Volume VI 260
TESTIMONY OF ROGER D.
CRAIG
The
testimony of Roger D. Craig was
taken at 2:35 p.m., on April 1, 1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney, 301
Post Office Building, Bryan and Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Mr. David W.
Belin, assistant counsel of the President's Commission
Roger Craig, do you want to stand and raise your right hand, please? Do
you solemnly swear that the testimony that you're about to give is the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. CRAIG. I do.
Mr. BELIN. You can be seated. Mr. Craig.
Will you please state your full name?
Mr. CRAIG. Roger Dean Craig.
Mr. BELIN. That's (spelling) De-a-n?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. And where do you live, Mr. Craig?
Mr. CRAIG.
Mr. BELIN. And what's your occupation?
Mr. CRAIG. Deputy Sheriff.
Mr. BELIN. For the
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. How old are you, Mr. Craig?
Mr. CRAIG. 27
Mr. BELIN. Were you raised here in
Mr. CRAIG. No. I was born in
Mr. BELIN. When you were 12?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Did you have any further schooling after you were 12--or not?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I took high school equivalent test in the Service in Japan
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when---uh---I was 19,
and passed it and got my high school equivalent test---I mean, my diploma.
Mr. BELIN. Were you in the Service, then?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes; uh-huh.
Mr. BELIN. In what branch?
Mr. CRAIG. I was in the Army.
Mr. BELIN. And how long were you in the Army?
Mr. CRAIG. 2 years.
Mr.
BELIN. Before you Joined the Army, what did you do? Were you living with anyone
or were you on your own---or what?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I was married to a girl who lived
out in
Mr. BELIN. Where?
Mr. CRAIG.
Mr. BELIN. Uh-huh.
Well, let me go back a little bit. You said you ran away from home when
you were
Mr. CRAIG. Uh-huh.
Mr. BELIN. And then where did you live?
Mr.
CRAIG. I lived in
Mr. BELIN. Well, with any relatives--or were they friends, or what?
Mr. CRAIG. No, no; just Jobs. Just
working here and there.
Mr. BELIN. And then you were married when you were
Mr. CRAIG. 16.
Mr. BELIN. 16. And where?
Mr. CRAIG. Here in
Mr. BELIN. Here in
Mr. CRAIG. I volunteered for the draft when I was 17.
Mr. BELIN. And then you went in the Service?
Mr. CRAIG. Right.
Mr. BELIN. And served overseas?
Mr. CRAIG. Right.
Mr. BELIN. You were discharged when, then?
Mr. CRAIG. In---uh---October of 1955, I believe. In September or October
of 1955, sir, is when I got out.
Mr. BELIN. Was it an honorable discharge?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. What did you do when you were in the service?
Mr. CRAIG. I served in the--uh--motor pool of the 92d Armored Field.
Mr. BELIN. And, after you got out of service, what did you
Mr.
CRAIG. Well, jobs were kind of hard to get.
I got a job as a dishwasher in a cafe, then cook. Then I did construction
work for a while. And then I went to work for the Purex Corporation out on
Mr. BELIN. Now, what would your job have been there with the Purex Corp.?
Mr. CRAIG. Packager. I just packaged the Purex.
Mr. BELIN. And when did you go to work for the
Mr. CRAIG. In October--October the 9th of 1959.
Mr. BELIN. And you've been there ever since?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Are you married?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Family?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes; I have a girl and a boy and a stepboy.
Mr. BELIN. Now, Mr. Craig, I want to take you back to November 22d, 1963,
and ask you whether or not you were working at the sheriff's office that day?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Where is the sheriff's office located?
Mr. CRAIG.
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Mr. BELIN. And where is
Mr. CRAIG. It's on the north side of Main at the corner of
Mr. BELIN. It runs from
Mr.
CRAIG. No; the sheriff's office actually runs north from
Mr. BELIN. How far east does it go or
is it just a half-block east?
Mr. CRAIG. No; it's just a half block to--uh--well, it's divided, then
the
Mr. BELIN. To
Mr.
CRAIG. I stood out in front waiting for the President's motorcade. I went out
there about---oh--5 minutes after 12, I guess; waited directly in front of the
front door on the curb.
Mr. BELIN. That would be on the north curb of
Mr. CRAIG. Right.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Then
what happened?
Mr. CRAIG. Well, we waited there for several minutes--and--uh--the
motorcade finally came by.
Mr.
BELIN. About how fast was the motorcade going when you saw it on
Mr. CRAIG. Oh, just barely moving. I don't know. It was just barely
moving. I couldn't judge any miles per hour.
Mr. BELIN. Well, 5, 10, 15, 20---what?
Mr. CRAIG. Probably going--probably 3 or 4 miles an hour.
Mr. BELIN. All right. You saw the President's car ?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr.
BELIN. You saw the motorcade reach the intersection of Main and
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. And then it turned?
