Hit List-- The Systematic Murders of JFK Witnesses

[W. Niederhut]

     I started a thread on the forum last year, on the occasion of the death of American comedian, Richard Belzer, who had co-authored the popular book, Hit List, about the suspicious deaths of numerous witnesses with knowledge of the JFK assassination.  Belzer, et.al., included forensics data and actuarial estimates in the book.

      I noticed, in the archives, that Douglas Caddy started a forum thread about Hit List in 2013, but hardly anyone commented on that original thread, or reviewed the book.  

      In any case, I was somewhat surprised recently to hear a JFK researcher deny that there was anything suspicious about all of these untimely deaths-- including those of Dorothy Killgallen, Rose Cheramie, Lee Bowers, Mary Pinchot Meyer, William Sullivan, Sam Giancana, George De Mohrenschildt, et.al.

      One of the most obvious was the "Omerta" murder of Giancana on the night before his scheduled meeting with members of Congress, almost simultaneous with DeMohrenschildt's "suicide" before his Congressional testimony.

      Do most forum members consider the Hit List data (also published on various websites) accurate-- i.e., reliable reference material?

Edited March 6 by W. Niederhut

[W. Niederhut]

Let me re-phrase my question.

Do forum members who have studied the history of the JFK assassination believe that the numerous suspicious deaths of key witnesses enumerated in Hit List (and similar on-line lists) were matters of mere happenstance, or deliberate, systematic murders?

In the latter case, should Hit List be part of the canon of evidenced-based reference literature about the cover-up of the JFK assassination op, and a subject of further inquiry?

Who were the killers, and who ordered the hits?

In Giancana's case, the hit man was, evidently, someone he knew.

Also, what are the implications of these systematic murders for the astonishing scope of the assassination conspiracy? 

Some of them occurred several years after JFK's murder-- typically at times when the homicide victim was on the verge of testifying about JFK's murder.

Edited March 6 by W. Niederhut

[Norman T. Field]

Deliberate. According to the book 'Admitted Assassin' Roscoe White was tasked with eliminating some of the witnesses. 

[W. Niederhut]

1 hour ago, Norman T. Field said:

Deliberate. According to the book 'Admitted Assassin' Roscoe White was tasked with eliminating some of the witnesses. 

Peter Janney also identified the suspected assassin in the Mary Pinchot Meyer case, as I recall.

I'd have to look it up, but I think some researchers also identified a suspect in the Dorothy Killgallen case.

William Sullivan was murdered by a New Hampshire neighbor in an alleged "hunting accident."

[Charles Blackmon]

I read Hit List because I always found the rumors I had heard of so many unexpected/unexplained deaths of many JFKA witnesses to point towards conspiracy and cover-up.

[W. Niederhut]

2 hours ago, Norman T. Field said:

Deliberate. According to the book 'Admitted Assassin' Roscoe White was tasked with eliminating some of the witnesses. 

Norman,

   Thanks for the reference.

   I can't find any threads in the forum archives about Admitted Assassin, but there are a few threads about Roscoe White, including a 2018 thread by Denny Zartman.

    White, apparently, got a job with the DPD shortly before 11/22/63, and was accused of (or confessed to?) shooting JFK from the Grassy Knoll. 

   (I, obviously, need to do some remedial reading about Roscoe White.)

 

Edited March 7 by W. Niederhut

[Mark Ulrik]

Does the book in question list the date of the death of Domingo Benavides' brother as 2/64 or 2/65? It's not a good sign if it lazily repeats an error copied by so many conspiracy writers since Penn Jones.

[Pat Speer]

I spent a considerable amount of time looking at this stuff 20 years ago or so. 

And I think there are three take-aways.

1. There were a lot people tangentially connected to the Kennedy assassination and a lot of these "witnesses" died over time, And their deaths are not suspicious. Many of these were minor witnesses but were made out to be important witnesses by those compiling lists and selling books. An example of one such witness is Lee Bowers. Lee died in an auto accident well after he'd said all he had to say. (Or at least all he hinted at knowing,) Another such witness is James Worrell--who also died in a traffic accident, as I recall. We have no reason to believe their deaths are connected. This was Texas, after all, where it was legal to drink and drive until what? yesterday? 

2. But then there's the likes of Rose Cherami, whose death remains a bit of a mystery. She may have seen enough in her travels where somebody would want to shut her up. I think we should count her as a "maybe". I would include Kilgallen on this list as well. It's unclear whether anyone would really want to kill them, but their deaths remain curious. 

3. And then there's the the likes of Roselli and Giancana. They were murdered while the assassination was being investigated, and at a time when they were believed to be cooperating with authorities. I met Sen. Gary Hart once briefly, and heard him speak on the assassination another time (I don't remember where) but he stressed the point that the members of the Church Committee were on the fence as to whether JFK's death was a conspiracy until their witnesses started dying. And then they knew.  

So, in short, a mysterious deaths list is interesting, and potentially valuable, but only to the extent it's been edited. 

The more the merrier is less, in this instance. 

 

[Charles Blackmon]

One of the unexplained deaths in Hit List involved a JFKA witness who crashed through a plate glass window of a business in my hometown of Pensacola FL. 

[James DiEugenio]

Belzer was an entertainer who had a strong interest in the JFK case.

He was in no way a researcher/writer.

I actually had an argument once with his researcher online.

I agree with Pat on this one.

Many of these are not at all related to the case.  

There are some exceptions.  But there is no way they would fill a book. 

