President's Commission on the Assassination of - The Warren Commission (Complete Edition)

But—she and I became involved in this way. In the front of the store was a showcase with cheap jewelry. This is a credit place, rings, diamond rings, and bracelets. And Carol had the key to this case, and so did I. And there was some talk about a ring or something missing. I realized right then and there I could not put myself in a position of things being stolen, because here was a girl who they said her father was a gangster, and she was working in a bar. And my son was a known defector. So I quit that job.

Now, on television for the Ruby trial here comes the girl. I thought I recognized this girl. The name is Karen Bennett. And I called her Carol, it could be Karen Bennett. I didn't have much to do with the girl. So I immediately told this story to Mr. Jack Langueth of the New York Times, and I told also to another Star Telegram reporter, Mr. John McConnoch, because I wanted them to investigate.

But I have not heard anything about it.

Mr. Rankin. How about Bruce Carlin?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir.

Mr. Rankin. You don't know whether your son knew him?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir. I would not know anybody that my son knew. That I am positive—because he never did tell me any of this. But continue.

Mr. Rankin. Robert Kermit Patterson, also known as Bobby Patterson?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir.

Mr. Rankin. Donald C. Stuart?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir.

Mr. Rankin. Charles Arndt?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir.

Mr. Rankin. James A. Jackson?

Mrs. Oswald. No, you know, a few of those names sound to me like they might be on the back of both of these pictures. I am not sure.

Mr. Rankin. They are supposed to be associates or friends or people that Mr. Ruby knew and associated with closely.

Stanley or Katya Skotnicki?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir.

Mr. Rankin. Larry Crafard, or Crawford?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir.

Mr. Rankin. Do you remember that name?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir. I was trying to connect the name with a couple.

Mr. Rankin. Do you know whether he ever spent any time in the Silver Spur?

Mrs. Oswald. If Lee ever did?

Mr. Rankin. Yes.

Mrs. Oswald. I have had no knowledge of Lee for 1 year. None whatsoever.

Mr. Rankin. And before that do you know whether he spent any time in the Silver Spur in Dallas?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir.

And before that, as to what I do know, that Lee did not drink and Lee did not smoke, and Lee wasn't the type—not that he did not maybe go into saloons—but from what I know of him, he did not go into places like that of his own. If he was working he might have gone into these places.

Mr. Rankin. These are the nightclubs Jack Ruby was associated with. You recognize that?

Mrs. Oswald. No, I don't.

Mr. Rankin. And the Vegas Club was another one. Do you know whether he spent time there?

Mrs. Oswald. I would have no way of knowing.

Mr. Rankin. And the Sovereign Club?

Mrs. Oswald. I have no way of knowing. I am going to say, again, Mr. Lane would have ways of knowing about all these clubs and everything, because that is his part of our investigation. I would like to get back to Patrolman Tippit.

Mr. Rankin. All right. I just want to try to cover this book about Lee Oswald's marksmanship. That has been marked Exhibit 238.

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 238, for identification.)

Mr. Rankin. It is a book that you brought here.

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, it was left in his sea bag, when he came home from the Marine Corps.

Mr. Rankin. And that reads, "U.S. Marine Corps Score Book, Oswald, L. H."

Mrs. Oswald. That is correct.

Mr. Rankin. That is your son's?

Mrs. Oswald. That is correct. That is his platoon, 2060, that is the one he got the trophy with.

Mr. Rankin. Were the various marks in that book in pencil that you see there in the book when you first found it?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, sir, I have not touched the book.

Mr. Rankin. Is it in the same condition?

Mrs. Oswald. That is the same condition that it was in his sea bag.

Mr. Rankin. We offer in evidence Exhibit 238, and ask leave to substitute a copy.

The Chairman. It may be introduced.

(The document heretofore marked as Commission Exhibit No. 238 was received in evidence.)

Mr. Rankin. Mr. Reporter, will you mark this 239?

(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 239 for identification and received in evidence.)

Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald. I will ask you to glance through Exhibit 239 and state whether or not that appears to be photostatic copy of——

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, that is the photostatic copy——

Mr. Rankin. Of Exhibit 238?

Mrs. Oswald. That is correct.

Mr. Rankin. And you will see it has the same markings.

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, sir, that is correct.

Mr. Rankin. This is a copy we will substitute.

Now, do you want to tell about the shooting of Officer Tippit?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes. I have many, many clippings—as I say, we have all these people working. And we have come to the conclusion, and have never seen where they had an autopsy on Patrolman Tippit or even his gun or anything. In other words, Patrolman Tippit's life has been quiet from the very beginning after the shooting. I have never seen anything about him in print. And we question where all the money that has been given to Mrs. Tippit has come from. That is a tremendous amount of money—tremendous for donations.

The Chairman. You say you question the money?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, sir; the donations to Mrs. Tippit.

The Chairman. You mean you question whether she received them or not?

Mrs. Oswald. No—where is the money coming from? As far as she knows, sir, they are donations. But where is the actual money coming from, because it is such a large amount? Like I question Marina's money. She has now $38,000. That is just what they have stated she has. What she has may be more. But that is a lot of money for donations, a tremendous lot of money.

And Mrs. Tippit has, I think, almost half a million dollars. Is that correct? I am not quite sure. But, anyhow, it is a large amount of money. And with our investigation and things that are not according to Hoyle, we do question where the money is coming from.

The Chairman. Do you have any idea where it comes from, after your investigation?

Mrs. Oswald. Well, Mr. Lane has. I do not have all the information. He has this information. And we are still investigating it, sir. And we will investigate if it takes another year or two. We are going to continue to arrive at the truth.

Mr. Rankin. You referred to an article in the Time Magazine of February 14, 1964, volume 83, No. 7, when you said there were some things that were wrong in it—do you remember that?

Mrs. Oswald. Yes, sir.

Mr. Rankin. Did you write a letter about this assassination of President Kennedy to President Johnson at some time?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir; I never have.

Mr. Rankin. Did you send a telegram?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir. The only telegram I sent to President Johnson was stating that I had sent a telegram to you and Chief Justice Warren, if you remember.

Mr. Rankin. Did you get any response from the White House?

Mrs. Oswald. No, sir; I did not get a response from the White House. And I am indignant at the response that I did get. What it did was to inform me, I was so graciously treated by Mr. Kennedy and his Administration, as I have stated and testified, that I am shocked that I am now to be told that I am not to worry the President. "In response to your telegram to the President, I wish to inform you that any requests or any information dealing with the inquiry conducted by Chief Justice Warren should properly be directed to the Commission. I note in your telegram that you have directed your request to the Chief Justice and to Mr. Rankin, the Commission's General Counsel. Sincerely, Lee C. White, Assistant Special Counsel to the President."