Backyard Photographs
The backyard photographs section addresses the controversial photographs taken in the backyard of the Oswald residence, including their content, the circumstances of their creation, and their significance as evidence.
Photographic Authentication
The photographic authentication section details the analysis performed to verify the authenticity of the photographs in question, including examination of camera equipment, photographic processing evidence, and expert testimony on matters of photographic integrity.
Appendix XII References
The Appendix XII references section provides a comprehensive listing of source citations, cross-references, and supporting evidence organized by topic, including page references, Commission exhibits, and transcript citations from witness testimony.
Investigation Summary
The investigation summary section synthesizes the key findings and conclusions drawn from the forensic examinations, providing an overview of how the various lines of physical evidence contributed to the overall investigation.
Witness Testimony
The witness testimony section consolidates references to the testimony given by expert and lay witnesses whose statements supported or related to the forensic evidence presented in the chapter.
Physical Evidence
The physical evidence section catalogs the tangible items collected, examined, and introduced as exhibits during the investigation, including weapons, documents, photographs, and trace evidence.
Forensic Photography
The forensic photography section addresses the role of photographic documentation in recording the crime scene, evidence, and experimental reconstructions, including the work of official photographers and the analysis of their products.
Firearms Examination
The firearms examination section provides a detailed account of the ballistics and weapons analysis conducted, including test firing, comparison microscopy, and the conclusions reached regarding the source of recovered bullet and cartridge case evidence.
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER VIII presents Appendix XIII, a comprehensive compilation of testimony and documentary evidence concerning Lee Harvey Oswald’s early life, family relationships, and developmental history. The chapter draws on statements from Oswald’s mother (Marguerite), brother (Robert), stepfather (John Pic), and aunt (Lillian Murret), along with school records, social service files, and organizational documents, to trace the subject’s childhood in New Orleans and New York, his struggles with truancy, his evaluation at Youth House, his participation in the Civil Air Patrol, and his subsequent military service.
Appendix XIII
Appendix XIII opens with foundational citations establishing background information about Lee Harvey Oswald’s family circumstances, drawing on FBI reports (Folsom DE 1), Warren Commission exhibits (CE 2205, 2207, 2208, 2197-2203), and testimony from Marguerite Oswald and Lillian Murret concerning the family home at 1010 Bartholomew Street in New Orleans and related early residence details.
Oswald Family Testimonies
The Oswald family testimonies are presented through multiple witnesses who provided accounts of family life, parental relationships, and Lee’s early development. Primary testimony came from Marguerite Oswald (mother), Robert Edward Lee Oswald (brother), John Pic (stepfather), Lillian Murret (aunt), and supporting witnesses including Myrtle Evans, Julian Evans, Marilyn Dorothea Murret, Viola Peterman, and Anne Boudreaux, with corroborating documentary evidence from commission exhibits and FBI reports.
Marguerite Oswald
Marguerite Oswald’s testimony addresses the family’s early circumstances, her marriage to John Pic, her employment at hosiery shops (“Princess Hosiery” or “Jean’s Hosiery Shop”), and her meeting of Edwin Ekdahl. Her statements cover the period of Lee’s early childhood, the family’s move to New York, her decision to place Lee in a home, and subsequent custodial arrangements, though some accounts conflicted with those of John Pic and Robert Oswald.
Robert Oswald
Robert Oswald’s testimony provides a brother’s perspective on family life, including his recollection that the family moved to Benbrook after Christmas 1945 (when he and John spent time with school friends while the Ekdahls and Lee were in Boston), his accounts of family residences, his belief (apparently incorrect) that Ekdahl was already living in Dallas when the family moved there, and details about Lee’s behavior and development through childhood and adolescence.
John Pic
John Pic’s testimony as Lee’s stepfather covers the family home on Bartholomew Street, his accounts of the family’s employment history (including department stores and assistant store manager positions at Lerner Shops and Literary Guild), and the origins and escalation of the quarrel with Marguerite that led to family disruption. He places a particular visit by Lee much earlier (October or November 1952) than Robert Oswald’s recollection, and testified about learning chess from Hiram Conway.
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