Mr. CRAIG. Turned north on
Mr. BELIN. About how fast was it going as it turned north on
Mr. CRAIG. Oh, about the same. They--uh--they were going about the same
speed as they made the corner.
Mr.
BELIN. Were there any motorcycle policemen alongside the President's car?
Mr.
CRAIG. Uh--not directly beside it. They was, I believe, on the front part of it
and--uh--I believe behind it--just a little ways behind the back fender there
was a motorcycle officer--one on each side of the car, as I remember.
Mr.
BELIN. The ones on the front--where would the back wheels of the motorcycles
have been with relation to the front wheels of the President's car?
Mr.
CRAIG. Uh--just in front of the bumper because they came by and moved everybody
back, you know, as the car approached us.
Mr.
BELIN. And what about the motorcycles that were just behind the car? Where were
the front wheels of those motorcycles with relation to the back wheels or the
back bumper of the President's car?
Mr. CRAIG. About equal to the back bumper.
Mr. BELIN. All right.
Mr. BELIN. You saw the President's car, then, turn north on
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Then, would you describe what you saw and heard and did?
Mr. CRAIG. Well, there were
several other cars that came by and--uh-----
Mr. BELIN. Did you watch
those?
Mr. CRAIG. Some of them we watched. We watched Mr. Decker's car, of
course, and a few of the others.
Mr. BELIN. Now, where was Mr. Decker's car?
Mr.
CRAIG. I believe he came by just before the President's. I believe there were
some dignitaries and things before that, and then we watched the President
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and--uh--oh, and then
about two or three cars after the President's car had passed.
And then we were Just standing there looking around
you know.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Then what happened?
Mr. CRAIG. Then I heard an explosion.
Mr. BELIN. When you heard the explosion, what did you do?
Mr.
CRAIG. Well, the first--nothing. I
wrestled with my mind. I knew it was
a shot but--uh--I didn't want to believe it.
But, a few seconds later, I heard another explosion and, this time, I
knew it was a shot. And, as I began to run, I heard a third one. I was running
toward
Mr. BELIN. How many explosions did you hear altogether?
Mr. CRAIG. Three.
Mr. BELIN. About how far were these noises apart?
Mr. CRAIG. The first one was--uh--about three seconds--2 or 3 seconds.
Mr. BELIN. Two or 3 seconds between the first and the second?
Mr.
CRAIG. Well, it was quite a pause
between there. It could have been a
little longer.
Mr. BELIN. And what about between the second and third?
Mr. CRAIG. Not more than 2 seconds. It was--they were real rapid.
Mr. BELIN. All right. then
what did you do?
Mr. CRAIG. I continued running across Houston Street, across the parkway,
across Elm Street and, by this time, the motorcade had went on down Elm Street
and I ran up to the railroad yard and--uh---started to look around when the
people began to all travel over that way. So,
I began moving people back out of the railroad yard.
Mr. BELIN. Where did the noises or shots sound to you like they came
from?
Mr. CRAIG. It was hard to tell because---uh---they had an echo, you know.
There was actually two explosions with each one. There was the uh--the shot and
then the echo from it. So, it was hard to tell.
Mr.
BELIN. Did people tell you, as you ran over there, where they thought the shots
came from?
Mr.
CRAIG. No; as I reached the railroad yard, I talked to a girl getting her car
that--uh--thought they came from the park area on the north side of
Mr. BELIN. Did she say why she thought they came from there?
Mr.
CRAIG. No; she was standing there and it sounded real loud at that particular
point--
Mr. BELIN. Uh-huh.
Mr. CRAIG. And she thought that's where they came from.
Mr. BELIN. Did anyone say they had seen anything--such as a rifle?
Mr.
CRAIG. Yes; later on. A few minutes
after that--I had taken this girl to one of our criminal investigators---and was
talking to some other people. I talked to a young couple and the boy said he saw
two men on the uh--sixth floor of
the Book Depository Building over there; one of them had a rifle with the
telescopic sight on it--but he thought they were Secret Service agents on guard
and didn't report it. This was about--uh---oh, he said, 15 minutes before the
motorcade ever arrived.
Mr. BELIN. Do you remember if that boy's name would have been
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Does that sound like it?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes; it sounds like the name---yes.
Mr. BELIN. His wife might be Barbara Rowland?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes; I believe her name was Barbara.
Mr.
BELIN. Before you talked to this couple, did you do anything else or talk with
anyone before you got back with them?
Mr.
CRAIG. Well, I looked around, you know, for just--after I turned this girl over
to Mr. Lewis--I began looking around and talking to people to see if they'd seen
anything. And that's when I ran onto
this man and his wife.
Mr. BELIN. And about what time do you think this was in relation
to---from when you heard the shots to the time .that you talked to this young
couple?
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Mr. CRAIG. I don't know. 10 minutes, maybe.
Mr.
