murder-weapon-of-the-tippit-killing/)

º Immediately prior to the killing of Tippit, the killer of Tippit was seen walking westward on E. 10^th St. toward the location of Tippit’s murder, of starting-point unknown but consistent with having originated from the apartment of Jack Ruby which was located very close to the Tippit crime scene. In an extraordinary “Freudian slip” moment, Ruby on Sunday Nov 22, later the same day he killed Oswald, mistakenly and inexplicably gave police as a home address for one of his dancers, Joyce McDonald (Joy Dale), the street address on E. 10^th at which Tippit’s patrol car had stopped when Tippit was killed (which was not her address). (https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=62477#relPageId=49)

º Craford's alibi for Nov 22, 1963, that he was inside the Carousel Club closed for business that day, is weak, with no non-Carousel Club employee in support, and only one Carousel Club employee other than Ruby in support, the ever faithful, loyal, and discreet African-American assistant manager at the Club, Andy Armstrong.

º Fingerprints lifted from the Tippit patrol car on Nov 22, 1963 from two locations at which the killer was located with respect to the car by witnesses, just below the right front passenger window and on the right front bumper (this last an unusual position for a right hand to be placed but not if a left-handed gunman crouched at some point while firing over the hood), were found in 1994 to have been left by a single individual at both locations who is excluded as having been Oswald but is not excluded as having been Craford.

º An FBI lab finding that four shell hulls identified as found at the Tippit crime scene were fired from Oswald’s revolver to the exclusion of any other weapon, is questionable in terms of what Dallas police submitted to the FBI lab for examination, because the chain of custody prior to submission to the FBI lab is not based on sworn testimony, unusual for Warren Commission physical evidence, raising a significant red flag suggesting irregularity in police handling of that physical evidence. The irregularity suggested is a substitution of hulls from cartridges fired from Oswald’s revolver for the hulls found at the crime scene. The suggestion of irregularity in police handling of the hulls is consistent with a separate suggestion that there was police irregularity in the disappearance of the paper-bag revolver and associated paperwork while in police custody. A vanishing of physical evidence and paperwork in the case of that revolver does not inspire confidence in the integrity of police handling of physical evidence purporting to associate the Tippit killing to a different weapon, the revolver carried by Oswald. (more: 4^th from top at https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/27893-tippit-ballistics/)

º The correctness of the identification of Oswald, in the main seating area on the ground level of the Texas Theatre, by nearby store manager Brewer as the man who went into the Texas Theatre and into the balcony without paying at about 1:35 pm, is questionable. Brewer, from the stage of the darkened theatre, told police Oswald, seated toward the back in the main area, was that man, after Oswald in the distance toward the back of the theatre stood up and sat down again calling Brewer's attention to himself by that motion--Brewer told police Oswald was the same man Brewer and Julia Postal saw go past Postal into the theatre's entrance alcove about 1:35 pm who then entered the theatre and went into the balcony, but who Brewer and concessionaire Burroughs could not find either in the balcony or in the main seating area during a first check of the darkened theatre. Brewer's identification of Oswald on the main level as the man who went into the balcony is contradicted from witnesses inside the theatre, according to whom Oswald was in the theatre ca. 1:15 pm like any other paying customer that day. One witness inside the theatre, patron Jack Davis, told of Oswald's movements inside the theatre giving the appearance Oswald was looking for someone he was there to meet. The man who entered the theatre and sent into the balcony at 1:35 pm is better interpreted as the killer of Tippit entering the theatre to kill Oswald next, as opposed to being Oswald. (more: https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/28004-oswald-tippit-and-carl-mather-connecting-some-dots/) 

º The longstanding narrative that Oswald killed Tippit may ultimately become recognized as an instance in history to be added to more recent Innocence Project exonerations of persons wrongfully convicted on the basis of eyewitness testimony. It may ultimately come to be seen that, rather than Tippit killed by Oswald, Tippit and Oswald were victims of the same killers. It is never too late to acquit the innocent and convict the guilty, if there has been a miscarriage of justice whether in court or the eyes of history.

~ ~ ~ 

Comments? Strong points? Weak points? 

Edited August 23, 2022 by Greg Doudna

[Tony Krome]

From one of your posts re Acquila Clemons;

Q What was he doing?

A Ah, he was reloading it. And I see he was reloading his gun.

Q And how would you describe that man?

A Well, he was kind of chunky. He was kind of heavy, he wasn't a very big man.

Q Was he tall or short?

A He was kind of a short guy.

Q Short and heavy?

A Yes.

 

[Greg Doudna]

Below is one witness's description of Curtis Craford (Larry Crafard). Is this so different from Acquilla Clemons? How much does a man 5'6" or 5'7" and wearing a light jacket need to weigh to look "chunky" from a distance? (And the point here is not how accurate this was for Craford, but how Craford was perceived.)

