WFAA-TV Cameraman Tom Alyea describes scene at TSBD shortly after assassination

[Henry Frost]

Disregarding the fact that an active crime scene should have been immediately closed off to civilians, lets review some of Tom Alyea's recollections. 

Captain Fritz picked up three bullets and held them up so Alyea could get a better camera angle of them:

"I knew that any fingerprints would be burned off when the shell was fired," Alyea said. "It didn't hurt anything to pick them up."

A different detective later placed the bullets back on the floor, before taking a crime scene photo. Alyea comments:

"Obviously his photos aren't right," he said. "He couldn't put them where they had been because he had never seen them."

During the police search boxes were moved around. Including the boxes at the sniper's nest.

"The boxes were restacked before other journalists got access to the building, but they weren't put back exactly the same way, he said.

"One box originally was tilted on the windowsill, where Oswald apparently rested the rifle on it to help him aim, Alyea said."

"Later photos show the box sitting upright, suggesting a slightly higher angle for the fatal shot, he said."

"The police also restacked other boxes higher and closer together,making the sniper's nest almost completely hidden, he said."

"In fact, as the boxes were originally arranged, Oswald could've been seen from much of the sixth floor, had anybody else been there, Alyea said."

As a way of an explanation for all of this, Alyea says:

"They weren't looking for evidence. They were looking for the assassin."

 

Source article:
https://tulsaworld.com/tv-cameraman-filmed-aftermath/article_a5ead74b-5892-56af-acc6-aad37483cd7f.html

 

[Tony Krome]

From the linked article: "A round was still in the gun's chamber, ready to fire, with two more bullets in the ammunition clip."

[David Von Pein]

Related video....

 

Edited August 27, 2022 by David Von Pein

[Henry Frost]

Thanks David.

1 hour ago, Tony Krome said:

From the linked article: "A round was still in the gun's chamber, ready to fire, with two more bullets in the ammunition clip."

Good point. So a six round clip, and all bullets accounted for.  I know some were wondering if there were only four bullets recovered at the scene.

For newbies like me, here is some actual footage Alyea took that day, also from the DVP channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsnIeaAWFfo

Edited August 27, 2022 by Henry Frost

[Henry Frost]

I've been thinking about the two bullets left in the ammunition clip. 

Here's the quote:

A round was still in the gun's chamber, ready to fire, with two more bullets in the ammunition clip.

"That always bothered me," Alyea said, looking back on the 50th anniversary of the assassination.

"He left a loaded rifle behind, but how did he know he wouldn't have to shoot his way out?"

What Alyea actually said is bolded. It was the writer of the article, Michael Overall, who said two bullets were left in the ammunition clip, not Alyea.  The "loaded rifle" Alyea refers to could mean the bullet still in the chamber.

WCE 575 shows an empty clip:

So I don't know what to think.  It was such an amateur hour that the two bullets are probably in some DP detective's desk or taken away by the FEDS or ....???

 

[Ron Bulman]

Thanks for your interest, Henry.  New younger perspectives and questions are essential to the survival of the forum.

I've never seen the other two pristine bullet's left in the clip.  Nor do pictures show the clip in the rifle.  Some believe the clip only had four bullets to begin with.  Three were shot, one left in the gun, then the clip ejected as it was designed to do when empty.

Scroll down to the 4th/5th posts for the pictures.  Better yet, read the thread.  I wish Richard still posted here; he was good.   I believe there are other threads on the subject on the forum.

 

[Henry Frost]

Thanks for that Ron. I'm glad to be here with so many subject matter experts, authors, and documentarians.  I learn new stuff every day without the BS on other sites.

I found the thread you linked very interesting.

For example, this note by Lieutenant Day doesn't mention any bullets in the clip, but there was a clip found:

A couple of things were not entirely accurate though:

1. You cannot see the clip when it's in the rifle. Some kept looking at images saying they couldn't see a clip. Well no, you can't see it even if a clip is in place. It's IN the rifle. See this video as an example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=980vvROu0Ro

By the way, as an aside, this guy got off three aimed shots in about 7 seconds.

