Oswald DID NOT Run Down the Stairs
by John ArmstrongMoments before shots were fired at President
Kennedy, Oswald told DPD Capt. Fritz that "he was having his lunch
about that time on the first floor." Oswald said that he then went to
the second floor where the Coca-Cola machine was located and obtained a
bottle of Coca-Cola for his lunch. Unfortunately, Oswald failed to tell
Fritz whether he went to the 2nd floor via the old wooden stairs (NW
corner of the building) or took the stairs adjacent to the front
entrance of the building. The Warren Commission, however, didn't care
what Oswald said. The WC said that Oswald was on the 6th floor firing
shots at President Kennedy, and then quickly ran down the stairs to the
2nd floor lunchroom where he was confronted by Officer Marrion Baker
and Roy Truly. What follows are the statements and testimony of
witnesses who were ignored by the WC, because these witnesses could
show that Oswald was not on the 6th floor, and knew for a fact that he
did not run down the stairs to the 2nd floor lunchroom.
Victoria Adams, Sandra Styles, supervisor Dorothy Garner, and Elsie Dorman were watching the Presidential parade from their office on the 4th floor of the TSBD when shots were fired. Adams told the WC that she, along with co-worker Sandra Styles, left their office, and hurried down the old, wooden stairway in the NW corner of the building. Supervisor Dorothy Garner, who was not interviewed by the WC, stayed on the 4th floor and watched the young ladies as they hurried down the stairs.
Victoria Adams, Sandra Styles, supervisor Dorothy Garner, and Elsie Dorman were watching the Presidential parade from their office on the 4th floor of the TSBD when shots were fired. Adams told the WC that she, along with co-worker Sandra Styles, left their office, and hurried down the old, wooden stairway in the NW corner of the building. Supervisor Dorothy Garner, who was not interviewed by the WC, stayed on the 4th floor and watched the young ladies as they hurried down the stairs.
Adams told the WC they arrived on the 1st floor “no
longer than a minute at the most." During an interview with JFK
researcher Sean Murphy, Styles said that she and Adams left the office
"rather quickly" after watching Jackie Kennedy crawl on the trunk of
the Presidential limousine. Styles said, "I told an interviewer (FBI?
not sure) that when we got downstairs, the police were there...."
Styles, however, was not interviewed by the WC, because her testimony
would confirm that both women left the 4th floor "rather quickly."
Seeing the police (Officer Baker) on the first floor would agree with
Adams, who said they arrived on the first floor less than one minute
after the shooting (click here to see discussion and emails between Sean
Murphy and Sandra Styles). Victoria Adams' testimony of arriving on
the first floor in less than one minute was of great concern to the WC.
Adams' testimony was a serious "timing problem" because the WC said
that immediately following the shooting Oswald was running down the
steps from the 6th floor to the 2nd floor lunchroom. But neither Adams
nor Styles nor Dorothy Garner saw, heard, or saw anyone running down
the steps during the minutes following the shooting.
On February 17, 1964 Adams told Dallas Police detective Jim Leavelle that she saw Bill Shelley and an employee named Billy (Lovelady) when she arrived on the first floor, one minute after the shooting. Six weeks later, on April 7, Adams said exactly that same thing to the WC. She told WC attorney David Belin that Shelley and Lovelady were "slightly east of the front of the east elevator, and probably as far south as the length of the elevator."
There is little doubt the man arrested and charged with killing President Kennedy did not run down the stairs moments after the shooting. There are also valid reasons to question and wonder why Victoria Adams or anyone would, after 40 years, change their testimony. Unfortunately, the one and only source of information concerning Adams' recanting her brief contact with Shelley and Lovelady on the 1st floor of the TSBD moments after the shooting is "The Girl on the Stairs" by Ernest.
In my view, however, the story of Victoria Adams' arrival on the 1st floor of the TSBD, one minute after the shooting, is secondary. The more important story is the distinct possibility that Adams did see Shelley and Lovelady at the rear of the building one minute after the shooting. The WC and FBI were determined to avoid this issue because two TSBD employees, waiting by the only access to the 6th floor moments after the shooting, were potential co-conspirators. WC member Allen Dulles, who was present at both Baker and Truly's depositions, may have had different reasons for wanting to avoid any reference to the two men on the first floor.
Two people told the WC they saw these men: Officer Baker told Allen Dulles they were two "white men." Victoria Adams told the WC she saw Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady standing near the elevators when she arrived on the first floor (circa 12:31-32 PM). She pinpointed their location on a diagram of the first floor, a position about 20-25 feet from the west wall of the building. Officer Baker, who arrived moments later (circa 12:32 PM), said one of the two "white men" was "sitting down" and "on this side" [of the elevators]. Baker said the second man "was 20-30 feet away, looking at us." Two to three minutes later (circa 12:34-35 PM) NBC reporter Robert MacNeil ran into the front entrance of the building, thru the double doors, into the warehouse, and waited to use a telephone to call his office in New York City (call was confirmed at 12:36 PM). While waiting for the phone, next to Truly and Shelley's offices, MacNeil's attention was focused on three men who he described as very calm and in "shirtsleeves" (without suit jacket). I think it very likely that two of these very calm men were the same two men seen by Baker and Adams only 1-2 minutes earlier. The third man may have been Oswald, who had just returned to the 1st floor from the 2nd floor lunchroom. If these 3 men were not Shelley, Lovelady, and Oswald at the back of the building, then who were they?
