This is the WC's conclusion regarding the testimonies of Shelley, Lovelady and Adams:
"Shelley and Lovelady, however, have testified that they were watching the parade from the top step of the building entrance when Gloria Calvery, who works in the Depository Building, ran up and said that the President had been shot. Lovelady and Shelley moved out into the street. About this time Shelley saw Truly and Patrolman Baker go into the building. Shelley and Lovelady, at a fast walk or trot, turned west into the railroad yards and then to the west side of the Depository Building. They re-entered the building by the rear door several minutes after Baker and Truly rushed through the front entrance? On entering, Lovelady saw a girl on the first floor who he believes was Victoria Adams. If Miss Adams accurately recalled meeting Shelley and Lovelady when she reached the bottom of the stairs, then her estimate of the time when she descended from the fourth floor is incorrect, and she actually came down the stairs several minutes after Oswald and after Truly and Baker as well."
It confirms the sequence of events I've been presenting all along:
Shelley and Lovelady were on the top step when Gloria Calvery came up and said that the President had been shot. After the encounter with Gloria, they left the steps and moved out into the street.
It was then, and only then - after they had left the steps - that they saw Truly and Baker still outside the TSBD building.
This is the sequence of events that both men outline in their WC testimonies.
It is an untrue sequence of events.
Why do Shelley and Lovelady lie about their movements after the assassination?
The obvious answer is that they have created a false account of their movements in order to cover-up the true account of their movements.
FALSE ACCOUNT
Shelley and Lovelady are on the steps when the shots are fired.
They are still on the steps when Gloria runs up and tells everyone the President has been shot.
After this encounter they make their way across the Elm Street extension to "that little, old island".
At some point after leaving the steps they turn and see Truly and Lovelady still outside the building.
They then make their way along the Elm Street extension towards the railroad yards.
After a short time in this area they re-enter the TSBD building through the west door.
TRUE ACCOUNT
Shelley and Lovelady are on the steps when the shots are fired.
Shelley runs across the Elm Street extension and runs into Gloria coming the other way.
They both head for the TSBD steps where Gloria tells everyone the President has been shot, including Lovelady who has not left the steps.
Both men then re-enter the TSBD building through the front door and make their way to the back of the first floor where they are seen by Vicki Adams less than 60 seconds after the shooting.
Shelley and Lovelady are trying to cover up the fact that Vicki Adams saw them near the back of the first floor less than 60 seconds after the assassination.
That is the purpose of all the added movements and the time it takes to make these movements. In particular, it is the purpose of the 3 Minute Lie.
The question then becomes - why are Shelley and Lovelady trying to disguise the fact they made their way directly towards the back of the first floor in the immediate aftermath of the assassination?
Following on from the above post, an analysis of Vicki Adams' WC testimony to dispel the lame notion that she was somehow mistaken about how long it took her to get down to the first floor. Those who doubt Adams believe that, instead of immediately racing downstairs to find out whether the President was shot, she hung around the office for a few minutes before taking off. In this bozo scenario Adams is in no rush whatsoever then, for some unknown reason, suddenly bursts into a sprint after which she completely forgets that she was hanging around in the office for a few minutes!
What does her testimony tell us about her as a person:
Mr. Belin: Were you graduated from high school?
Miss ADAMS: In San Francisco, that's correct.
Mr. Belin: Then what did you do?
Miss ADAMS: Following that I entered the Ursaline Order in St. Mary's, Ohio, and I left there as a novice in 1961.
Mr. Belin: Then what did you do from there?
Miss ADAMS: I went to Atlanta, Ga. and taught school at the Immaculate Heart of Mary School. And following that I came to Dallas and was employed by the Holiday Inn Central during the summer months, and I obtained a teaching position at St. Monica's School here.
Mr. Belin: And you taught at St. Monica for some period of time?
Miss ADAMS: Yes; for 1 year.She is a young, intelligent woman who, unlike convicted gun-runner Lovelady, is of impeccable moral character.
Her intelligence comes through during her testimony, each question is answered confidently and precisely, her recollection is clear and detailed.
She recounts where she was located at the time of the assassination, who she was with and what she saw. She describes the limo approaching, recalled that someone called out causing JFK and Jackie turn turn to face the building, then the limo went behind a tree at which point she heard three shots:
"And after the third shot, following that, the third shot, I went to the back of the building down the back stairs, and encountered Bill Shelley and Bill Lovelady on the first floor on the way out to the Houston Street dock."In this concise sentence she describes her actions following the last shot until she left the building. She stresses the immediacy of her actions when she says "following that, the third shot". She is relating her departure from the window to the last shot. This 'immediacy' is confirmed later in the testimony when she recalls it was a matter of seconds between the last shot and her departure from the window:
Mr. BELIN: How long do you think it was between the time the shots were fired and the time you left the window to start toward the stairway?
Miss ADAMS: Between 15 and 30 seconds, estimated, approximately.During her testimony she makes it clear that she and Sandra Styles ran until they were outside the building:
Mr. Belin: You took those stairs. Were you walking or running as you went down the stairs?
Miss ADAMS. I was running. We were running.Mr. Belin: You had heels. Now, as you were running down the stairs, did you encounter anyone?