"Summers stated he was employed during October, 1963, for approximately one week by Abe Hirsch who had a concession to take and develop photographs at the State Fair of Texas. He said he recalls meeting and having limited conversations with a young man whose name was Larry who was employed at a concession of some type some 50 or 60 yards from Mr. Hirsch's concession. He described this person as being about 21 years of age, 5'6" or 5'7" in height, weighing possibly 175 pounds. He said Larry's eyes were blinking almost constantly. The young man was always dressed in 'cowboy clothes,' including blue jeans and boots. He observed this young man 'shooting guns' into the air which appeared to be for the purpose of attracting customers...." (https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1142#relPageId=217)

William A. Smith's description of the same gunman Acquilla Clemons saw, which began with an anonymous written tip to the FBI dated 12/11/63 reading:

"Mrs. Smith's son saw a man kill Officer Tippit. Said not Oswald. 328-1/2 East 8th Street, Dallas, Texas"

Here was William A. Smith's description, FBI, 12/12/63:

"He advised that he observed Officer Tippit when he was being shot by an unknown white male (. . .) a white male, about 5'7" to 5'8", 20 to 25 years of age, 150-160, wearing a white shirt, light brown jacket and dark pants.

"Smith advised that he did not believe it was Oswald when he first saw Oswald on TV because it looked like Oswald had light colored hair. He was exhibited a photograph of Oswald and stated that the individual he observed had dark hair like the New Orleans Police Department photograph of Oswald . . ." (https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=95673#relPageId=37)

And to the Warren Commission:

Mr. Ball. What color hair did the man have that you saw running away?

Mr. Smith. Brown, brownish-black. It was dark.

Oswald's hair in fact was lighter brown in color than Craford's darker brown hair, the very point William Smith noticed in the Tippit killer and reason for William Smith's original instinct that the killer of Tippit was someone whose hair was darker than Oswald's. Also, William Smith's height estimate agrees better with Craford. Craford was shorter than Oswald's 5'9". The FBI had Craford at 5'8" but from witness accounts Craford seems a little shorter than that, probably somewhere between 5'7" and 5'8". In any case Craford was shorter than Oswald, and also some pounds heavier than Oswald in addition to being shorter. 

Maybe Acquilla Clemons saw him at a distance with his jacket billowing a little making him look illusorily a little wider as well as "short". In any case if you accept that the gunman Acquilla Clemons saw was the same gunman William A. Smith and the other witnesses saw (and that Acquilla Clemons was not seeing some totally different gunman taking the same path of movement and unloading of a revolver that the other witnesses saw, while looking at the same crime scene), and put them together, the descriptions agree with Curtis Craford, and all the lineup positive identifications of the gunman as Oswald aside, on the basis of witness physical descriptions before Oswald was put in front of those witnesses as the one looking most closely like the gunman of the alternatives before them, I say the physical descriptions agree with Craford better than with Oswald.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Greg Doudna

[Greg Doudna]

I added two bullet points to the lead posting, one dealing with Craford's alibi, the other with the identity of the man who went into the Texas Theatre without paying for a ticket at 1:35 pm, prepared but inadvertently omitted in the original writeup.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Greg Doudna

[Paul Brancato]

Greg - well reasoned analysis. At the very least it would be interesting to know how Crafard came to know Ruby and stay with him. The timing of his employ at the Carousel is suggestive. 

[Pete Mellor]

5 hours ago, Paul Brancato said:

Greg - well reasoned analysis. At the very least it would be interesting to know how Crafard came to know Ruby and stay with him. The timing of his employ at the Carousel is suggestive. 

Although it doesn't fully explain things, Kantor states that "Crafard landed a job at $5 a day as caretaker for an event at the State Fair of Texas called "How Hollywood Makes Movies", which was another of Ruby's get rich schemes.  Ruby was a financial partner in the crude show but it quickly went broke and closed several days before the two week state fair itself concluded in October.  Even the $5 daily pay hadn't fully materialised.  Some days Crafard was paid off in meals and cigarettes, and then Ruby offered Crafard a similar arrangement at the Carousel.'

[Derek Thibeault]

Do you have a pic of this Crafard guy you can post? What was the rest of his history, after the assassination?

[Greg Doudna]

9 hours ago, Derek Thibeault said:

Do you have a pic of this Crafard guy you can post? What was the rest of his history, after the assassination?

Derek, the best source of information on Curtis Craford in his later years is this article by Peter Whitmey who tracked him down in Oregon and talked to him a number of times: https://www.jfk-assassination.net/creatingapatsy.htm. Whitmey's article, "Creating a Patsy", is revised and expanded from an original publication in April 1998.

