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

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.

Witnesses Barbara Jeanette Davis and Virginia Davis

In their apartment at the southeast corner of 10th and Patton, the Davis sisters heard gunfire and Helen Markham’s screams, then ran to the door in time to see a man with a revolver cut across their lawn toward Patton. Barbara Jeanette saw him emptying his gun. Each woman found an empty shell near the house, which were delivered to police. Both identified Oswald in a four-man lineup that evening. Neither had been shown photographs beforehand, and Virginia Davis had not seen television or newspapers. Sitting alongside each other, each whispered Oswald’s number to the detective, with each claiming to be the first to identify him.