New Research on the Tippit Case Points *Away* from Oswald as the Shooter

[Michael T. Griffith]

Buried in one of Dale Myers' endnotes is the fact that a key witness to the Tippit shooting, William Smith, initially said the killer was not Oswald (p. 615 n 390). An anonymous person informed the FBI that Smith had been at the Tippit scene, that he'd seen the killer, and that Smith had said the man was "not Oswald." Like some other witnesses, when Smith was questioned by the FBI, he changed his tune and gave a story more in keeping with the lone-gunman scenario.

Smith told the FBI he initially did not think the gunman was Oswald because when he first saw Oswald on TV after the assassination it looked like Oswald had light-colored hair. This strikes me as a dubious explanation for Smith's change of story. I've watched all of the post-assassination TV footage of Oswald, and I would invite anyone to find a clip from that footage in which Oswald seems to have light-colored hair.

Of course, Smith might not have said this--we have only the word of the FBI agent who interviewed him that he in fact gave this explanation. Numerous witnesses complained that the FBI agents who interviewed them misrepresented what they said or only mentioned selected parts of their accounts. This is not to say that all FBI agents did this, but we know that some did.

Furthermore, what about the killer's facial features, and his height, weight, and so forth? Given the fact that Smith got a good look at the killer, one would think he should have been able to base his initial opinion on more than just the appearance of hair on a black-and-white TV screen.

[Mitch Todd]

[...]
Smith told the FBI he initially did not think the gunman was Oswald because when he first saw Oswald on TV after the assassination it looked like Oswald had light-colored hair. This strikes me as a dubious explanation for Smith's change of story. I've watched all of the post-assassination TV footage of Oswald, and I would invite anyone to find a clip from that footage in which Oswald seems to have light-colored hair.

I'll leave obvious optical illusions to others, but I will ask, is the dress below white with gold accents or blue with black accents?