Question about Helen Markham's bus

[Jamey Flanagan]

Just curious if anyone knows if the bus that Helen Markham was on her way to catching at approximately 1:12 pm made it on time? And if it would have been coming the way that the killer of J.D. Tippit would have been fleeing or another direction?

Was just listening to the Solving JFK podcast season 1 again and wondered about that bus for the first time while hearing his breakdown of the Tippit shooting. His approximate time of the shooting is roughy 1:06. Hellen Markham was on her way to catch a bus that normally ran about 1:12.

I got to wondering if the people on the bus could have seen Tippit's killer if he fled in the direction of the oncoming bus.  Even if the bus were coming in that same direction, I wonder if that bus were delayed from all the traffic. Much like the bus that Oswald had supposedly boarded, only to leave once it got stuck in the Dealey Plaza traffic.

If anyone has any answers to these questions, it is greatly appreciated! May not amount to anything anyway, but it popped in my head and thought I'd ask.

[Robert Morrow]

My answer to your specific question is: I have no idea if the waitress Helen Markham 1:12PM bus was on time.

My side comment is the fact the Helen Markham left her apartment laundry room at 1:04PM (she looked at the clock) and then she walked about 2-3 minutes and saw the murder of Officer J.D. Tippit at 1:06 to 1:07P. That is extremely, extremely important because the Warren Commission says Oswald was at his boarding home 9/10ths of a mile away at 1:03PM. If both of those facts are true there is absolutely NO WAY Oswald could have been at the Tippit murder scene.

Helen Markham as a witness on this is extremely important.

Her spot where she witnessed the Tippit murder scene was about a 2 minute walk from her apartment's laundromat which she left at 1:04PM. The FBI double checked this.

Helen Markham left the laundry room at her building at 1:04 p.m. and the FBI determined that it would take 2-3 minutes to walk to Tenth and Patton where she witnessed Officer J.D. Tippit being murdered

 QUOTE

           Markham was consistent in the time estimates that she gave. In an interview with the FBI on March 17, 1964 (prior to her Warren Commission testimony), Markham stated that she left the house at 1:00 p.m. and went to the payphone of the laundry place located in her building. She tried to call her daughter, but the line was busy. Markham said that she left the “washateria” at 1:04 p.m., which she noted from the clock on the wall. She then started to walk toward Jefferson Boulevard in order to catch the 1:15 p.m. bus. The FBI walked the distance from Markham’s apartment to the corner of Tenth and Patton Streets. They determined it took two and a half minutes. Note in her Warren Commission testimony, Markham stated that the time she reached Tenth and Patton was not more than 1:06 or 1:07 p.m..

 UNQUOTE

 [James Kelleher, He Was Expendable, pp. 98-99]

 

 

 

 

 

[Jamey Flanagan]

Thanks @Robert Morrow!

There's no telling how many times I've heard her interviews and read accounts of her going to catch her bus but only this time did it ever occur to me that under the right circumstances that people on the bus headed that way could possibly have seen whoever the real killer of Tippit was.

Of course, those particular circumstances would be that the bus would be on time pretty much and would have to be heading on the same street the killer was escaping down.

Like I said, it probably is nothing pertinent after all but that lightbulb in my head came on and I thought I would ask.

[Robert Morrow]

1 hour ago, Jamey Flanagan said:

Thanks @Robert Morrow!

There's no telling how many times I've heard her interviews and read accounts of her going to catch her bus but only this time did it ever occur to me that under the right circumstances that people on the bus headed that way could possibly have seen whoever the real killer of Tippit was.

Of course, those particular circumstances would be that the bus would be on time pretty much and would have to be heading on the same street the killer was escaping down.

Like I said, it probably is nothing pertinent after all but that lightbulb in my head came on and I thought I would ask.

That is good thinking. Am I correct that Markham's bus stop was right down on Jefferson? Exactly where the killer of Tippit (not Oswald) headed?

I'm afraid we have lost these people to history forever. But I bet some of those bus people are still alive.

[Jamey Flanagan]

I've never actually heard anything about the bus as far as I can remember except that she was waiting on it and it usually arrived around 1:12.

That would be great if if the bus stop was where the killer headed and the bus was on time, but you are sadly correct about losing people to the sands of time. 

I'm actually surprised we don't hear more stories come out though from children of people who witnessed something that didn't fit with the official narrative from stories their parents told!

[Paul Cummings]

Given a murder occurred, I would expect the bus route probably got detoured with death of Tippit.

Edited March 4 by Paul Cummings

[John Deignan]

In her Warren Commission testimony she says that she catches her bus at 1:15 on The corner of Patton and Jefferson. Which means she was a block from where she catches her bus. So there is no way the Tippit murder took place at 1:15 like some claim.

[Jamey Flanagan]

Yeah, in her testimony she did say 1:15 but I think they determined it usually ran around 1:12. Time is a difficult thing to determine back in the days before cell phones. If the 1:12 estimation is correct then I can buy that she just rounded up to say 1:15. But regardless of the exact time, either way, I agree with you that the Tippit murder did not occur that late. 

That's one reason I asked whether the bus was on time or not. With all the commotion in Dallas surrounding the assassination, it could conceivably have been running late that day.

[Bill Brown]

On 3/3/2024 at 8:28 PM, Jamey Flanagan said:

I've never actually heard anything about the bus as far as I can remember except that she was waiting on it and it usually arrived around 1:12.

That would be great if if the bus stop was where the killer headed and the bus was on time, but you are sadly correct about losing people to the sands of time. 

I'm actually surprised we don't hear more stories come out though from children of people who witnessed something that didn't fit with the official narrative from stories their parents told!

 

You're assuming Markham regularly caught the 1:12 bus.  She never said anything about catching any bus at 1:12.  A bus also stopped at that same bus stop at 1:22.

 

[David Von Pein]

http://jfk-archives.blogspot.com / Helen Markham's Bus