BELIN. You believe you talked to this young couple 10 minutes after the shots
were fired?
Mr. CRAIG. It might have been 10 minutes.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Then, what did you do?
But, first of all, let me ask you this: Did. this girl say that she saw
any person with a rifle?
Mr. CRAIG. No; no.
Mr.
BELIN. Now, the boy---where did he say that he saw the man with the rifle?
Mr. CRAIG. On the---uh---west end of the building on the sixth floor.
Mr. BELIN. Would that be---when you say "the west end,"---you
mean, the west end of the south side, or the west side?
Mr. CRAIG. The west end of the south side.
Mr. BELIN. Of the sixth floor?
Mr. CRAIG. Right.
Mr. BELIN. Did he point out the window to you?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. From ,the west Corner, where would this window have been?
Right next to the west corner or two or three windows away, or what?
Mr. CRAIG. It was the---uh---the second window from the corner.
They were walking, you know, back and forth.
Mr. BELIN. He said that the two men were walking back and forth?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Now, when you talk about second window, this building is
located near you, is it not?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. This is the
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Each window was sort of a pair of windows. And, on the south
side, there probably are around seven pairs of windows.
Mr. CRAIG. Uh-huh.
Mr.
BELIN. Would this have been---when you say "the second window from the west
end"---by that do you mean it was the first pair of windows but the
easternmost one of that pair, or do you mean it was in the second pair of
windows from the west end---or don't you remember?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I don't remember that now.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Did he
say anything else about what he had seen with this man with the rifle?
Mr.
CRAIG. Yeah; he said he looked back a few minutes later and--uh--the other man
was gone, and there was just one man--the man with the rifle.
Mr.
BELIN. He said he looked back again and just the man with the rifle was there?
Mr. CRAIG. Right.
Mr.
BELIN. Did he say how long or when the last time was that he saw the man with
the rifle?
Mr.
CRAIG. I believe this second time he looked was the uh---the last time he looked
up there.
Mr. BELIN. And about how long was that before the shots were fired?
Mr. CRAIG. Well, he said he first seen him--saw the two men about 15
minutes before the motorcade arrived.
Mr. BELIN. Uh-huh.
Mr. CRAIG. And he didn't say how long after that he looked back up there
to just see the one man. He just said-- uh--a few minutes later he looked back
up.
Mr.
BELIN. A few minutes later, he looked back up and he saw one man with the rifle?
Mr. CRAIG. Just the one man.
Mr. BELIN. Did he say what the one man was doing with the rifle?
Mr.
CRAIG. He said he was holding it down to his side and just looking out the
window.
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Mr. BELIN. Did he say how far the man was from the window?
Mr. CRAIG. No; huh-uh.
Mr.
BELIN. Did he say in what direction the man was looking out the window?
Mr. CRAIG. He was looking out
in a southerly direction. Straight
ahead. You know, straight out.
Mr.
BELIN. When he said the man was holding it at his side, would this be--did he
say it was, in military terminology, in any kind of a position to hold a weapon?
Mr.
CRAIG No; this I don't go into with him. I
turned him over to Officer Lewis for interrogation.
Mr.
BELIN. Would this be Deputy Sheriff Lemmy Lewis--(spelling) L-e-m-m-y L-e-w-i-s?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. He is a criminal investigator of the
Mr. CRAIG. Right.
Mr. BELIN. And then you left this young couple?
Mr. CRAIG. Right.
Mr.
BELIN. Now, about how long would this have been after the shooting that you left
them with Deputy Sheriff Lewis?
Mr.
CRAIG. Well, I didn't talk with them long. I
talked with them-all the time that he told me what he saw and the time that I
turned him over to Officer Lewis, was probably---uh---3 minutes--3 or 4 minutes.
Mr. BELIN. Uh-huh.
Mr.
CRAIG. Because---uh---I took him immediately up there to him when he told me
what he'd seen.
Mr.
BELIN. By this time, had anyone said the shots might have come from that
Mr. CRAIG. No. I
don't---uh---I don't recall that. I
don't believe so.
Mr. BELIN. At this time, do you know whether or not they had sealed off
in entrance or the building---the
Mr. CRAIG. No; no.
I didn't notice that.
Mr. BELIN. You didn't notice
that?
Mr. CRAIG. No,
Mr.
BELIN. All right. Now, about how
many minutes after the assassination or shooting was it that you turned this
couple over to Sheriff Lemmy Lewis?
Mr.
CRAIG. Oh, it was about--well, I guess, 12 minutes---10, 12 minutes. Something
like that.
Mr. BELIN. Ten or 12 minutes after the shooting?
Mr. CRAIG. Right.
Mr. BELIN. Then, what did you do?
Mr.