The FBI quickly concluded that Oswald was the one and only assassin, which was reported day after day by the media. The WC was determined to reach the same conclusion. Former CIA Director Allen Dulles had his own reasons for wanting to eliminate Bill Shelley from the first floor one minute after the shooting. Any indications of a conspiracy or co-conspirators, such as Shelley and Lovelady, had to be avoided. WC attorney David Belin and WC member Allen Dulles refused to question either Truly or Baker as to the identity of these two men, even though Victoria Adams told the WC and DPD they were Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady. The WC never questioned Roy Truly about these two men, nor did Truly ever volunteer any information about these men. The WC also failed to ask Roy Truly if he directed Shelley to guard the elevators.
The anatomy of a WC cover up: In the months following 11/22/63 Shelley and Lovelady repeatedly changed their testimony to make it appear as thou they returned to the building much later. Adams' typewritten WC deposition, upon which she made corrections and signed, was marked "SECRET" and withheld from the public. The diagram of the 1st floor, upon which Adams placed the location of Shelley and Lovelady, also disappeared. Adams' original stenographic WC testimony disappeared from the National Archives; now there is no way to confirm her original testimony. Years after the assassination Bill Shelley told a fellow TSBD employee and Dallas news reporter Elzie Glaze that he had worked for intelligence during WW2 and later joined the CIA. Shelley's connection to the CIA would explain why neither Allen Dulles nor WC attorney David Belin ever questioned Officer Baker or Roy Truly as to the identity of the two men (Bill Shelley, connected to the CIA, at the back of the building, one minute after the shooting, had to be avoided at all costs). Thirty eight years after the assassination, Victoria Adams allegedly told author Ernest that she did not see Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor.
On February 17, 1964 Adams told Dallas Police detective Jim Leavelle that she saw Bill Shelley and an employee named Billy (Lovelady) when she arrived on the first floor, one minute after the shooting. Six weeks later, on April 7, Adams said exactly that same thing to the WC. She told WC attorney David Belin that Shelley and Lovelady were "slightly east of the front of the east elevator, and probably as far south as the length of the elevator."
The W.C. knew that Adams' testimony conflicted with
their claim that Oswald ran down the stairs at the same time. The WC
then provided Adams with a typewritten transcript of her testimony and
asked her to read, make corrections, and sign. Adams corrected and
signed her W.C. testimony, and the resulting document was classified
"TOP SECRET." Adams' testimony of seeing Bill Shelley and Billy
Lovelady on the first floor one minute after the shooting was of great
concern, because the WC claimed that Oswald ran down the stairs at the
same time. Another concern for the WC was the presence of two TSBD
employees near the freight elevators and stairs one minute after the
shooting. Why were they not outside watching the parade? What were they
doing?
1st problem--timing:
As the Presidential limousine was entering Dealey Plaza, HARVEY Oswald told Capt. Fritz he was on the first floor (Domino Room). Oswald said that he then went to the 2nd floor lunchroom to buy a Coke. It is very unlikely that Oswald took the old wooden stairs to the 2nd floor, as he would likely have run into the two women and/or been seen by Officer Baker and Roy Truly walking from the Domino Room to the stairway. It is more likely that Oswald left the Domino Room, walked to the front of the building, and then walked up the stairway to the second floor hallway. On the 4th floor Sandra Styles and Victoria Adams were watching the parade. Moments after the shots were fired Sandra Styles remembered that Jackie Kennedy began to crawl on top of the trunk of the limousine. At that moment Victoria Adams and Sandra Styles, followed by their supervisor, Dorothy Garner, hurried to the old wooden stairs in the NW corner of the building. Dorothy Garner stood by the stairs and watched Adams and Styles as they hurried down the stairs. Adams told the WC that she arrived on the first floor "no longer than a minute at the most," and neither saw nor heard anyone using the stairway. Moments after the two women arrived on the 1st floor, Officer Marrion Baker and Roy Truly began running up the stairs. Baker said that when he first saw Oswald, he (Oswald) was walking away from the entry door and toward the back of the lunchroom. If true, this is a good indication that Oswald had just arrived in the lunchroom, after walking from the front stairway, thru the hallway, and entering the lunchroom. Baker said that he and Roy Truly spoke briefly with Oswald and then continued running up the stairs to the upper floors. As Baker and Truly were running up the stairs, it is likely that Oswald walked down the old wooden stairway to the 1st floor where Bill Shelley, following Roy Truly's instructions, was watching the freight elevators.
Dorothy Garner remained standing by the stairs on the 4th floor, and saw building manager Roy Truly and a policeman (Officer Baker) as they ran up the stairway and continued running to the upper floors. In the minutes following the shooting Dorothy Garner remained standing next to the stairs on the 4th floor. The only people Garner saw or heard on the stairs were Adams, Styles, Baker and Truly. From Adams' testimony the WC knew that neither Oswald nor anyone from the upper floors could have run down the stairs without being seen by these women. WC assistant counsel Wesley Liebeler read Adams' W.C. testimony and wrote, "Victoria Adams testified that she came down the stairway, within about 1 minute after the shots, from the fourth floor to the first floor where she encountered two Depository employees--Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady. If Adams saw these two men on the 1st floor, near the freight elevators and stairway, only one minute after the shooting, then it would have been impossible for Oswald to have ran down the stairs from the 6th to the 2nd floor at the same time.
