chapter V of this report.
This chapter presents evidence of Lee Harvey Oswald’s false statements during police interrogation following the assassination of President Kennedy, and evaluates the Commission’s case that Oswald also attempted to kill Major General Edwin A. Walker in April 1963. The chapter details paraffin test results, Oswald’s repeated lies about the rifle, revolver, aliases, the curtain rod story, his actions during the shooting, and the four categories of evidence linking him to the Walker shooting attempt: a note, photographs, firearms identification, and admissions to Marina Oswald.
Paraffin Tests on Oswald’s Hands and Cheek
On the evening of November 22, 1963, the Dallas Police Department conducted paraffin tests on Oswald’s hands and right cheek to determine whether he had recently fired a weapon. The results were positive for the hands and negative for the right cheek. Expert testimony before the Commission characterized the paraffin test as unreliable for determining whether a person has fired a rifle or revolver. Accordingly, the Commission placed no reliance on the Dallas police’s paraffin tests.
Oswald’s False Interrogation Statements
Oswald provided little information during his police questioning. When confronted with evidence he could not explain, he frequently resorted to statements known to be false. Although the Commission did not treat Oswald’s untrue statements as positive proof of guilt, it found they had probative value in assessing the weight of his denials. Because independent evidence showed Oswald repeatedly and blatantly lied to police, the Commission gave little weight to his denials that he assassinated President Kennedy and killed Patrolman Tippit.
Denial of Rifle Ownership
Oswald denied owning a rifle from the outset. When Captain Fritz confronted him on November 23 with evidence that he had purchased a rifle under the name “Hidell,” Oswald denied it. He also denied having a rifle wrapped in a blanket in the Paine garage, and claimed that since leaving the Marine Corps he had fired only a small-bore .22 rifle. After obtaining a search warrant, Officers Moore, Stovall, and Rose found two photographs in the Paine garage showing Oswald with a rifle and pistol. When shown these photographs, Oswald sneered and claimed they were fakes, alleging police had superimposed a rifle and revolver onto photos taken the day before. Marina Oswald testified that she had taken the pictures with her husband’s Imperial Reflex camera while they lived on Neely Street, and a photography expert confirmed the pictures were not composites.
The Revolver
During his first interrogation, Oswald claimed his only crime was carrying a gun and resisting arrest. When asked why he carried the revolver, he responded, “Well, you know about a pistol. I just carried it.” He falsely stated that he bought the revolver in Fort Worth, when in fact he had purchased it from a mail-order house in Los Angeles.
The Aliases ‘Hidell’ and ‘O. H. Lee’
Officers found a forged selective service card bearing Oswald’s picture and the name “Alek J. Hidell” in his billfold. On November 22 and 23, Oswald refused to explain to Fritz why the card was in his possession. On November 24, he denied knowing A. J. Hidell, and when shown the card became angry, saying he had told Fritz all he intended to about it. At his last interrogation, Oswald admitted renting Dallas post office box 2915 to Postal Inspector Holmes, but denied receiving a rifle or any package addressed to Hidell at that box, and denied knowing that Hidell was listed on New Orleans post office box 30061. When asked why he lived at his roominghouse under the name “O. H. Lee,” Oswald claimed the landlady simply made a mistake because he told her his first name was Lee. However, the roominghouse register revealed that Oswald had actually signed the name “O. H. Lee.”
The Curtain Rod Story
The Commission found that Oswald lied when he told Frazier he was returning to Irving to obtain curtain rods on the morning of November 22, 1963. When asked about the story, Oswald denied ever telling Frazier he wanted a ride to Irving to get curtain rods. He explained that a party for the Paine children had been planned for the weekend, and he preferred not to be in the Paine house at that time. The Commission noted that the Paine children’s party had actually been held the preceding weekend, and Marina Oswald had suggested Oswald remain in Dallas. When told that Frazier and Mrs. Randle had seen him carrying a long heavy package, Oswald replied they were mistaken. He told Fritz the only sack he carried that day was a lunch sack kept on his lap during the ride, but Frazier testified Oswald carried no lunch sack that day.
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