CRAIG. Well, I looked around for a little bit, you know, just observing the
people and things, and Officer Lewis turned them over to someone else, as I
recall, and sent them to the sheriff's office
to Mr. Decker's office. And
then it was either Lemmy Lewis or Buddy Walthers-(spelling) W-a-l-t-h-e-r-s,
one' of our other criminal investigators, said that one of the bullets had
ricocheted off the south curb of
Mr.
BELIN. Did he say why he believed one of the bullets ricocheted off the south
curb of Elm?
Mr. CRAIG. No; he just said that someone said that one of them had.
So we checked it.
Mr. BELIN. So, you searched the south curb of Elm?
Mr. CRAIG. Right.
Mr. BELIN. Did you find anything there to indicate the ricocheted bullet?
Mr.
CRAIG. No; we didn't find anything at that time.
Now, as we were searching, we had just got over across the street, when I
heard someone whistle.
Mr.
BELIN. Now, about how many minutes was this after the time that you had turned
that young couple over to Lemmy Lewis that you heard this whistle?
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Mr. CRAIG. Fourteen or 15
minutes.
Mr. BELIN. Fourteen or 15
minutes?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Was this, you mean, after the shooting?
Mr. CRAIG. After the---from
the time I heard the first shot.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Your
heard someone whistle?
Mr.
CRAIG. Yes. So I turned and--uh-saw
a man start to run down the hill on the north side of
Mr.
BELIN. And, about where was he with relation to the
Mr,
CRAIG. Uh--directly across that little side street that runs in front of it, He
was on the south side of it.
Mr. BELIN. And he was on the south side of what would be an extension of
Mr. CRAIG. Eight; right,
Mr.
BELIN. And where was he with relation to the west side of the
Mr.
CRAIG. Right by the--uh--well, actually, directly in line with the west
corner--the southwest corner,
Mr. BELIN. He was directly in line with the southwest corner of the
building?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes,
Mr. BELIN. And he was on the south curve of that street that runs right
in front of the building there?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes,
Mr.
BELIN. And he started to run toward
Mr. CRAIG. Yes ; directly down the grassy portion of the park,
Mr. BELIN. All right. And then what did you see happen?
Mr.
CRAIG. I saw a light-colored station wagon, driving real slow, coming west on
Mr. BELIN. Uh-huh.
Mr.
CRAIG. And the station wagon stopped almost directly across from me.
And--uh--the man continued down the hill and got in the station wagon. And I
attempted to cross the street. I
wanted to talk to both of them. But
the---uh--traffic was so heavy I couldn't get across the street. And--uh--they
were gone before I could---
Mr. BELIN. Where did the station wagon head?
Mr. CRAIG. West on
Mr. BELIN. Under the triple underpass?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr.
BELIN. Could you describe the man that you saw running down toward the station
wagon?
Mr.
CRAIG. Oh, he was a white male in his twenties, five nine, five eight, something
like that; about 140 to 150; had kind of medium brown sandy hair--you know, it
was like it'd been blown--you know, he'd been in the wind or
something--it was all
wild-looking; had on--uh--blue trousers--
Mr. BELIN. What shade of blue? Dark
blue, medium or light?
Mr. CRAIG. No; medium, probably; I'd say medium. And, a--uh--light tan
shirt, as I remember it.
Mr. BELIN. Anything else about him?
Mr. CRAIG. No; nothing except that he looked like he was in an awful
hurry.
Mr. BELIN. What about the man who was driving the car?
Mr.
CRAIG. Now, he struck me, at first, as being a colored male.
He was very dark complected, had real dark short hair, and was wearing a
thin white-looking Jacket---uh, it looked like the short windbreaker type, you
know, because it was real thin and had the collar that came out over the
shoulder (indicating with hands) like that--just a short jacket.
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Mr. BELIN. You say that he first struck you that way. Do you now think
that he was a Negro?
Mr. CRAIG. Well, I don't---I
didn't get a real good look at him. But
my first glance at him---I was more interested in the man coming down the
hill---but my first glance at him, he struck me as a Negro.
Mr. BELIN. Is that what your opinion is today?
Mr.
CRAIG. Well, I---I couldn't say, because I didn't get a good enough look.
Mr. BELIN. What kind and what color station wagon was it?
Mr. CRAIG. It was light colored--almost--uh--it looked white to me.
Mr. BELIN. What model or make was it?
Mr. CRAIG. I thought it was a Nash.
Mr. BELIN. Why would you think it was a Nash?
Mr. CRAIG. Because it had a built-in luggage rack on 'the top.
And--uh--at the time, this was the only type car I could fit with that
type luggage rack.
Mr. BELIN. A Nash Rambler-is that what you're referring to?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes; with a rack on the the back portion of the car, you know.
Mr. BELIN. Did it have a
Mr.
CRAIG. It had the same color. I
couldn't see the--uh--name with the numbers on it.
I could just barely make them out. They
were at an angle where I couldn't make the numbers of the--uh--any of the
writing on it. But---
uh---I'm sure it was a
Mr. BELIN. Anything else about this incident that you can recall?