Wesley Liebeler was well aware of the timing problem. If the WC conducted an honest investigation they would have interviewed both Sandra Styles and Dorothy Garner, who would have corroborated Adams' claim of arriving on the first floor within one minute of the shooting. The WC did not interview these ladies because their testimony, and in particular Dorothy Garner's testimony, would have made it impossible for the WC to show that after shots were fired at President Kennedy, Oswald immediately ran from the so-called sniper's nest on the 6th floor, passed by the 4th floor, and arrived in the 2nd floor lunchroom in less than 1 1/2 minutes. On June 11, 1964 Dorothy Garner was interviewed for the first time by assistant US attorney Martha Joe Stroud. Garner said that she stood at the stairway on the 4th floor and watched as Adams and Styles ran down the stairs and moments later watched as Truly and a policeman ran up the stairs. Garner was the one witness who could testify that nobody from the upper floors ran down the stairs and passed by the 4th floor in the minutes following the shooting. In other words neither Oswald nor anyone from the 6th floor ran down the stairs in the minutes following the shooting. Oswald was very likely in the 1st floor domino room at the time of the shooting, just like he told Capt. Fritz. Stroud sent a registered letter to WC general counsel J. Lee Rankin, to inform Rankin that Dorothy Garner had watched both Adams and Styles run down the stairs and moments later watched Roy Truly and a police officer run up the stairs. This letter was hidden from the public for the next 30 years.
In order for the WC to show that Oswald ran from the sniper's nest on the 6th floor to the 2nd floor lunchroom within 1 1/2 minutes, the WC had to find a way to deal with Victoria Adams' testimony. They began by totally ignoring and refusing to interview Sandra Styles and Dorothy Garner, because the WC knew these women would testify that nobody ran down the stairs in the minutes following the shooting. The WC now had to find a way to discredit Victoria Adams' testimony. They needed to find a witness or witnesses who would testify that Adams did not arrive on the first floor in less a minute, but arrived several minutes later. Such testimony would then give the WC a brief period of time in which to claim that immediately after the shooting Oswald ran down the stairs to the 2nd floor lunchroom in less than 1 1/2 minutes, before Adams ran down the stairs a few minutes later.
About twenty minutes after the shooting Bill Shelley, Bonnie Ray Williams, and Danny Arce were driven to police headquarters. Billy Lovelady was driven to police headquarters in a different car. Shelley gave an affidavit to the Dallas Police and said, "I ran across the street to the park.... I went back to the building and went inside. Called my wife. I was on the first floor then and I stayed at the elevator [freight] and was told not to let anyone out of the elevator. I left the elevator and went with the police up to the other floors." Lovelady provided an affidavit and said, "After it was over we [WE!! plural--Shelley and Lovelady] went back into the building and took some police officers up to search the building." Their affidavits place both men in the building moments after the shooting, where they were seen by Victoria Adams one minute after the shooting.
In the months following the assassination neither Shelley nor Lovelady denied seeing Victoria Adams in the building, but both men soon began to change their testimony and made it appear as though they saw Victoria Adams much later in the day. On March 18, 1964, Shelley told the FBI, "returned thru the west side of the building and returned approximately 10 minutes later"! The following day, on March 19, Billy Lovelady told the FBI, "I ran toward the spot where President Kennedy's car had stopped. William Shelley and myself stayed in that area for approximately five minutes"! Three weeks later, on April 7, Adams, Shelley, and Lovelady testified before the WC. Adams testified first, and said that she saw Shelley and Lovelady on the 1st floor one minute after the shooting. Shelley and Lovelady, however, told the WC they returned to the building much later. The WC chose to believe Shelley and Lovelady, and decided that Adams' testimony of arriving on the first floor within one minute of the shooting was incorrect. The WC concluded that Adams arrived on the first floor as much as 10 minutes later. With Adams' testimony discredited, the WC was now able to claim that Oswald ran from the sniper's nest on the 6th floor to the 2nd floor lunchroom in 1 minute 14-18 seconds, several minutes before Adams ran down the stairs.
Following is a sequential list that shows how Shelley and Lovelady repeatedly changed their statements.
2nd problem--identity of two “white men”:
On February 17, 1964 Victoria Adams told Dallas Police detective Jim Laevelle that when she arrived on the first floor, one minute after the shooting, she saw Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady. Seven weeks later, on April 7, 1964, Adams told WC attorney David Belin the same story. During Adams' testimony, Belin gave Adams a diagram of the 1st floor and asked her to pinpoint where she encountered Shelley and Lovelady.
Adams described the location where she saw Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor. WC attorney David Belin handed Adams a diagram of the 1st floor (WC Ex. 496) and asked her to pinpoint this location. Adams identified a point on this exhibit, indicated as #7, where she saw Shelley and Lovelady. Belin described this location, for the record, as "slightly east of the front of the east elevator, and as far south as the length of the elevator, is that correct?" Adams responded, "yes sir." This original document, which showed the location of Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor one minute after the shooting, was last seen in possession of the WC and soon disappeared. This document had to disappear, because it placed Adams, Shelley, and Lovelady together on the 1st floor only seconds before Truly and Baker arrived, and (VERY IMPORTANT!) identified the two "white men" seen by Officer Baker as Shelley and Lovelady. A diagram of the 1st floor is shown above, with the location of the two men shown as described by Adams to the WC.
Adams’ co-worker, Sandra Styles, followed her from their office on the 4th floor, down the wooden stairs, and onto the 1st floor. As the two women were rushing out of the building, Styles momentarily focused her attention on a policeman hurrying toward the stairs and elevator. Styles’ memory of seeing police (Officer Baker) on the first floor agreed with Adams’ statement of the time that she arrived on the first floor, which was within one minute after the shooting. Styles did not see Shelley or Lovelady, but her vivid memory of the police may explain why she paid little or no attention to other people in the area. Her focus of attention was on the policeman. The only policeman on the first floor one minute after the shooting was Officer Marrion Baker. Baker told the WC "as we tried to get on the elevators I remember two men, one was sitting on this side and another one between 20 or 30 feet away from us looking at us." WC member Alled Dulles asked, "were they white men?" Baker replied, "Yes, sir." With all hell breaking loose and people scurrying about everywhere, Baker said one of these two men was sitting near the stairs and the elevator. Sitting!!
