Timeline to the Roominghouse
If Oswald left the bus at 12:44 p.m. and walked directly to the terminal, he would have entered the cab at 12:47 or 12:48 p.m. With a 6-minute cab ride, he would have reached his destination at approximately 12:54 p.m. If discharged at Neely and Beckley, the 5-minute walk would have him arriving at 12:59 to 1:00 p.m. From the 500 block, the walk would be slightly longer, but in either case he would have reached the roominghouse at about 1 p.m.—matching Earlene Roberts’s account of when he entered.
Arrival and departure from roominghouse
Earlene Roberts, housekeeper at 1026 North Beckley, knew Oswald as “O.H. Lee” and had known him since he rented a room on October 14, 1963. On November 22, at about 1 p.m., Oswald entered in unusual haste after the President was shot. He stayed no longer than 3 or 4 minutes, hurried to his room, and left zipping up a jacket. He was seen a few seconds later at a bus stop on the east side of Beckley.
Movements After the Roominghouse
Oswald was next seen about nine-tenths of a mile away at the southeast corner of 10th Street and Patton Avenue, moments before the Tippit shooting. If he left the roominghouse shortly after 1 p.m. and walked at a brisk pace, he would have reached 10th and Patton shortly after 1:15 p.m. Tippit’s murder was recorded on the police radio tape at about 1:16 p.m.
Description of Shooting
Patrolman J.D. Tippit, a Dallas officer since July 1952 described as “a very fine, dedicated officer,” patrolled district No. 78 alone. Radio dispatches at 12:44, 12:45, 12:48, 12:54, and 12:55 p.m. directed officers including Tippit to the central Oak Cliff area and broadcast the suspect’s description as a white male, approximately 30, 5’10“, 165 pounds, slender. At about 1:15 p.m., Tippit stopped a man matching the description on 10th Street; as Tippit walked around the front of his car toward the left front wheel, the man pulled a revolver and fired several shots, killing Tippit instantly. The gunman retreated toward Patton Avenue, ejecting empty cartridges and reloading.
Eyewitnesses
At least 12 persons saw the man with the revolver at or immediately after the shooting. By the evening of November 22, five had identified Oswald in police lineups, a sixth did so the next day, three others later identified him from a photograph, two said Oswald resembled the man, and one felt too distant to make a positive identification.
Taxi Driver William Scoggins
Eating lunch in his cab parked on Patton facing 10th and Patton, Scoggins saw a police car stop about 100 feet from the corner alongside a man in a light-colored jacket. After losing sight behind shrubbery, he heard three or four shots, saw the officer fall, and hid behind his cab as the gunman passed within 12 feet, muttering “Poor damn cop” or “Poor dumb cop.” He identified Oswald in a four-man lineup the next day, though he acknowledged possibly having seen Oswald’s newspaper picture before the identification.
Witness Domingo Benavides
Driving a pickup truck west on 10th Street, Benavides saw a policeman by the left door of the parked police car and a man at the right side. He heard three shots, saw the officer fall, and observed the gunman empty his gun and throw shells into bushes on the southeast corner lot. Using Tippit’s car radio, he first reported the killing at 1:16 p.m. He retrieved two empty shells and gave them to arriving officers. He later testified that the television picture of Oswald resembled the shooter.
Witness Helen Markham
Standing on the northwest corner of 10th and Patton, Markham saw the man approach the right window of Tippit’s car and lean on the ledge. As Tippit calmly got out and walked toward the front, the man pulled a gun; she heard three shots and saw Tippit fall near the left front wheel. The man “in kind of a little trot” headed down Patton toward Jefferson Boulevard. Markham ran to Tippit’s side and later identified Oswald at a 4:30 p.m. lineup, becoming emotional when he entered. The Commission addressed prior alleged inconsistencies in her description and considered her testimony reliable, noting that even without it, ample evidence identifies Oswald as Tippit’s killer.
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