Mr. CRAIG. No; not that---
Mr. BELIN. All right. Then what did you do?
Mr. CRAIG. Well, then---uh, I went back up to the front of the School
Book Depository---rather, I went up to it and noticed that it was sealed off.
There was an officer standing guard in it with a shotgun in the doorway; several
officers crowded around in front of it.
Mr. BELIN. How long would this have been after the shots were fired?
Mr. CRAIG. I'd say nearly 20 minutes.
Mr. BELIN. All right.
Mr.
CRAIG. And they were calling for hand lights to search the attic of the
building. At that time---uh---they
thought the man was still in the building. So, they were calling for hand lights
to search the building.
So, I
went back across to the sheriffs office and got some hand lights and took them
back over to them.
Then, I went up on the sixth floor.
Mr. BELIN. Why did you go up on the sixth floor?
Mr. CRAIG. Well, someone said that's where the shots came from. One of
the city officers, if I'm not
mistaken.
Mr. BELIN. All right.
Mr. CRAIG. So, we went to the sixth floor where--uh--some empty
cartridges were found.
Mr. BELIN. Did you see the
empty cartridges when they were found?
Mr. CRAIG. I didn't see them when they were found. I saw them laying on
the floor.
Mr.
BELIN. About how soon after they were found did you see them, laying on the
floor?
Mr. CRAIG. Oh, a couple of
minutes. I went right on over there.
I was at the far north end of the building.
The cartridges were on the southeast corner.
Mr. BELIN. Well, how did you know they had been found there? Did someone
yell---or what?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes; someone yelled across the room that "here's the
shells."
Mr. BELIN. Do you remember
who that was?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I couldn't
recognize the voice.
Mr. BELIN. All right.
Then, what did you do?
Mr. CRAIG. I went over there
and--uh--didn't get too close because the shells were laying on the ground and
there was--uh--oh, a sack and a bunch
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of things laying over
there. So, you know, not to bother
the area, I just went back across.
Mr. BELIN. Now, you say there
was a sack laying there?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes; I believe it was laying on top of a box, if I'm not
mistaken.
Mr. BELIN. How big a sack was that?
Mr. CRAIG. It was a paper bag
(indicating with hands)--a small paper bag.
Mr. BELIN. Well, the kind-of paper bag that you carry your lunch in?
Mr. CRAIG. Yeah,--uh-huh.
Mr. BELIN. Was it more than a
foot long?
Mr. CRAIG. I don't know.
I think it was rolled up kind of.
Mr. BELIN. You think it was rolled up?
Mr. CRAIG. Yeah; you know,
kind of crushed up.
Mr. BELIN. Was there any long
sack laying in the floor there that you remember seeing, or not?
Mr.
CRAIG. No; I don't remember seeing any.
Mr. BELIN. Do you remember
seeing anything there other than the shells?
Mr. CRAIG. No; not---uh---anything that caught my eye.
Mr.
BELIN. Where do you remember seeing
the shells?
Mr. CRAIG. They were laying on the--uh--well, as you're facing the
window----
Mr. BELIN. As you are facing the window and you're looking south?
Mr. CRAIG. The southeast corner window and you're looking south, the
shells would be on your right and back away from the window, as I recall, about
a foot.
Mr. BELIN. Do you recall any
of the shells right up against the wall at all---- or, don't you recall?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I don't; I didn't look that close.
Mr. BELIN. How many shells did you see there?
Mr. CRAIG. I saw three.
Mr. BELIN. Did anyone move any boxes in order to get in there----do you
know?
Mr. CRAIG. Now, that, I don't know?
Mr. BELIN. Do you know if anyone moved any boxes in the window?
Mr. BELIN. That I don't know either.
Mr. CRAIG. Did you look very closely at the area where the shells were
found.
Mr. CRAIG. Uh--no, because the identification men hadn't arrived, and we
want to stir up anything.
Mr. BELIN. Who was there that you remember?
Mr.
CRAIG. Oh, Officer Mooney with our department--Luke Mooney; Officer
Boone---Eugene Boone, with our department; myself; and some city officers that I
didn't know. Those are the only that
I remember. You know, there were
several other people around but I didn't know them.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Then what did you do after that?
Mr. CRAIG. They wanted to search the building for the weapon, so I went
to the---I went to the northeast corner of the building and began to search
west.
Mr. BELIN. Uh-huh.
Mr. CRAIG. Uh---everybody else took a different spot. And as I got nearly
to the west end of the building, Officer Boone---Eugene Boone with the sheriff's
office---hollered that here was the rifle.
Mr. BELIN. How far were you from Officer Boone when he hollered?
Mr. CRAIG. About 8-foot.
Mr. BELIN. What did you do then?
Mr. CRAIG. I went over to the--uh--luster of boxes where he was standing
and looked down between the boxes and saw the rifle lying on the floor.