If this had been an honest investigation the WC should have focused their attention on the two unidentified "white men" near the stairs and elevators at the rear of the building moments after the shooting. The WC should have asked Roy Truly why he provided no information concerning the identity of these men. Based upon Adams' testimony, the WC should have brought Shelley, Lovelady, and Officer Baker together and simply asked Baker if these were the two "white men" he saw on the 1st floor. The WC would likely have asked Shelley and Lovelady what they were doing at the back of the building one minute after the shooting. Were they waiting for Oswald to arrive and then help him get safely out of the building? Did they turn the electricity to the passenger elevator off and a few minutes later turn the electricity on in order to allow the shooter(s) from the 6th floor to access and ride the passenger elevator to a lower floor? Whatever they were doing, the presence of two men near the freight elevators and stairway, one minute after the shooting, is a clear indication that either one or both of these men may have been co-conspirators.
If the WC, the FBI, the HSCA, or serious researchers were interested in learning the truth concerning the timing of Adams' and Styles' arrival on the 1st floor, and whether or not Adams saw Shelley and Lovelady, they only needed to ask a few simple questions. For example, Styles should have been brought before the WC and/or the HSCA and asked if the policeman she saw on the first floor was wearing a white helmut. Did she see building manager Roy Truly with the policeman? Did she see the policeman and Truly run up the wooden stairs? Dorothy Garner should have been brought before the WC and/or the HSCA and asked how long after the shooting did she, Adams, and Styles arrive at the stairs. How long after Adams and Styles began walking down the stairs did she see the policeman and Truly arrive on the 4th floor? How long did she remain at the stairs? The WC intentionally failed to interview Styles and Garner and ask these simple questions, because they were not interested in the truth. They were only interested in writing a report that named Oswald as the one and only assassin of President Kennedy, and that he acted alone. When the WC, FBI, or researchers fail to ask simple and obvious questions then they are almost certainly and intentionally avoiding the truth and following their own agenda. By asking a few simple questions the timing of Adams and Styles arrival on the first floor could have been confirmed by the FBI or WC, and would show that Oswald did not and could have run down the stairs after the shooting. Oswald was, in fact, in the domino room on the 1st floor minutes before the shooting, and may have been in the 2nd floor lunchroom after the shooting.
For nearly 40 years, from 1963 thru 2002, the WC testimony of Victoria Adams relating to her seeing Shelley and Lovelady on the 1st floor of the TSBD was never in doubt. It was the timing of Adams' arrival on the 1st floor that was questioned by the WC. Following her WC testimony in April, 1964, there was never any indication whatsoever that Adams told anyone that her WC testimony was inaccurate or had been changed. Two years after testifying before the Warren Commission, in 1966, Adams was interviewed and recorded by Mort Sahl. Adams clearly said that she saw both Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady near the freight elevators on the 1st floor of the TSBD within 30-60 seconds after the shooting. Author Barry Ernest claims to have spent 35 years searching for Adams. In 2002 Ernest said that he located and interviewed Adams. Ernest claimed that Adams told him that she never saw Bill Shelley or Billy Lovelady on the first floor. After hearing this claim Ernest, or any JFK researcher, should have known this was not what Adams told the Warren Commission in 1964. In fact Victoria Adams said repeatedly, on numerous occasions, that she saw both Shelley and Lovelady when she arrived on the 1st floor moments after the assassination. DPD Officer Marion Baker told the WC that when he and Roy Truly arrived at the rear elevators, about 90 seconds after the shooting, Officer Baker saw two "white men" standing near the freight elevators. Building manager Roy Truly knew both Shelley and Lovelady, but was never asked about these two men by the Warren Commission.
In late 2023 Len Osanic, the Canada-based host of Black Op Radio, located a long lost recording of the 1963 interview of Vicki Adams by Mort Sahl and Mark Lane. Toward the end of the interview, she clearly says she saw Shelley and Lovelady when she arrived at the bottom of the staircase, just a minute or so after the last shot rang out. The whole interview is very much worth listening to, but to hear Ms. Adams speak about Shelley and Lovelady, start at about the 37-minute mark.
1st problem--timing:
As the Presidential limousine was entering Dealey Plaza, HARVEY Oswald told Capt. Fritz he was on the first floor (Domino Room). Oswald said that he then went to the 2nd floor lunchroom to buy a Coke. It is very unlikely that Oswald took the old wooden stairs to the 2nd floor, as he would likely have run into the two women and/or been seen by Officer Baker and Roy Truly walking from the Domino Room to the stairway. It is more likely that Oswald left the Domino Room, walked to the front of the building, and then walked up the stairway to the second floor hallway. On the 4th floor Sandra Styles and Victoria Adams were watching the parade. Moments after the shots were fired Sandra Styles remembered that Jackie Kennedy began to crawl on top of the trunk of the limousine. At that moment Victoria Adams and Sandra Styles, followed by their supervisor, Dorothy Garner, hurried to the old wooden stairs in the NW corner of the building. Dorothy Garner stood by the stairs and watched Adams and Styles as they hurried down the stairs. Adams told the WC that she arrived on the first floor "no longer than a minute at the most," and neither saw nor heard anyone using the stairway. Moments after the two women arrived on the 1st floor, Officer Marrion Baker and Roy Truly began running up the stairs. Baker said that when he first saw Oswald, he (Oswald) was walking away from the entry door and toward the back of the lunchroom. If true, this is a good indication that Oswald had just arrived in the lunchroom, after walking from the front stairway, thru the hallway, and entering the lunchroom. Baker said that he and Roy Truly spoke briefly with Oswald and then continued running up the stairs to the upper floors. As Baker and Truly were running up the stairs, it is likely that Oswald walked down the old wooden stairway to the 1st floor where Bill Shelley, following Roy Truly's instructions, was watching the freight elevators.