2. You can fire the Carcano with only four rounds in the clip, it's not easy but can be done. One of the videos in the thread actually shows this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFltACBVwuQ&t=282s

The conclusion of the thread is that the rifle and bullets were props planted for the framing of Oswald.  This may be true but for some reason the image of Capt. Fritz walking away with some bullets in his pockets amuses me lol.

I know there was a conspiracy, I just don't personally know who was involved to what degree yet. I'll keep digging though, and there is a gold mine of information on this forum to go through.

 

 

[Ron Bulman]

19 minutes ago, Henry Frost said:

The conclusion of the thread is that the rifle and bullets were props planted for the framing of Oswald.  This may be true but for some reason the image of Capt. Fritz walking away with some bullets in his pockets amuses me lol.

That may not be the conclusion of the thread, others may have more to say.

[Tony Krome]

4 hours ago, Henry Frost said:

I know there was a conspiracy, I just don't personally know who was involved to what degree yet.

No-one else knows who and to what degree either. Well, by that I mean researchers. Key questions often have a dozen different answers. 60 years later and there's no CT consensus on the name a person that fired a weapon that hit Kennedy, Connally or Tippit.  I'll give the perps credit though, the cover-up was, and is continuing to be, pretty damn good.

 

[Denis Morissette]

On 8/27/2022 at 4:36 PM, Tony Krome said:

From the linked article: "A round was still in the gun's chamber, ready to fire, with two more bullets in the ammunition clip."

Is this the Mauser or the Carcanno?

[Denis Morissette]

On 8/27/2022 at 5:59 PM, Henry Frost said:

Thanks David.

Good point. So a six round clip, and all bullets accounted for.  I know some were wondering if there were only four bullets recovered at the scene.

For newbies like me, here is some actual footage Alyea took that day, also from the DVP channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsnIeaAWFfo

I'm not seeing a Mauser in this video. How did Alyea miss filming it when he was there?

[Henry Frost]

1 hour ago, Denis Morissette said:

I'm not seeing a Mauser in this video. How did Alyea miss filming it when he was there?

I'm wondering what happened to the Lee-Enfield rifle?  NBC and WBAP radio said it was a British Enfield .303.  

Below is a comparison of the Carcano (top) and Lee-Enfield (below).  They look kind of similar.

I am joking. It's called fog of war. Most people had never seen an Italian Carcano before.

If there was more than one shooter, they were probably professionals, invisible, and left no trace behind.

 

 

[Tony Krome]

3 hours ago, Denis Morissette said:

I'm not seeing a Mauser in this video. How did Alyea miss filming it when he was there?

There is a short segment of film in this video. It starts with Day leaning down to pick up a rifle by the strap attached to the butt end of the stock. He immediately hands the rifle to Fritz, then that segment ends before another segment showing Day examining the rifle. Referring to the first segment only, do you see any indicators that positively determines that the rifle is a Carcano? If you do, can you please highlight them? Thanks

[Ron Bulman]

On 8/27/2022 at 3:20 PM, Henry Frost said:

"I knew that any fingerprints would be burned off when the shell was fired," Alyea said. "It didn't hurt anything to pick them up."

A different detective later placed the bullets back on the floor, before taking a crime scene photo. Alyea comments:

But for the seriousness of the subject, this is funny.

On 8/27/2022 at 3:20 PM, Henry Frost said:

"Obviously his photos aren't right," he said. "He couldn't put them where they had been because he had never seen them."

 

On 8/27/2022 at 3:20 PM, Henry Frost said:

"They weren't looking for evidence. They were looking for the assassin."

 

At that point they should have been looking for evidence of an assassin.  "He" was already long gone.  Kind of an absurd observation.

[Denis Morissette]

22 hours ago, Tony Krome said:

There is a short segment of film in this video. It starts with Day leaning down to pick up a rifle by the strap attached to the butt end of the stock. He immediately hands the rifle to Fritz, then that segment ends before another segment showing Day examining the rifle. Referring to the first segment only, do you see any indicators that positively determines that the rifle is a Carcano? If you do, can you please highlight them? Thanks

I'll look at it if I have time. If anyone determines the rifle, let us know! If it turned out to be a Mauser, then we have a huge problem. Carl Day handled two rifles, something he denied to me when I visited him in Dallas. Do you know anyone who remembers 2 rifles found? Write his name here _______