Miss ADAMS: Not during the actual running down the stairs; Mr. Belin: Did you immediately turn and run and keep on running down the stairs towards the first floor?
Miss ADAMS: Yes.Miss ADAMS: Yes, sir; going down the stairs toward the back, I was running. I ran to the railroad tracks.Vicki is clear on this issue - she left the window within seconds of the last shot and was running all the way.
Why, though? What possessed her to want to get outside so quickly?
This question is never asked directly during her testimony but the reason becomes apparent as she describes her movements. With every person she interacts with as she runs around, she seems to want to find out whether the President had been shot.
Mr. BELIN: Now what did you do after you encountered Mr. Shelley and Mr. Lovelady?
Miss ADAMS: I said I believed the President was shot.
Mr. BELIN: Do you remember what they said?
Miss ADAMS: Nothing.Miss ADAMS. I went approximately 2 yards within the tracks and there was an officer standing there, and he said, "Get back to the building." And I said, "But I work here." And he said, "That is tough, get back." I said, "Well, was the President shot?" And he said, "I don't know. Go back." And I said, "All right.""I noticed Joe Molina, for one, was standing in front of the building, and also Avery Davis, who works with me, and I said, "What do you think has happened?"
And she said, "I don't know."
And I said, "I want to find out. I think the President is shot.""There was a motorcycle that was parked on the corner of Houston and Elm directly in front of the east end of the building, and I paused-there to listen to the report on the police radio"Adams hears the shots ring out and is convinced someone was shooting at the President but she needs to find out for sure. Her decision to find out is immediate, she takes off within seconds. The idea that she hangs around the office for a few minutes after the shooting can't really be reconciled with her need to find out whether or not the President has been shot. The idea that she is suddenly running full tilt can't really be reconciled with the idea of hanging around in the office for a few minutes before taking off.
What does make sense is exactly what she testifies to - she is watching the motorcade, she hears the shots, she believes that someone has shot at the President, she immediately takes off running to find out what's going on.
There is absolutely nothing in her testimony that even hints at her hanging around in the office for a few minutes.
Mr. BELIN: Now trying to reconstruct your actions insofar as the time sequence, which we haven't done, what is your best estimate of the time between the time the shots were fired and the time you got back to the building? How much time elapsed? If you have any estimate. Maybe you don't have one.
Miss ADAMS: I would estimate not more than 5 minutes elapsed.Mr. BELIN. How long do you think it was between the time the shots were fired and the time you left the window to start toward the stairway?
Miss ADAMS. Between 15 and 30 seconds, estimated, approximately.Mr. BELIN: How long do you think it took you. to get from the window to the bottom of the stairs on the first floor?
Miss ADAMS: I would say no longer than a minute at the most.
Mr. BELIN: So you think that from the time you left the window on the fourth floor until the time you got to the stairs at the bottom of the first floor, was approximately 1 minute?
Miss ADAMS: Yes, approximately.The notion that Adams is somehow mistaken about how long it took to get down to the first floor is a convenience for lazy "researchers".
And what about her recollection that she saw Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor less than 60 seconds after the last shot?
Is this another mistake she makes?
"And after the third shot, following that, the third shot, I went to the back of the building down the back stairs, and encountered Bill Shelley and Bill Lovelady on the first floor on the way out to the Houston Street dock."Belin takes Vicki through floor by floor asking what she saw until he reaches the first floor:
Mr. Belin: When you got to the bottom of the first floor, did you see anyone there as you entered the first floor from the stairway?
Miss ADAMS. Yes, sir.
Mr. Belin: Who did you see?
Miss ADAMS: Mr. Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady.They then get into a detailed conversation about the exact position of Shelley and Lovelady when she saw them:
Mr. Belin: Where did you see them on the first floor?
Miss ADAMS: Well, this is the stairs, and this is the Houston Street dock that I went out. They were approximately in this position here, so I don't know how you would describe that.
Mr. Belin: You are looking now at a first floor plan or diagram of the Texas School Book Depository, and you have pointed to a position where you encountered Bill Lovelady and Mr. Bill Shelley?
Miss ADAMS: That's correct.
Mr. Belin: It would be slightly east of the front of the east elevator, and probably as far south as the length of the elevator, is that correct?
Miss ADAMS: Yes, sir.In the diagram below the red line represents the route Adams and Styles took across the first floor from the stairs to the back door.
The red circle represents the approximate position of Shelley and Lovelady when she saw them:
Mr. Belin: Now what did you do after you encountered Mr. Shelley and Mr. Lovelady?
Miss ADAMS: I said I believed the President was shot.
Mr. Belin: Do you remember what they said?
Miss ADAMS: Nothing.When Adams says she saw Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor, it isn't some passing comment that is ignored. Every aspect of this observation is examined. Not only does she recall their exact location, she also reveals that she actually called out to them only to receive no reply.
Isn't it strange that Shelley and Lovelady appear to have absolutely no recollection of this interaction?
Vicki Adams is a highly credible witness. Intelligent and articulate, with excellent powers of recall. There is no credible reason to question her testimony.
There can be little doubt that she saw Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor within 60 seconds of the assassination.
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