Dorothy Garner remained standing by the stairs on the 4th floor, and saw building manager Roy Truly and a policeman (Officer Baker) as they ran up the stairway and continued running to the upper floors. In the minutes following the shooting Dorothy Garner remained standing next to the stairs on the 4th floor. The only people Garner saw or heard on the stairs were Adams, Styles, Baker and Truly. From Adams' testimony the WC knew that neither Oswald nor anyone from the upper floors could have run down the stairs without being seen by these women. WC assistant counsel Wesley Liebeler read Adams' W.C. testimony and wrote, "Victoria Adams testified that she came down the stairway, within about 1 minute after the shots, from the fourth floor to the first floor where she encountered two Depository employees--Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady. If Adams saw these two men on the 1st floor, near the freight elevators and stairway, only one minute after the shooting, then it would have been impossible for Oswald to have ran down the stairs from the 6th to the 2nd floor at the same time.
Wesley Liebeler was well aware of the timing problem. If the WC conducted an honest investigation they would have interviewed both Sandra Styles and Dorothy Garner, who would have corroborated Adams' claim of arriving on the first floor within one minute of the shooting. The WC did not interview these ladies because their testimony, and in particular Dorothy Garner's testimony, would have made it impossible for the WC to show that after shots were fired at President Kennedy, Oswald immediately ran from the so-called sniper's nest on the 6th floor, passed by the 4th floor, and arrived in the 2nd floor lunchroom in less than 1 1/2 minutes. On June 11, 1964 Dorothy Garner was interviewed for the first time by assistant US attorney Martha Joe Stroud. Garner said that she stood at the stairway on the 4th floor and watched as Adams and Styles ran down the stairs and moments later watched as Truly and a policeman ran up the stairs. Garner was the one witness who could testify that nobody from the upper floors ran down the stairs and passed by the 4th floor in the minutes following the shooting. In other words neither Oswald nor anyone from the 6th floor ran down the stairs in the minutes following the shooting. Oswald was very likely in the 1st floor domino room at the time of the shooting, just like he told Capt. Fritz. Stroud sent a registered letter to WC general counsel J. Lee Rankin, to inform Rankin that Dorothy Garner had watched both Adams and Styles run down the stairs and moments later watched Roy Truly and a police officer run up the stairs. This letter was hidden from the public for the next 30 years.
In order for the WC to show that Oswald ran from the sniper's nest on the 6th floor to the 2nd floor lunchroom within 1 1/2 minutes, the WC had to find a way to deal with Victoria Adams' testimony. They began by totally ignoring and refusing to interview Sandra Styles and Dorothy Garner, because the WC knew these women would testify that nobody ran down the stairs in the minutes following the shooting. The WC now had to find a way to discredit Victoria Adams' testimony. They needed to find a witness or witnesses who would testify that Adams did not arrive on the first floor in less a minute, but arrived several minutes later. Such testimony would then give the WC a brief period of time in which to claim that immediately after the shooting Oswald ran down the stairs to the 2nd floor lunchroom in less than 1 1/2 minutes, before Adams ran down the stairs a few minutes later.
Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady
About twenty minutes after the shooting Bill Shelley, Bonnie Ray Williams, and Danny Arce were driven to police headquarters. Billy Lovelady was driven to police headquarters in a different car. Shelley gave an affidavit to the Dallas Police and said, "I ran across the street to the park.... I went back to the building and went inside. Called my wife. I was on the first floor then and I stayed at the elevator [freight] and was told not to let anyone out of the elevator. I left the elevator and went with the police up to the other floors." Lovelady provided an affidavit and said, "After it was over we [WE!! plural--Shelley and Lovelady] went back into the building and took some police officers up to search the building." Their affidavits place both men in the building moments after the shooting, where they were seen by Victoria Adams one minute after the shooting.
In the months following the assassination neither Shelley nor Lovelady denied seeing Victoria Adams in the building, but both men soon began to change their testimony and made it appear as though they saw Victoria Adams much later in the day. On March 18, 1964, Shelley told the FBI, "returned thru the west side of the building and returned approximately 10 minutes later"! The following day, on March 19, Billy Lovelady told the FBI, "I ran toward the spot where President Kennedy's car had stopped. William Shelley and myself stayed in that area for approximately five minutes"! Three weeks later, on April 7, Adams, Shelley, and Lovelady testified before the WC. Adams testified first, and said that she saw Shelley and Lovelady on the 1st floor one minute after the shooting. Shelley and Lovelady, however, told the WC they returned to the building much later. The WC chose to believe Shelley and Lovelady, and decided that Adams' testimony of arriving on the first floor within one minute of the shooting was incorrect. The WC concluded that Adams arrived on the first floor as much as 10 minutes later. With Adams' testimony discredited, the WC was now able to claim that Oswald ran from the sniper's nest on the 6th floor to the 2nd floor lunchroom in 1 minute 14-18 seconds, several minutes before Adams ran down the stairs.
Following is a sequential list that shows how Shelley and Lovelady repeatedly changed their statements.
Billy Lovelady
DPD Affidavit, 11/22/63: "After [the shooting] was over WE WENT BACK INTO THE BUILDING...."
FBI Report, 11/22/63: "....immediately after hearing the shots [LOVELADY] and SHELLEY STARTED RUNNING TOWARDS THE PRESIDENTIAL CAR, but it sped away.... [They] then returned to the [TSBD]...."