[Ron Bulman]

1 hour ago, Charles Blackmon said:

One of the unexplained deaths in Hit List involved a JFKA witness who crashed through a plate glass window of a business in my hometown of Pensacola FL. 

That was Hank Killam, husband of Wanda who was a stripper for Jack Ruby.  He reportedly knew Oswald and that Oswald knew Ruby.  Officially he fell or jumped through a plate glass window as you say, and it slit his throat cutting the carotid artery.  At 4:30 in the morning, blood found 4-5' inside the building, he was found 50' away on the pavement.  Ruled a suicide, then an accident.  More detail in the book.  He was running, knew he would be killed for what he knew.  Told others so. 

[Charles Blackmon]

Secrets, Suspicion, and a Shattered Window: The Connection Between JFK’s Assassination and a Mysterious Death in Pensacola - Pensacola Beat

 

Thanks Ron. Yes it was Hank Killam. While some deaths detailed in Hit List may not point to conspiracy, this is one of many that most certainly did.

Edited March 7 by Charles Blackmon

[Ron Bulman]

8 hours ago, W. Niederhut said:

     I started a thread on the forum last year, on the occasion of the death of American comedian, Richard Belzer, who had co-authored the popular book, Hit List, about the suspicious deaths of numerous witnesses with knowledge of the JFK assassination.  Belzer, et.al., included forensics data and actuarial estimates in the book.

      I noticed, in the archives, that Douglas Caddy started a forum thread about Hit List in 2013, but hardly anyone commented on that original thread, or reviewed the book.  

      In any case, I was somewhat surprised recently to hear a JFK researcher deny that there was anything suspicious about all of these untimely deaths-- including those of Dorothy Killgallen, Rose Cheramie, Lee Bowers, Mary Pinchot Meyer, William Sullivan, Sam Giancana, George De Mohrenschildt, et.al.

      One of the most obvious was the "Omerta" murder of Giancana on the night before his scheduled meeting with members of Congress, almost simultaneous with DeMohrenschildt's "suicide" before his Congressional testimony.

      Do most forum members consider the Hit List data (also published on various websites) accurate-- i.e., reliable reference material?

I think it has limited use as a point of reference.  Some of the summations I've not seen elsewhere, some the relevance is questionable (Jim Reeves), a few are several pages, many less.  

I thought the one on Lee Bowers was pretty concise no longer than it is.  Plus, they counter Dave Perry and Posner in the process.

I think it's been discussed on the forum before, and I've probably read about it elsewhere, but the part on the six top former FBI agents dying in six months before scheduled HSCA testimony is better than I remember reading anywhere else.  Too coincidental, especially three by heart attack, which can be simulated.  William Sullivan's self-predicted accidental hunting accident death is very questionable, never properly investigated.

I don't remember reading the detail on Hank Killam elsewhere. 

[W. Niederhut]

4 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

Belzer was an entertainer who had a strong interest in the JFK case.

He was in no way a researcher/writer.

I actually had an argument once with his researcher online.

I agree with Pat on this one.

Many of these are not at all related to the case.  

There are some exceptions.  But there is no way they would fill a book. 

Jim,

Belzer's hit list of murdered JFKA witnesses is substantial, and the forensic evidence and actuarial probabilities are extremely suspicious-- the diametric opposite of what Pat Speer claimed (above.)  

All of the identified cases in the book were people who had knowledge about people and events relating to JFK's murder, and many died when they were threatening or scheduled to spill the beans-- e.g., Gary Underhill, the journalist from L.A. (Hunter?) who had been in Ruby's apartment,  Mary Pinchot Meyer, Dorothy Killgallen, David Ferrie, William Sullivan,  (and a few FBI lab technicians) the officer who filmed the Bethesda autopsy, Giancana, De Mohrenschildt, and dozens more.  (I'm naming a few off of the top of my head.)

In Lee Bowers case, he was driven off the road by a mystery vehicle into a concrete wall, and he told the EMTs prior to his death that he thought his coffee had been drugged at a local diner, before returning to his car.  Bowers had also, reportedly, told family members that he had not reported everything that he witnessed on 11/22/63-- in the parking lot behind the picket fence-- because he was afraid.

Curiously, this is the precise opposite of what Pat Speer just claimed (above.)  Pat's 0-2 here.

My impression from studying the Hit List data is that someone was carefully monitoring these witnesses over time -- tapping phones, etc.-- and ordering hits when they had evidence of impending testimony refuting the Warren Commission narrative.

Incidentally, William Sullivan told friends that he thought he was going to be murdered, prior to his Congressional testimony.

My hypothesis is that these systematic murders of witnesses were implementations of the 1964 CIA Executive Order instructing Agency personnel to do "whatever is necessary" to promote public acceptance of the Warren Commission Report.

 

Edited March 7 by W. Niederhut

[Ron Bulman]

Well I'll be durned.  I mentioned not knowing how Jim Reeves related, so I went back and re-read that section.  Seems he knew Jack Ruby through Dewey Groom, of the Long Horn Ballroom (where I saw Charlie Daniels in the late 1980's).  He said he also knew Oswald, telling friends about this after Ruby shot him.  Other suspicion about Reeves as a government courier, he piloted his own plane which crashed in Nashville, suspicion about the crash.  Belzer and Wayne conclude, Possible Sabotage, currently unclear if linked to the JFK Assassination.

Way before MTV, an old favorite from one of my dad's 8-track's.