Mr.
BELIN. When you say "between the cluster of boxes," could you describe
which way the boxes were?
Mr.
CRAIG. There was a row going east to west on the north side of the weapon, and a
box going east to west on the south side of the weapon, and--uh--if I remember,
uh--as you'd look down, you had to look kinda back under
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the north stack of
boxes to see the rifle. It was
pushed kinda under---uh---or up tight against 'em---you know, where it would be
hard to see. And, of course, both ends of the rows were closed off where you
couldn't see through 'em.
You had to get up and look in 'em.
Mr. BELIN. You are gesturing with your hand there---would you say that
the boxes, then, as you gestured, were in the shape of what I would call a
rectangular "O", so to speak?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes, yes, uh-huh.
Mr. BELIN. And about how high were the walls of this enclosure, so to
speak?
Mr. CRAIG. Well, it-it was different heights.
Now, the part where I looked in particularly was about---uh---oh, was
about 5-foot.
Mr. BELIN. All right. And
you gestured there in such a way that you had to lean over and look straight
down? Would that be a fair statement of your gestures?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes; yes. You had to lean over the boxes and look down.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Then what happened? After you found this, did
people come over---or what?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes; several other people came over.
Mr. BELIN. Do you remember about what time this was?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I had no idea then how long it had been.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Do you
remember who else came over?
Mr.
CRAIG. Oh, Officer Mooney and--uh--several of the city officers; Will Fritz came
over--Capt. Will Fritz, with the city of Dallas; some of his investigators, I
didn't know them; and a criminal identification man, I believe, from the city of
Dallas, then came over there to take pictures of the weapon.
Mr. BELIN. The weapon was moved by the time the pictures were taken?
Mr. CRAIG. No; no. The pictures were taken as the weapon was found lying
here.
Mr. BELIN. Did you see the
pictures taken of the shells?
Mr. CRAIG. No.
Mr.
BELIN. You don't know whether or not anything was moved in that window before
this?
Mr. CRAIG. No; no.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Anything
else happen up to that time that you haven't related here that you feel might be
important?
Mr. CRAIG. No. Uh---I'm
thinking it was about this time---uh---that we got the news there had been a
city officer shot over in Oak Cliff.
Mr. BELIN. And then what happened?
Mr.
CRAIG. Well, there was just--uh--of course, everybody stayed there, you know,
and sort of mingled around and--uh--I then went back downstairs after the weapon
was picked up. The identification
man from the city of
And I then went back downstairs and over to the sheriffs office.
Mr. BELIN. All right.
At this time, do you know, did any person say that any employee in the
Mr. CRAIG. No; I don't recall anybody saying anything to that effect.
Mr.
BELIN. Had any description gone out for anyone that you know of with regard to
the shooting?
Mr.
CRAIG. I think---uh---no description of the suspect in the shooting of the
officer hadn't went out at this time, but---
Mr. BELIN. You don't know of any other that went out at that time?
Mr. CRAIG. No; no.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Then you went back over to the
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do?
Mr.
CRAIG. Well, I think I gave a statement to Rosemary Allen over there, as did all
the officers, as to what they were doing at the time, you know.
Mr.
BELIN. Uh-huh.
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Mr. CRAIG. And---uh---then I kept thinking about this man that had run
down the hill and got in this car, so--uh--it was about, oh, I don't recall
exactly the time, nearly 5 or something like that, or after, when--uh-the city
had apprehended a suspect in the city officer's shooting.
And--uh--information was floating around that they were trying to connect
him with the assassination of the President--as the assassin.
So--uh,
in the meantime, I kept thinking about this subject that had run and got in the
car. So, I called Captain Fritz'
office and talked to one of his officers and--uh--told him what I had saw and
give him a description of the man, asked him how it fit the man they had picked
up as a suspect.
And--uh--it was then they asked me to come up and look at him at Captain
Fritz' office.
Mr. BELIN. All right.
Then what did you do?
Mr.
CRAIG. I drove up to Fritz' office about, oh, after 5--about 5:30 or something
like that--and--uh--talked to Captain Fritz and told him what I had saw. And he
took me in his office---I believe it was his office---it was a little office,
and had the suspect setting in a chair behind a desk---beside the desk.
And another gentleman, I didn't know him, he was sitting in another chair
to my left as I walked in the office.
And Captain Fritz asked me was this the man I saw--and I said,
"Yes," it was.
Mr. BELIN. All right.
Will you describe the man you saw in Captain Fritz' office?
Mr.
CRAIG. Oh, he was sitting down but--uh--he had the same medium brown hair; it
was still--well, it was kinda wild looking; he was slender, and--uh-- what 1
could toll of him sitting there, he was--uh---short.
By that, I mean not--myself, I'm five eleven--he was shorter than I was.
And--uh--fairly light build.