FBI Statement, 3/19/64: "....following the shooting, I RAN TOWARD THE SPOT WHERE PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S CAR HAD STOPPED. William Shelley and myself STAYED IN THAT AREA FOR APPROXIMATELY FIVE MINUTES when we then re-entered the Depository building by the side door located on the west side of the building."
WC Deposition, 4/7/64: "... ABOUT THREE MINUTES AFTER THE SHOTS, Gloria Calvery arrived. After speaking with her, [WE] WALKED QUICKLY TO THE RAILROAD TRACKS, and then entered the west door of the TSBD."
NOTE: WC Attorney Joseph Ball asked Lovelady "After you ran to the railroad tracks you came back and went in the back door of the building.... Who did you see in the first floor?" Lovelady answered, "I saw a girl but I wouldn't swear to it it's Vickie." It is important to understand that Victoria Adams' name hadn't been previously mentioned during Lovelady's testimony, yet Lovelady somehow knew her name and knew that he was supposed to have seen her on the first floor. It appears that Lovelady was interviewed and coached prior to giving testimony to the WC.
HSCA Testimony: Lovelady told the HSCA that he DID NOT RETURN TO THE BUILDING FOR 25 MINUTES
Bill Shelley
DPD Affidavit, 11/22/63: "I ran across the street to the corner of the park and ran into [Gloria Calvery].... I WENT BACK TO THE BUILDING and went inside and called my wife and told her what happened."
FBI Statement, 3/18/64: "Immediately following the shooting, Billy N. Lovelady and I accompanied some uniformed police officers to the railroad yard just west of the building and RETURNED THRU THE WEST SIDE OF THE BUILDING ABOUT 10 MINUTES LATER."
WC Deposition, 4/7/64: "About three or four minutes after the shots, Gloria Calvery arrived. Billy Lovelady and I ran across the street to the concrete island and stopped for a minute. We then WALKED TO THE FIRST RAILROAD TRACK AND WATCHED THEM SEARCHING FOR A WHILE, after which we entered the west door of the TSBD."
2nd problem--identity of two “white men”:
On February 17, 1964 Victoria Adams told Dallas Police detective Jim Laevelle that when she arrived on the first floor, one minute after the shooting, she saw Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady. Seven weeks later, on April 7, 1964, Adams told WC attorney David Belin the same story. During Adams' testimony, Belin gave Adams a diagram of the 1st floor and asked her to pinpoint where she encountered Shelley and Lovelady.
Miss ADAMS - I saw them there.
Mr. BELIN - I mean; you saw them?
Miss ADAMS - Yes.
Mr. BELIN - Would that have been a matter of seconds after you got to the bottom of the first floor?
Miss ADAMS - Definitely.
Mr. BELIN - Less than 30 seconds?
Miss ADAMS - Yes.
Adams described the location where she saw Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor. WC attorney David Belin handed Adams a diagram of the 1st floor (WC Ex. 496) and asked her to pinpoint this location. Adams identified a point on this exhibit, indicated as #7, where she saw Shelley and Lovelady. Belin described this location, for the record, as "slightly east of the front of the east elevator, and as far south as the length of the elevator, is that correct?" Adams responded, "yes sir." This original document, which showed the location of Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor one minute after the shooting, was last seen in possession of the WC and soon disappeared. This document had to disappear, because it placed Adams, Shelley, and Lovelady together on the 1st floor only seconds before Truly and Baker arrived, and (VERY IMPORTANT!) identified the two "white men" seen by Officer Baker as Shelley and Lovelady. A diagram of the 1st floor is shown above, with the location of the two men shown as described by Adams to the WC.
Adams’ co-worker, Sandra Styles, followed her from their office on the 4th floor, down the wooden stairs, and onto the 1st floor. As the two women were rushing out of the building, Styles momentarily focused her attention on a policeman hurrying toward the stairs and elevator. Styles’ memory of seeing police (Officer Baker) on the first floor agreed with Adams’ statement of the time that she arrived on the first floor, which was within one minute after the shooting. Styles did not see Shelley or Lovelady, but her vivid memory of the police may explain why she paid little or no attention to other people in the area. Her focus of attention was on the policeman. The only policeman on the first floor one minute after the shooting was Officer Marrion Baker. Baker told the WC "as we tried to get on the elevators I remember two men, one was sitting on this side and another one between 20 or 30 feet away from us looking at us." WC member Alled Dulles asked, "were they white men?" Baker replied, "Yes, sir." With all hell breaking loose and people scurrying about everywhere, Baker said one of these two men was sitting near the stairs and the elevator. Sitting!!
NOTE: Allen Dulles was a partner in the prestigious international law firm Sullivan and Cromwell. ln 1945, Dulles was Station Chief of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Station in Switzerland. Allen Dulles personally negotiated the early surrender of German forces in Italy and Austria days before the final surrender of Germany. In 1953 Dulles became the Director of the CIA, a position he held until 1961 when he was fired by President Kennedy.
One of these two "white men" was Bill Shelley, who
stated in an affidavit to the Dallas Police that he was told by his
supervisor, building manager Roy Truly, "to watch the elevators and not
let anyone off." Shelley told the WC, "Mr. Truly left me guarding the
elevator, not to let anybody up and down the elevator or stairway." The
only time that Roy Truly could have told Shelley to watch the elevators
was moments before he and Officer Baker ran up the stairs--1 and
1/2 minutes after the shooting. As Shelley stood by the
elevators, Truly and Baker began to run up the stairs, where they
allegedly confronted Oswald in the 2nd floor lunchroom, and then
continued running to the upper floors and onto the roof. A couple of
minutes later, about 12:34 PM, NBC news reporter Robert McNeal entered
the building, and went directly to the back of the building. MacNeil
asked for the location of a telephone and, after waiting a couple of
minutes, called his office in New York City (the time his call was
recorded at 12:36 PM). As he waited for the phone, McNeal saw three
very calm men in shirt sleeves near Bill Shelley's office.
