NOVEMBER 22: THE EVIDENCE

The evidence against Lee Harvey Oswald in the murder of Officer J.D. Tippit is substantial.

Two eyewitnesses - Helen Markham and Jack Tatum - saw Oswald shoot Tippit. Three others - William Scoggins, Barbara Davis, and Virginia Davis - were in the immediate vicinity and saw Oswald flee the scene. Six other eyewitnesses - Ted Callaway, Sam Guinyard, B.M. Patterson, L.J. Lewis, Harold Russell, and Warren Reynolds - were within two blocks of the shooting and saw Oswald brandishing a pistol, attempting to conceal it, and fleeing the area.

Oswald was last seen cutting through a parking lot behind a Texaco Service station two blocks from the shooting scene. A gray zipper jacket was found there by police. Fiber evidence later linked the jacket to the shirt Oswald was wearing at the time of his arrest.

Twenty-two minutes after the shooting, Oswald was seen six blocks from the murder scene acting suspicious in front of a shoe store managed by eyewitness Johnny Brewer. A minute later, Brewer saw Oswald slip into the Texas Theater without buying a ticket. He alerted the ticket-taker, Julia Postal, who called police.

Fifteen minutes later, Dallas police descended on the theater. Officer Nick McDonald approached Oswald and ordered him to his feet. Oswald stood up, said, "It's all over now," pulled a revolver from underneath his shirt, and attempted to shoot McDonald. Oswald was quickly subdued by fellow officers.

The revolver Oswald had in his hand at the time of his arrest was proven to have fired the four .38 caliber shells recovered at the Tippit murder scene to the exclusion of all other weapons in the world.

While the bullets recovered from Tippit's body could not be positively linked to Oswald's revolver to the exclusion of all other similar weapons, ballistic experts noted that the revolver and bullets had the same class characteristics - five lands and five grooves, with a right twist. The bullets also contained similar microscopic scratches found on test bullets fired from Oswald's revolver. In addition, the Tippit bullets showed signs of gas erosion, caused by escaping propellant slipping between the bullet's surface and the inside of the barrel of the gun, a fact consistent with the type of weapon Oswald owned.

One ballistic expert, Joseph D. Nichol, testified that there were sufficient markings on one of the bullets (see the photographic section of Crime Scene) to conclude that it had been fired in Oswald's revolver to the exclusion of all other weapons. While other experts disagreed, Oswald's revolver could not be eliminated from those weapons capable of producing the bullets recovered from Tippit's body.

In the final analysis, all of the evidence in the Tippit case consistently and repeatedly points to Lee Harvey Oswald. For a detailed analysis of the case, see With Malice: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Murder of Officer J.D. Tippit  by Dale K. Myers.

Tenth and Patton in Oak Cliff, November 22, 1963

Crime Scene At 1:42 p.m., on November 22, 1963, a team from the Dallas Police Crime Scene Search Section, led by crime lab Sergeant W.E. "Pete" Barnes, arrived at the scene of the Tippit murder and began taking photographs and gathering evidence. Sergeant Barnes later shifted his attention to a parking lot two blocks away, where Oswald's jacket was found, and eventually the Texas Theater, six blocks from the murder scene, where Oswald was arrested. The following images, obtained from the archives of the Dallas Police Department, housed at the Dallas Municipal Archives and Records Center, Dallas, Texas, and the files of the Warren Commission at the National Archives, Washington, D.C., are a sampling of the evidence gathered in the Tippit murder case.

Looking northeast at Officer Tippit's patrol car A pool of blood (arrow) marks the spot where Tippit fell

Looking west on Tenth Street at Tippit's patrol car Looking east along Tenth Street at Tippit's car

Parking lot showing location (arrow) where Oswald's jacket was found Texas Theater main seating area showing location (arrow) where Oswald was sitting when arrested

Oswald's .38 Smith and Wesson revolver taken from his hand at the Texas Theater Oswald's gray zipper jacket found in a parking lot two blocks from the murder scene

Four .38 Special shells recovered from the Tippit shooting scene One of four photomicrographs proving that the shells found at the scene (left) match test cartridges fired in Oswald's revolver (right)

Four .38 Special bullets and one brass uniform button recovered from Tippit's body A photomicrograph comparing one of the bullets recovered from Tippit's body (left) and a test bullet fired from Oswald's revolver (right)

For a complete analysis of the Tippit case, see With Malice: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Murder of Officer J.D. Tippit  by Dale K. Myers.

Testimony The 1964 Warren Commission took testimony from a number of key individuals relating to the shooting of Officer J.D. Tippit. The testimony of ten of those persons is presented here, unedited.

Domingo Benavides	Sam Guinyard
Johnny C. Brewer	Helen L. Markham
Ted Callaway	Warren Reynolds
Barbara J. Davis	William W. Scoggins
Virginia R. Davis	William A. Smith

While the testimony provided is essential to understanding what happened on November 22, 1963, it should be noted that the individuals questioned were not cross-examined by opposing counsel. Some of the information is incomplete and, in some cases, was later determined to be incorrect. Consequently, readers should review all of the available information before drawing any conclusions.

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