Mr. BELIN. Could you see his trousers?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I couldn't see his trousers at all.
Mr. BELIN. What about his shirt?
Mr. CRAIG. I believe, as close as I can remember, a T-shirt--a white
T-shirt.
Mr. BELIN. All right. But you didn't see him in a lineup?
You just saw him sitting there?
Mr. CRAIG. No; he was sitting there by himself in a chair--off to one
side.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Then,
what did Captain Fritz say and what did you say and what did the suspect say?
Mr. CRAIG. Captain Fritz then
asked him about the---uh---he said, "What about this station wagon?"
And the suspect interrupted him and said, "That station wagon
belongs to Mrs. Paine"---I believe is what he said.
"Don't try to tie her into this. She had nothing to do with
it."
And--uh--Captain
Fritz then told him, as close as I can remember, that, "All we're trying to
do is find out what happened, and this man saw you leave from the scene."
And
the suspect again interrupted Captain Fritz and said, "I told you people I
did." And--uh--yeah--then, he said--then he continued and he said,
"Everybody will know who I am now."
And
he was leaning over the desk. At this time, he had risen partially out of the
chair and leaning over the desk, looking directly at Captain Fritz.
Mr.
BELIN. What was he wearing-or could you see the color of his trousers as he
leaned over the desk?
Mr. CRAIG. No; because he never--he just leaned up, you know, sort of
forward--not actually up, just out of his chair like that (indicating) forward.
Mr. BELIN. Then, did you say anything more?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I then left.
Mr. BELIN. Well, in other words, the only thing you ever said was,
"This was the man,"--or words to that effect?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr.
BELIN. Did Captain Fritz say anything more.
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Mr. CRAIG. No; I don't believe---not while. I was there.
Mr. BELIN. Did the suspect say anything more?
Mr. CRAIG. Not that I recall
Mr. BELIN. Did you say anything about that it was a Rambler station wagon
there?
Mr. CRAIG. In the presence of the suspect?
Mr. BELIN. Yes.
Mr. CRAIG. No.
Mr.
BELIN. You don't know whether Captain Fritz said anything to the suspect about
this incident before you came, do you?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I don't.
Mr.
BELIN. Is there anything else that you can think of involving this interrogation
at which you were present?
Mr.
CRAIG. No. Nothing else was said after that point. I then left and give 'my name
to the---uh---Secret Service agent and the FBI agent that was outside the
office.
Mr.
BELIN. Anything else in connection with the assassination that you think might
be important that we haven't discussed here?
Mr.
CRAIG. No; except--uh--except for the fact that it came out later that Mrs.
Paine does own a station wagon and--uh--it has a luggage rack on top. And this
came out, of course, later, after I got back to the office.
I didn't know about this. Buddy
Walthers brought it up. I believe
they went by the house and the car was parked in the driveway.
Mr. BELIN. Anything else you can think of?
Mr. CRAIG. No. That's all. I
forgot about it and went back to work.
Mr. BELIN. Now, prior to the time we had your deposition taken, we
chatted for a few minutes about some of these things--is that correct?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. For instance, we talked about your conversation with this
young couple this
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr.
BELIN. Is there anything that we said before the deposition was taken that we
haven't recorded here?
Mr. CRAIG. I don't believe so.
Mr.
BELIN. Is there anything that I said or you said in our conversation that is
different from anything that was recorded here---to the best of your
recollection?
Mr.
CRAIG. No; except you asked me before, I believe, did I talk to any of the
railroad employees.
Mr. BELIN. That's right.
Mr. CRAIG. And I said, "No"--which I did not.
Mr. BELIN. Anything else?
Mr. CRAIG. (Pausing before reply.) No---nothing
that I recall.
Mr. BELIN. In our conversation, did you just relate to me what your story
was before we sat down to take the deposition?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Will you agree to follow or to waive signing of the deposition
and leave it in the Court Reporter's hands or do you want to sign it?
Mr. CRAIG. It makes no difference to me.
Mr.
BELIN. By the way, you had notice of this, did you not, of this taking of this
deposition?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes. I have the
letter right here in my pocket.
Mr. BELIN. All right. Anything else you can thing of, sir?
Mr. CRAIG. No.
Mr.
BELIN. Well, we want to thank you for taking your time to come down here and we
appreciate your cooperation. We
would appreciate your, also, thanking Sheriff Decker for us, if you would, when
you get back there.
Mr. CRAIG. Okay.
Mr. BELIN. Thank you very much.
One other thing before you go, Mr. Craig.
We might have covered this before, but I want to doublecheck it.
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When you talked to Mr. Rowland about what he saw in the window, did he
say whether or not two men he saw were white or colored?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes; I determined that right away. I asked him whether they
were white or colored and he said white.
Mr. BELIN. What else did he tell you about them?
Did he tell you how much of them he saw?
Mr.
