If Oswald Was The Assassin, Did He Plan His Escape From The TSBD Very Well?

[Colin Crow]

I don't think this storage room can be the storage room in between Shelleys office and the domino room because this room looks like it is in a corner on the photo. It does have heavy locking mechanisms on it though. Could this room be in the basement?

Unless Shelley could access the storage room from inside his office? Such a doorway doesn't appear on any floor plan that i know of though.

See number 13. I agree it does look some what strange given the floor plan

[Dan O'meara]

When considering the potential escape route of the assassin (assuming its not Oswald) I keep getting drawn back to the fifth floor magical, mystery missing elevator. When Truly and Baker reach the elevators and look up they see both elevators up around the fifth floor but by the time they get up to the fifth floor (3 minutes later?) the west elevator is gone. What happened to it?
Jack Dougherty testifies that after he heard the shots whilst on the fifth floor he takes the elevator down to the first floor for his, slightly bizarre, encounter with Eddie Piper. He takes the elevator all the way down to the first floor, walks the entire length of the building to ask Piper if he heard anything. When Piper confirms he heard the shots Dougherty turns around and takes the elevator up to the sixth floor. Piper doesn't mention this encounter in his WC testimony even though he is specifically asked "And the first people that you saw on the floor after the shooting was who?" The slightly odd thing is that no-one noticed the elevator being used - not Truly and Baker on their way up or Dorothy Garner on the fourth floor.
By the time Truly and Baker have finished on the roof and are on their way down Truly sees Dougherty on the fifth floor. Could the assassin simply have taken the elevator down to the first floor and left by either the Houston Street dock exit or the door on the west side of the building.

It looks like a kettle on the right of this pic. Maybe this is where Piper was stood when Dougherty makes his unlikely trip downstairs. It doesn't really matter, it's the possibility that the assassin used the elevator to escape that seems like the interesting bit.

[Dan O'meara]

Something about Dougherty's interaction with Eddie Piper keeps bothering me. The impression I get from his testimony is that he is stood on the fifth floor, he hears a noise like a backfire coming from above then immediately goes all the way down to the fifth floor to ask Piper if he heard anything.
However, we know he doesn't come down straight away. There's not enough time for him to take the elevator down to the fifth, converse with Piper then take it back up to the sixth before Truly and Baker arrive at the elevator shaft. Truly and Baker get there approximately 40 - 50 seconds after the final shot and are there approximately 5 -15 seconds trying to get the elevator. So we know that Dougherty doesn't get in the elevator for almost one whole minute before coming down. He hears the 'noise' and then takes almost one minute, at least, before coming down.
It must be remembered Dougherty places himself working on the fifth floor when he hears the noise, the same floor as Jarman, Norman and Williams. He doesn't notice them and they don't notice him. This might be explained by Dougherty being on the west side of the building and the others being more to the east. But shortly after the shooting Jarman and co. run to the west side of the building and still they don't notice each other.
One explanation for this is if Dougherty is on the sixth floor at the time of the shooting.

[Dan O'meara]

A March '64 memo to Ball, Belin and Craig from Norman Redlich specifically discusses the importance of the missing west elevator. It also reveals that at some point behind the scenes some people were willing to consider the possibility that Oswald had an accomplice:

"If Oswald was not acting alone, it is very likely that an employee of the TSBD building was his accomplice. It is also possible that an employee of the TSBD might have information and for some reason be afraid to come forward. Through persistent questioning on such matters as the elevator locations we might be able to locate the person or persons who may know more than they are telling."

In the memo two scenarios are considered - that the west elevator is taken up to the 6th floor as Truly and Baker ascend the stairs and that the west elevator was taken down to the first floor during their ascent. In both cases the problem is Williams, Jarman and Norman, all on the fifth and who all hear nothing as far as an elevator is concerned but the fact of the matter is the elevator did move so they surely heard something whatever the scenario. Mind you, they never heard Dougherty who was supposed to be collecting stock on the fifth and two of them never heard Baker pounding up the stairs and racing to the east elevator only a few feet from where they were standing. Notably, Williams did see Baker and neglected to mention to him that there was a shooter on the floor above them (the direction Baker was headed). Strange.

[Colin Crow]

A March '64 memo to Ball, Belin and Craig from Norman Redlich specifically discusses the importance of the missing west elevator. It also reveals that at some point behind the scenes some people were willing to consider the possibility that Oswald had an accomplice:

"If Oswald was not acting alone, it is very likely that an employee of the TSBD building was his accomplice. It is also possible that an employee of the TSBD might have information and for some reason be afraid to come forward. Through persistent questioning on such matters as the elevator locations we might be able to locate the person or persons who may know more than they are telling."

In the memo two scenarios are considered - that the west elevator is taken up to the 6th floor as Truly and Baker ascend the stairs and that the west elevator was taken down to the first floor during their ascent. In both cases the problem is Williams, Jarman and Norman, all on the fifth and who all hear nothing as far as an elevator is concerned but the fact of the matter is the elevator did move so they surely heard something whatever the scenario. Mind you, they never heard Dougherty who was supposed to be collecting stock on the fifth and two of them never heard Baker pounding up the stairs and racing to the east elevator only a few feet from where they were standing. Notably, Williams did see Baker and neglected to mention to him that there was a shooter on the floor above them (the direction Baker was headed). Strange.