I believe, but cannot prove, the 3 men seen by MacNeil were Shelley, Lovelady, and Oswald. I believe that Oswald picked up his jacket from the domino room, and was escorted out the rear of the building by Shelley. Oswald was seen a minute later by Wesley Frazier as he walked down the steps from the loading dock, and then walked south on Houston toward Elm St. A few minutes later Shelley met and escorted police to the upper floors, as he described in his affidavit to the police.
About 12:50 PM Shelley was driven to police headquarters, along with Bonnie Ray Williams and Danny Arce. From the evidence, it is now clear that Adams and Styles arrived on the first floor one minute after the shooting. Adams, while running toward an exit door, saw Shelley and Lovelady while Styles, following a few steps behind, focused her attention very briefly on a policeman who was running toward the freight elevators and wooden stairs. After Truly failed to secure an elevator, both he and Baker began to run up the stairs, where they allegedly confronted Oswald in the 2nd floor lunchroom. As Baker and Truly continued running up the stairs, Oswald left the lunchroom and walked down the stairs to the first floor, where Shelley was watching the elevators with Lovelady nearby. A minute later I believe it was these three men--Shelley, Lovelady, and Oswald--who were seen by NBC reporter Robert McNeil close to Shelley's office.
After reviewing the statements of Victoria Adams and Officer Marrion Baker, the WC soon realized there was another serious problem. This problem was the two unidentified “white men,” seen by Officer Baker one minute after the shooting, Their presence at the freight elevators and stairs one minute after the shooting gave the impression that these men may have been co-conspirators. It is very significant, and totally unexplainable, as to why neither Baker nor Truly were never questioned by the WC or anyone as to the identity or identification of these two men.
The WC knew from Victoria Adams’ statement to the Dallas Police, and from her WC testimony, and from her signed WC deposition, and from the 1st floor diagram where she pinpointed the location of Shelley and Lovelady, that she saw these men on the first floor one minute after the shooting. The WC knew from affidavits given to the Dallas Police by Shelley and Lovelady that less than one minute after the shooting these two men were at the back of the building. Officer Baker told the WC that he saw two "white men" near the elevators and stairs when he arrived at the back of the building. The WC also knew, or should have known, from Shelley's affidavit and WC testimony that Shelley was one of these two “white men,” because Roy Truly had directed him to watch the elevators before he (Truly) and Baker ran up the stairs. The WC never asked Truly about these two men, never asked Truly to confirm or deny if these two men were strangers or if they were Bill Shelley or Billy Lovelady, and Truly never once offered any information or description of these men. Does anyone know, or can anyone guess, the reasons why the WC intentionally failed to question Truly about these two men?? There were three reasons, and all would cause a lot of trouble for the WC.
I believe, but cannot prove, the 3 men seen by MacNeil were Shelley, Lovelady, and Oswald. I believe that Oswald picked up his jacket from the domino room, and was escorted out the rear of the building by Shelley. Oswald was seen a minute later by Wesley Frazier as he walked down the steps from the loading dock, and then walked south on Houston toward Elm St. A few minutes later Shelley met and escorted police to the upper floors, as he described in his affidavit to the police.
About 12:50 PM Shelley was driven to police headquarters, along with Bonnie Ray Williams and Danny Arce. From the evidence, it is now clear that Adams and Styles arrived on the first floor one minute after the shooting. Adams, while running toward an exit door, saw Shelley and Lovelady while Styles, following a few steps behind, focused her attention very briefly on a policeman who was running toward the freight elevators and wooden stairs. After Truly failed to secure an elevator, both he and Baker began to run up the stairs, where they allegedly confronted Oswald in the 2nd floor lunchroom. As Baker and Truly continued running up the stairs, Oswald left the lunchroom and walked down the stairs to the first floor, where Shelley was watching the elevators with Lovelady nearby. A minute later I believe it was these three men--Shelley, Lovelady, and Oswald--who were seen by NBC reporter Robert McNeil close to Shelley's office.
After reviewing the statements of Victoria Adams and Officer Marrion Baker, the WC soon realized there was another serious problem. This problem was the two unidentified “white men,” seen by Officer Baker one minute after the shooting, Their presence at the freight elevators and stairs one minute after the shooting gave the impression that these men may have been co-conspirators. It is very significant, and totally unexplainable, as to why neither Baker nor Truly were never questioned by the WC or anyone as to the identity or identification of these two men.
The WC knew from Victoria Adams’ statement to the Dallas Police, and from her WC testimony, and from her signed WC deposition, and from the 1st floor diagram where she pinpointed the location of Shelley and Lovelady, that she saw these men on the first floor one minute after the shooting. The WC knew from affidavits given to the Dallas Police by Shelley and Lovelady that less than one minute after the shooting these two men were at the back of the building. Officer Baker told the WC that he saw two "white men" near the elevators and stairs when he arrived at the back of the building. The WC also knew, or should have known, from Shelley's affidavit and WC testimony that Shelley was one of these two “white men,” because Roy Truly had directed him to watch the elevators before he (Truly) and Baker ran up the stairs. The WC never asked Truly about these two men, never asked Truly to confirm or deny if these two men were strangers or if they were Bill Shelley or Billy Lovelady, and Truly never once offered any information or description of these men. Does anyone know, or can anyone guess, the reasons why the WC intentionally failed to question Truly about these two men?? There were three reasons, and all would cause a lot of trouble for the WC.