HSCA did not bother with finding Craford, and no researcher contacted Craford before Whitmey in 1989, even though Whitmey reported Craford was not hard to find.

More photos of Craford: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1134#relPageId=198

[Pete Mellor]

4 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

 https://www.jfk-assassination.net/creatingapatsy.htm. Whitmey's article, "Creating a Patsy", is revised and expanded from an original publication in April 1998.

In Whitmey's piece he includes this interesting sentence on the jacket found by DPD pertaining to the Tippit case.

"Since the jacket was originally sold in California, maybe it actually belonged to Craford."

I've never come across that statement previously, but there is no Note accompanying that in the text.

Do we have any factual proof of the jacket's origin in California?

[Ian Lloyd]

5 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

Derek, the best source of information on Curtis Craford in his later years is this article by Peter Whitmey who tracked him down in Oregon and talked to him a number of times: https://www.jfk-assassination.net/creatingapatsy.htm. Whitmey's article, "Creating a Patsy", is revised and expanded from an original publication in April 1998.

HSCA did not bother with finding Craford, and no researcher contacted Craford before Whitmey in 1989, even though Whitmey reported Craford was not hard to find.

More photos of Craford: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1134#relPageId=198

What type/colour jacket is he wearing in that pic?

[Derek Thibeault]

7 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

Derek, the best source of information on Curtis Craford in his later years is this article by Peter Whitmey who tracked him down in Oregon and talked to him a number of times: https://www.jfk-assassination.net/creatingapatsy.htm. Whitmey's article, "Creating a Patsy", is revised and expanded from an original publication in April 1998.

HSCA did not bother with finding Craford, and no researcher contacted Craford before Whitmey in 1989, even though Whitmey reported Craford was not hard to find.

More photos of Craford: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1134#relPageId=198

thank you!

[Joseph Borelli]

I think Craford is by far the most viable non Oswald suspect for the Tipping Killing. Also he literally left Dallas the next day for Michigan. My guess is because Oswald was captured alive Ruby tasked Craford to kill him in police custody and he was like screww that and bolted out of town. Then After Craford's sudden departure the responsibility of the hit fell onto Ruby. 

[Tony Krome]

On 8/19/2022 at 11:04 AM, Greg Doudna said:

Was the Tippit crime scene gunman Curtis LaVerne Craford? 

From one of your posts: Helen Markham said the killer looked at her and then started coming at her. 

Helen Markham testimony: Mr. BALL. Where do you work now?  Mrs. MARKHAM. Eat Well Restaurant, 1404 Main Street, Dallas, Tex.  Mr. BALL. Were you working there on November 22, 1963?  Mrs. MARKHAM. I was.

Crafard Exhibit 5226: Crafard would stay at the club and eat his meals at the Eat Well Cafe

 

[Greg Doudna]

4 hours ago, Tony Krome said:

From one of your posts: Helen Markham said the killer looked at her and then started coming at her. 

Helen Markham testimony: Mr. BALL. Where do you work now?  Mrs. MARKHAM. Eat Well Restaurant, 1404 Main Street, Dallas, Tex.  Mr. BALL. Were you working there on November 22, 1963?  Mrs. MARKHAM. I was.

Crafard Exhibit 5226: Crafard would stay at the club and eat his meals at the Eat Well Cafe

That's interesting Tony. "Craford would stay at the [Carousel] club and eat his meals at the Eat Well Cafe and the drugstore across the street from the club" (https://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh19/pdf/WH19_Crafard_Ex_5226.pdf). In this interview of Helen Markham, could her gesture illustrating the Tippit killer's reaction at the moment of eye contact between the killer and her, at 2:00f, be interpreted as the killer possibly recognizing her? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPjc6tsdRcs.  

[Michael Griffith]

For a time during my early days of researching the JFK case, I believed that Oswald shot Tippit in self-defense, that Tippit was supposed to shoot Oswald but that Oswald beat him to the draw. However, the more reading I did on the Tippit shooting, the more I began to doubt that Oswald had anything to do with it.

Something very suspicious was definitely going on with Tippit. Tippit had no valid reason to be in central Oak Cliff, far out of his assigned area. There was already a patrol car covering central Oak Cliff. The DPD initially concealed from the WC that Tippit had been dispatched to that area, and the dispatcher's later excuse for sending Tippit there is implausible. Plus, Tippit's strange actions in Oak Cliff--waiting at the gas station and then suddenly speeding off, and rushing into a business to use its phone--make it obvious that something very suspicious was going on with Tippit.

And then there's the police car that Earlene Roberts saw in front of Oswald's boarding house after it had tapped its horn barely half an hour after the assassination, before any innocent person could have known that Oswald would soon be the one and only suspect.