Another possibility is that the west elevator was on the 6 floor when Truly called up. It might not have moved until Baker and Truly took the east elevator on the 5th to the roof.

[Dan O'meara]

In his WC testimony, Junior Jarman is adamant that when he and Hank Norman enter the TSBD through the Houston Street dock entrance to go up to the fifth floor, they have to go around to the west elevator as the east one is on the sixth floor. Something he confirms once they get up to the fifth:

Representative FORD - And where did you get on the elevator?
Mr. JARMAN - We walked around to the back entrance and went through this door here, and this elevator here was up on six, I believe. And we walked around the elevator and took the west elevator up.
Representative FORD - How could you tell this elevator was at six?
Mr. JARMAN - Because after we got around to the other side we looked up.
Representative FORD - You could see it was on six?
Mr. JARMAN - Yes.
Representative FORD - This was about what time?
Mr. JARMAN - That was about 12:25 or 12:28.
Representative FORD - You got off the fifth floor?
Mr. JARMAN - Yes, sir.
Representative FORD - As you rode the elevator, you noticed the other one was on the sixth floor?
Mr. JARMAN - Right, sir.

Once Jarman and Norman have reached the 5th floor we have the situation where the west elevator is on 5 and the east elevator is on 6. Bonnie Ray Williams is still on 6 as he is yet to join Jarman and Norman on 5. Williams testifies that he takes the east elevator down to 5:

Mr. BALL. Where did you go when you left there?
Mr. WILLIAMS. I went down to the fifth floor.
Mr. BALL. How did you get down there?
Mr. WILLIAMS. I took an elevator down.
Mr. BALL. You didn't go down the stairs?
Mr. WILLIAMS. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Which elevator did you take?
Mr. WILLIAMS. I took the east elevator down.

This seems to be the state of play when Truly arrives at the bottom of the elevator shaft with Baker - both elevators on 5. The interesting part is Jack Dougherty. As far as I can make it out both he and Bonnie Ray Williams  are up on 6 when Jarman and Norman ride up to 5 in the west elevator. The most likely scenario is that he is on 6 when the shots are fired and calls the west elevator up to 6 as Truly and Baker ascend. After Truly steers Baker to the east elevator on 5 (with Williams and co. hiding in the south-western corner) they go up to the roof, missing out the 6th floor, and it is at this time that Dougherty descends to the first floor, drops off his passenger(s), and returns to the 5th.

[Colin Crow]

In his WC testimony, Junior Jarman is adamant that when he and Hank Norman enter the TSBD through the Houston Street dock entrance to go up to the fifth floor, they have to go around to the west elevator as the east one is on the sixth floor. Something he confirms once they get up to the fifth:

Representative FORD - And where did you get on the elevator?
Mr. JARMAN - We walked around to the back entrance and went through this door here, and this elevator here was up on six, I believe. And we walked around the elevator and took the west elevator up.
Representative FORD - How could you tell this elevator was at six?
Mr. JARMAN - Because after we got around to the other side we looked up.
Representative FORD - You could see it was on six?
Mr. JARMAN - Yes.
Representative FORD - This was about what time?
Mr. JARMAN - That was about 12:25 or 12:28.
Representative FORD - You got off the fifth floor?
Mr. JARMAN - Yes, sir.
Representative FORD - As you rode the elevator, you noticed the other one was on the sixth floor?
Mr. JARMAN - Right, sir.

Once Jarman and Norman have reached the 5th floor we have the situation where the west elevator is on 5 and the east elevator is on 6. Bonnie Ray Williams is still on 6 as he is yet to join Jarman and Norman on 5. Williams testifies that he takes the east elevator down to 5:

Mr. BALL. Where did you go when you left there?
Mr. WILLIAMS. I went down to the fifth floor.
Mr. BALL. How did you get down there?
Mr. WILLIAMS. I took an elevator down.
Mr. BALL. You didn't go down the stairs?
Mr. WILLIAMS. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Which elevator did you take?
Mr. WILLIAMS. I took the east elevator down.

This seems to be the state of play when Truly arrives at the bottom of the elevator shaft with Baker - both elevators on 5. The interesting part is Jack Dougherty. As far as I can make it out both he and Bonnie Ray Williams  are up on 6 when Jarman and Norman ride up to 5 in the west elevator. The most likely scenario is that he is on 6 when the shots are fired and calls the west elevator up to 6 as Truly and Baker ascend. After Truly steers Baker to the east elevator on 5 (with Williams and co. hiding in the south-western corner) they go up to the roof, missing out the 6th floor, and it is at this time that Dougherty descends to the first floor, drops off his passenger(s), and returns to the 5th.

I think that analysis of the testimonies indicates that Jack called the west elevator down after Jarman and Norman arrived on the 5th floor. They closed the gate, allowing it to be "called". Jack did not.