Dale Myers Controversal Diagram

[Benjamin Cole]

I was banned for 3 days for something similar.

It happens.

[Gerry Down]

Bill Brown, what do you think?

[Bill Brown]

Bill Brown, what do you think?

Gerry, first... In my opinion, we have to put ourselves in Oswald's position.

Regarding Brewer and Archer sitting in the pickup truck eating their lunch, if I am Oswald, I would walk behind the truck instead of in front if it simply because I want my face to be seen by as few people as possible.  He has no idea by this point if his face was on the news as a person of interest.  We know it wasn't, but he couldn't know that.  It is roughly 40 to 45 minutes after the assassination and he left his rifle behind and has left work.

Consider the theory that Oswald had the library and/or the bus stop outside the library in mind as his destination when he left the rooming house.  The library would be a great place (perhaps?) to lay low for a few hours and the bus stop outside the library could get him to the VA hospital further south in Oak Cliff where he could then catch a Greyhound to Laredo and the border.  Upon reaching the location of Tenth and Lansing (where Tenth Street makes it's drastic 45 degree curve) and heading toward the library/bus stop, Oswald sees a law enforcement vehicle further to the east on Tenth.  He doesn't see this vehicle until he is at the curve at the intersection of Tenth & Lansing, since the curve prevented seeing anything to the east along Tenth until actually at the curve itself.

Not wanting to walk past a law enforcement vehicle to the east of his location (has his face and/or name been plastered all over television?), he instead walks west on Tenth toward the eventual encounter with Tippit.

Oswald was quick to gun down Tippit.  Why react so hastily?  Myers theorizes that Oswald, walking west on Tenth, sees the approaching patrol car and does an about face.  To me, this would make sense.  Once again, Oswald, having no idea whether or not his face has been plastered all over television, turns around so that the approaching officer doesn't see his face.

We know that Unit 109 (Dallas County Sheriff Deputy) reported from the area of Tenth and Jefferson/Marsalis shortly after T.F. Bowley reported the Tippit shooting on the police car radio.  If 109 was at that location shortly after the Tippit shooting, maybe he was there shortly before?  Now having turned around and walking away from Unit 109 and then very soon after seeing Tippit approaching, a paranoid Oswald must have felt they were onto him.  He guns down Tippit for this reason.

Here's my point (speculation alert)...

Oswald, on his way to the area of the library, does not want to walk past the law enforcement vehicle in the vicinity of Tenth and Marsalis/Jefferson because he doesn't want the officer inside the vehicle to see his face.

Oswald does not want Tippit to see his face so he turns around once he sees Tippit approaching.

Oswald sneaks past Julia Postal because he has no idea if she has seen his face on television and/or doesn't want her to later see his face on television and recognize him as a man she sold a ticket to earlier.

It is the same "consciousness of guilt" which causes Oswald to walk behind the Brewer/Archer pickup truck because he doesn't want the fellows inside the truck to see his face.

[Bill Brown]

Thanks for that. To be fair, Bugliosi might not be right that Oswald would not be likely to turn around in front of a police car in case he drew suspicion. There was a line of trees along the sidewalk which may have hindered the view between Oswald and the approaching police car. Oswald may have felt he could turn around without the police car seeing him as the tree might block Tippits view. Still though, personally I would prefer to walk towards such a police car rather than turn my back as it would give me the best chance to run away in case the police car tried to stop me.

At the end of the day there is a timing issue with having Oswald coming from the east and walking westwards. Therefore the burden of proof is on Myers to prop up his theory against the WCs version. And in my opinion, the evidence is just not strong enough for his theory.

At the end of the day there is a timing issue with having Oswald coming from the east and walking westwards.

Gerry...

I don't believe there is a timing issue at all.

Oswald can walk from the rooming house to Tenth & Patton in barely over 11 minutes (see the Unsolved History special with Gary Mack/Dave Perry).

I timed the walk from the corner of Tenth & Patton to the patrol car at 19 seconds.

I timed the walk from Tippit's patrol car to the curve on Tenth Street (Tenth & Lansing) at 2:08.

Therefore, Oswald could basically walk from Tenth & Patton east to the curve on Tenth Street and back west to the patrol car in 4 minutes and 35 seconds.

If Oswald leaves the rooming house, stands outside at the bus stop momentarily (how long?  who knows) and begins walking south on Beckley at 1:00/1:01, then the timing is almost perfect to encounter and shoot Tippit at 1:16 (which is what I believe, as opposed to 1:14 or 1:15).

However, if Oswald, still with the destination of the library and/or the bus stop outside the library in mind, decided to walk down Beckley only to Fifth Street, then east of Fifth, south on Lansing to Tenth, then Oswald is at Tenth & Lansing much quicker than the proposed route above.  This would allow Oswald to begin his walk from the bus stop outside the rooming house around 1:03 instead of 1:01.

This 2nd route would allow Oswald to avoid walking down Beckley and Marsalis, which were busier streets, on his way to the library/bus stop outside the library.

[Gerry Down]

It sounds like you're happy with Dale Myers diagram. Even though he seems to have arbitrarily placed Archers truck in an unusual position blocking the sidewalk at the intersection.

[Gerry Down]

Just look at Myers diagram. Myers has drawn it so that are no vehicles parked behind Archers truck. Therefore, why would Archer park so far out into the intersection if there were no vehicles parked behind him forcing him to park so far out.

[Bill Brown]

It sounds like you're happy with Dale Myers diagram. Even though he seems to have arbitrarily placed Archers truck in an unusual position blocking the sidewalk at the intersection.

I don't have an opinion on that one way or the other.  It doesn't change my opinion on why Oswald walked behind the truck instead of in front of it.