CRAIG. Yes. He said they--uh--walked
back and forth in front of the windows there
uh--several minutes. You
know, not a long time but 3, 4, 5 minutes. He
did state that one of them had a rifle with a scope on it.
Mr. BELIN. Did he give you the color of the hair or the complexion or
anything like that?
Mr. CRAIG. No--no; this he couldn't give.
Mr. BELIN. Could he give you the type of clothing they were wearing?
Mr. CRAIG. If I recall, he was vague on one he thought it was khakis, but
the other man he wasn't sure.
Mr. BELIN. Did he tell you anything else about these people?
Mr.
CRAIG. Yes; he said he looked up a few minutes later and--uh--there was only one
man up there then.
Mr.
BELIN. Did he ever tell you anything about seeing any other people in any other
windows?
Mr.
CRAIG. Yes; he said there were people in other windows looking over the
ledges--you know, leaning up against the outside of the windows, looking out.
Mr.
BELIN. Did he tell you whether any of these other people were on the sixth
floor?
Mr.
CRAIG. No; these two men were the only ones he saw on that particular floor.
Mr. BELIN. Did he tell you that was the sixth floor he saw them on?
Mr.
CRAIG. Yes. He said the second to
the top floor--the next floor down; which would be the sixth floor.
Mr. BELIN. Did he tell you about ever seeing anyone else on the sixth
floor--or did he say that he didn't see anyone else on the sixth floor?
Or don't you remember?
Mr. CRAIG. Just the two men. That's
all he saw on that particular floor.
Mr. BELIN. Did you
specifically ask him if he saw anyone else on that floor, he say that he did
not?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I asked him and he said---
Mr. BELIN. Well, what was your statement to him and what was his to you?
CRAIG. I asked him was there anybody else on the floor with these two
men. And he said, "No,
just the two of them."
Mr. BELIN. Did he say that he saw these two men together first?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. And then he Just saw one, as I understand it?
Mr.
CRAIG. A few minutes later, he looked back up there and saw just the man with
the rifle.
Mr. BELIN. I believe he said earlier that he saw these men around 15
minutes before the motorcade arrived? And
then a few minutes later, you say that he told you he saw only one man?
Mr. CRAIG. Right.
Mr.
BELIN. Did he then tell you that he
saw no men--or what did he say about what he saw after that?
Mr.
CRAIG. Well, then, I took him to Officer Lewis and turned him over to Lemmy
Lewis.
Mr. BELIN. Anything else you
can think of about that conversation?
Mr.
CRAIG. No; there was not--I don't think there was anything else discussed except
for the fact that he told me he thought--he said he thought he was a Secret
Service agent--and that's why he didn't report it.
Mr. BELIN. All right.
Now, if you would just wait here one more minute, Mr. Craig, Mr. Ball
stepped in and he's going down to pick up some clothing.
And we'd like to have you
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take a look at this
clothing and see if this looks familiar to any of the clothing that you saw on
the man running toward the Rambler.
If you'll just wait a minute here please sir,
(Mr. Ball returns to deposition room with box of clothing.)
Mr. BELIN. I hand you Exhibit No. 150.
Have you ever seen a shirt like this before?
Does this look familiar to the shirt that the suspect might have been
wearing when you saw him, or this man running toward the station wagon?
Mr. CRAIG. It's the same type
of shirt.
Mr. BELIN. I believe you used the phrase, "light shirt".
Would Exhibit 150 be darker than the shirt he was wearing?
Mr. CRAIG. Uh--it looks darker in here--yes, uh-huh.
Mr. BELIN. Was this man running towards the station wagon wearing a
jacket?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I don't believe he was.
Mr. BELIN. I hand you Exhibit No. 156.
Did the trousers that this man running toward the station wagon had
on--were they this color--lighter, darker, or a different kind of trousers--or
what?
Mr. CRAIG. No.
They were--uh--they were work trousers like those; but they looked blue
to me.
Mr. BELIN. And this Exhibit 156 looks kind of gray?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. What about Exhibit 157?
Mr. CRAIG. Well, those are more the color.
Mr. BELIN. But they still looked different from Exhibit 157, too?
Mr. CRAIG. Yes.
Mr.
BELIN. Have you discussed with Sheriff Decker the fact that when Oswald was
picked up they found a bus transfer in his pocket?
Mr. CRAIG. No; I knew--uh nothing
about a bus transfer.
Mr. BELIN. Do you feel, in
your own mind, that the man you saw at Captain
Fritz's office was the same
man that you saw running towards the station wagon?
Mr.
CRAIG. Yes, I feel like it was.
Mr. BELIN. Do you feel that you might have been influenced by the fact
that you knew he was the suspect---subconsciously, or do you----
Mr. CRAIG. Well, it's---it's possible, but I still feel strongly that it
was the same person.
Mr. BELIN. Okay. That's it.
Thank you.
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