Hampton Sides - Hellhound on His Trail - The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. And the International Hunt for His Assassin

361 "Hey, that sounded like a shot!": FBI interview with Anschutz, April 4, 1968.

CHAPTER 24

LIKE A MAN ON A CROSS

362 "His arms went out":Frady, Martin Luther King Jr. , p. 205.

363 "Oh my God, Martin's been shot!":My account of the shot and its immediate aftermath is drawn from dozens of sources, including photographs, newspaper accounts, oral histories, and official records. I especially relied on Abernathy's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA), Appendix Reports , vol. 1, p. 20; Abernathy's memoir, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down , pp. 440-42; Young's memoir Easy Burden , pp. 464-65; and Memphis Police Department statements and FBI interviews gathered from witnesses at the Lorraine Motel, Hughes Collection. I also consulted "The Last Moments: Memphis, Tenn., April 4, 1968," in HSCA, Final Assassinations Report , pp. 282-85.

364 "It's all right":Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down , p. 441.

365 made a solid thunk:FBI interview with Canipe, April 5, 1968, Hughes Collection.

366 "The understanding":Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down , p. 441.

367 "crimson molasses":Frank, American Death , p. 82.

368 Kyles discreetly slipped it out of his grip:Interview with Kyles on CNN, Special Investigations Unit, that aired on April 4, 2009. Kyles says, "I took a crushed cigarette out of his hand. He didn't want kids to see him smoke." See also Frady, Martin Luther King Jr. , p. 205.

369 Louw trembled with a manic rage:The story of how Louw photographed his world-famous image on the balcony is best captured in Frank, American Death , pp. 77-80.

370 "shaking like a leaf":Honey, Going Down Jericho Road , p. 442.

371 "We have information":Memphis Police Department radio dispatcher recordings from April 4, 1968, Hughes Collection.

372 "Where's he been hit?":Frank, American Death , pp. 85-86.

373 "Murder! Murder!":Ibid., p. 83.

CHAPTER 25

THE WEAPON IS NOT TO BE TOUCHED

374 sitting at his desk:My account of what transpired at Canipe's Amusement Company is primarily drawn from the initial FBI interview with the shop owner, Guy Canipe, and from FBI interviews with the customers Julius Graham and Bernell Finley, April 5, 1968. I also relied on Memphis Police Department statements taken from Canipe, Graham, and Finley. Additional details came from my own interviews with the retired Memphis police officers James Papia and Jewell Ray, who were among the first on the scene at Canipe's.

375 "You are not to touch the weapon!":Memphis Police Department radio dispatcher recordings from April 4, 1968, Hughes Collection.

376 "Suspect described as young white male":Ibid.

377 Stephens dashed back to his room:FBI interview with Stephens, conducted on April 4, 1968, by Special Agents John Bauer and Stephen Darlington, Hughes Collection.

378 "Georgia, I don't think":Author interview with Georgia Davis Powers, May 7, 2008, Louisville, Ky.

379 "Give me the loop lights!":Frank, An American Death , p. 85.

380 "Is he alive?":This passage from inside the ambulance is largely adapted from Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down , p. 442.

381 Captain Jewell Ray:My account of Jewell Ray's initial investigation of the crime scene at Canipe's and inside Bessie Brewer's rooming house is primarily drawn from my interview with Ray, on Feb. 13, 2009. I also interviewed the retired police officer James Papia, who investigated the scene with Ray. Additionally, I relied on Memphis Police Department statements taken from Ray, Papia, Canipe, Willie Anschutz, Charlie Stephens, and Bessie Brewer. See also Frank, An American Death , pp. 98-103.

CHAPTER 26

A PAUSE THAT WOULD NEVER END

382 "Coretta, Doc just got shot":Coretta Scott King's recollection of Jackson's phone call from Memphis is in her memoir, My Life with Martin Luther King Jr. , p. 318.

383 "Mama? You hear that?":Dexter Scott King, Growing Up King , p. 48.

384 "I understand":Ibid.

385 team of nurses and ER orderlies:My passages concerning the efforts to save King's life inside the St. Joseph's ER are drawn from multiple sources. I especially relied on Memphis Police Department summaries (Hughes Collection) gathered immediately after King's death by homicide detectives who interviewed a number of ER doctors and nurses. Other important sources include the oral history of Dr. Frederick Gioia and other attending physicians in Beifuss, At the River I Stand , pp. 297-99; Abernathy's memoirs, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down , pp. 443-44; Frank's vivid account in American Death , pp. 90, 93, 95-96, 119; and my own interview with Dr. Ted Galyon, December 30, 2009.

386 "I'm staying":Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down , p. 443.

387 Gioia stepped into the fray:For my passage on Dr. Gioia and his efforts to treat King, I'm grateful for the insights of his daughter, Dominique Gioia Skaggs, with whom I spoke and corresponded.

388 "It would be a blessing":Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down , p. 443. See also Raines, My Soul Is Rested , p. 471.

389 Rufus Bradshaw:My account of the CB radio "chase" heard by Bradshaw is primarily drawn from the radio dispatcher recording, Hughes Collection. I also relied on Memphis Police Department and the FBI's Memphis field office investigations of the CB radio transmission, Hughes Collection.

390 In the waiting room, Andy Young sat:Young, Easy Burden , p. 466.

391 "The neck": Ibid.

392 Hanging up the beige receiver:Dexter King, Growing Up King , p. 48.

393 "Your father--there's been an accident":Ibid.

394 "I need to see Dr. King!":Frady, Jesse , p. 229.

395 "And I caught his head":Ibid.

396 "You dirty, stinking, lying ...!":Williams, quoted in Kenneth R. Timmerman, Shakedown: Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson (Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 2002), p. 8.

397 "It's a helluva thing":Ibid., p. 7.

398 "This whole thing's":Frady, Jesse , p. 229.

399 David Burrington:Timmerman, Shakedown , p. 8.

400 "He won't make it":Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down , p. 443.

401 "nothing more than prolonged shudders":Ibid., p. 443.

402 Father Bergard closed King's eyes:Beifuss, At the River I Stand , p. 300.

403 King's parents listened to the radio:Martin Luther King Sr., Daddy King , p. 189.

404 "No matter how much protection":Ibid., p. 187.

405 "My first son":Ibid., p. 189.

406 Two agents:This passage is drawn from Arthur L. Murtagh's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassinations, Appendix Reports , vol. 6, p. 107; and from James J. Rose's testimony, ibid., vol. 6, pp. 125-27.