Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

KAPITEL VIII. She did not then know Oswald’s address in Dallas.[C6-367]

This chapter documents Jack Ruby’s activities, movements, and statements in the roughly 24 hours following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, from the evening of November 22 through the late night of November 23, 1963, including his emotional responses to the killing, his investigation of controversial political signage and advertising, his visits to Dallas businesses and venues, his numerous phone calls, and the conflicting witness testimony surrounding his whereabouts in the hours before he fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald.

Pursuing the Billboard and Newspaper Ad Connection

Ruby examined a billboard and a related newspaper advertisement, and told associates he believed the two were the work of the John Birch Society, the Communist Party, or a combination of both. He drove to a post office to ask a postal employee for the name of the person who rented the mailbox featured on the billboard, but the employee refused to provide the information; Ruby found the mailbox stuffed with mail. He then went to a coffeeshop with three associates to discuss the two advertisements for roughly 30 minutes. Afterward, Crafard was taken to the Carousel Club, and Ruby returned to his apartment with an associate named Senator, going to bed around 6 a.m.

Crafard’s Departure from the Carousel Club

At 8 or 8:30 a.m. on November 23, Crafard—who had been tasked with feeding Ruby’s dogs—called Ruby to ask about food for the animals. Ruby, who had forgotten he planned to stay up late, reprimanded Crafard for waking him. A few hours later, Crafard gathered his few belongings, took $5 owed to him from the Carousel Club cash register, left a receipt and thank-you note, and began hitchhiking to Michigan. Later that day, Andrew Armstrong found the note and telephoned Ruby.

Ruby’s Emotional Response to the President’s Death

Ruby did not return to bed after Crafard’s call. During the morning, he watched a televised eulogy for President Kennedy delivered by a rabbi, who spoke of Kennedy serving in battles around the world before being shot in his own country; Ruby told the Commission the eulogy created a “tremendous emotional feeling” for him and that he was “carried away” by the remarks, crying during the broadcast. An employee who called Ruby that morning noted his voice was shaking when he spoke of the assassination.

Visit to Dealey Plaza

Between noon and 1:30 p.m., Ruby drove to Dealey Plaza, where a police officer who noted Ruby’s solemnity pointed out the window from which the rifle shots were fired the previous day. Ruby inspected memorial wreaths placed for the President and spoke emotionally with the officer. He introduced himself to a KRLD radio reporter working from a mobile news unit at the plaza, mentioned his prior help connecting KLIF radio with Henry Wade for an interview, and pointed out Capt. J. Will Fritz and Chief Curry in the area, after which the reporter interviewed and photographed the officers. Ruby said he then drove home before returning downtown to Sol’s Turf Bar.

Ruby at the Nichols Parking Garage

Evidence indicated that after leaving Dealey Plaza, Ruby went to the Nichols Parking Garage adjacent to the Carousel Club. Attendant Tom Brown believed he saw Ruby around 1:30 p.m. and heard him mention Chief Curry’s name in a telephone conversation from the garage; before departing, Ruby asked Brown to inform acquaintances that the Carousel would be closed. Garage general manager Garnett C. Hallmark testified Ruby arrived at the garage around 3 p.m., walked to a telephone, asked if a competing burlesque club would be closed that night, and said he was “acting like a reporter.” Hallmark overheard Ruby address the call recipient as “Ken” and discuss the transfer of Oswald, referring to him only as “he” and telling the recipient, “you know I’ll be there.”

Phone Calls Concerning the Oswald Transfer

KLIF announcer Ken Dowe confirmed he was likely the “Ken” Ruby called from the Nichols Garage, receiving at least two calls from Ruby that Saturday afternoon. In one call, Ruby asked when Oswald would be moved; in the other, he stated he would attempt to locate Henry Wade. After finishing the calls, Ruby walked onto Commerce Street, passed the Carousel Club, then returned a few minutes later to retrieve his car.