The first reason. If the WC questioned Truly, and asked him if these men were strangers, then Truly would have to somehow explain why he didn't tell Officer Baker these men were strangers. Two strangers, on the first floor by the freight elevators and stairs one minute after the shooting, gives a clear impression these men were somehow involved, and were likely waiting for Oswald and/or the shooters to arrive via the stairs or freight elevators.We are now able to see and understand the necessary and coordinated effort made by the WC to exclude all witnesses and avoid all questions to witnesses that would confirm Adams' arrival on the 1st floor one minute after the shooting. We can also see how and when both Shelley and Lovelady repeatedly changed and lengthened the time before they re-entered the building, thereby providing the time necessary so the WC could claim that Oswald ran down the stairs from the sniper's nest to the 2nd floor lunchroom. But why? Why would Shelley and Lovelady change their statements and testimony? They may have wanted to avoid being confronted and questioned about their reasons and motives for being at the back of the building only one minute after the shooting. There may, however, have been a more sinister reason. Bill Shelley had a good reason to hide his presence and activities at the back of the building within one minute of the shooting. In 1974 Dallas journalist Elzie Glaze met a woman who had been working for the Texas Book Depository since 1969. Her immediate supervisor was Bill Shelley, who Glaze met and then contacted on numerous occasions. In a 1989 letter Glaze wrote, "Mr. Shelley claims to have been an intelligence officer during World War II and thereafter joined the CIA." Shelley was Oswald's supervisor at the TSBD, but his connections with Oswald could have been much deeper. Below is a photo of Oswald handing out FPCC literature in front of the International Trade Mart building in New Orleans. There is a man standing behind Oswald and to his left with a very distinct hair style. When the photo of this man is compared with photos of Shelley taken on 11/22/63 the similarities are obvious. If the man in the photo was Bill Shelley, then his connection with Oswald is much deeper.
The second reason. If Truly told the WC these two men were Shelley and Lovelady, this would confirm that Victoria Adams did arrive on the first floor one minute after the shooting, and thereby prove that Oswald could not have run down the stairs at the same time Adams and Styles were running down the stairs. The WC dared not ask Truly about the "two white men" seen by Officer Baker, because whatever answer Truly provided would be a major concern.
The third reason. The WC failed to ask Roy Truly if and when he told Shelley to watch the elevators. Truly could only have told Shelley to watch the elevators when he and Baker arrived at the elevator and stairs one minute after the shooting. Truly then left the 1st floor, and ran up the stairs with Officer Baker to the upper floors, while Shelley stood by the elevator, escorted police to the upper floors, and was then driven to police headquarters around 12:50 PM. Asking Truly when he told Shelley to watch the elevators would further confirm that Adams did, in fact, see Shelley on the first floor one minute after the shooting.
If this had been an honest investigation the WC should have focused their attention on the two unidentified "white men" near the stairs and elevators at the rear of the building moments after the shooting. The WC should have asked Roy Truly why he provided no information concerning the identity of these men. Based upon Adams' testimony, the WC should have brought Shelley, Lovelady, and Officer Baker together and simply asked Baker if these were the two "white men" he saw on the 1st floor. The WC would likely have asked Shelley and Lovelady what they were doing at the back of the building one minute after the shooting. Were they waiting for Oswald to arrive and then help him get safely out of the building? Did they turn the electricity to the passenger elevator off and a few minutes later turn the electricity on in order to allow the shooter(s) from the 6th floor to access and ride the passenger elevator to a lower floor? Whatever they were doing, the presence of two men near the freight elevators and stairway, one minute after the shooting, is a clear indication that either one or both of these men may have been co-conspirators.
If the WC, the FBI, the HSCA, or serious researchers were interested in learning the truth concerning the timing of Adams' and Styles' arrival on the 1st floor, and whether or not Adams saw Shelley and Lovelady, they only needed to ask a few simple questions. For example, Styles should have been brought before the WC and/or the HSCA and asked if the policeman she saw on the first floor was wearing a white helmut. Did she see building manager Roy Truly with the policeman? Did she see the policeman and Truly run up the wooden stairs? Dorothy Garner should have been brought before the WC and/or the HSCA and asked how long after the shooting did she, Adams, and Styles arrive at the stairs. How long after Adams and Styles began walking down the stairs did she see the policeman and Truly arrive on the 4th floor? How long did she remain at the stairs? The WC intentionally failed to interview Styles and Garner and ask these simple questions, because they were not interested in the truth. They were only interested in writing a report that named Oswald as the one and only assassin of President Kennedy, and that he acted alone. When the WC, FBI, or researchers fail to ask simple and obvious questions then they are almost certainly and intentionally avoiding the truth and following their own agenda. By asking a few simple questions the timing of Adams and Styles arrival on the first floor could have been confirmed by the FBI or WC, and would show that Oswald did not and could have run down the stairs after the shooting. Oswald was, in fact, in the domino room on the 1st floor minutes before the shooting, and may have been in the 2nd floor lunchroom after the shooting.
For nearly 40 years, from 1963 thru 2002, the WC testimony of Victoria Adams relating to her seeing Shelley and Lovelady on the 1st floor of the TSBD was never in doubt. It was the timing of Adams' arrival on the 1st floor that was questioned by the WC. Following her WC testimony in April, 1964, there was never any indication whatsoever that Adams told anyone that her WC testimony was inaccurate or had been changed. Two years after testifying before the Warren Commission, in 1966, Adams was interviewed and recorded by Mort Sahl. Adams clearly said that she saw both Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady near the freight elevators on the 1st floor of the TSBD within 30-60 seconds after the shooting. Author Barry Ernest claims to have spent 35 years searching for Adams. In 2002 Ernest said that he located and interviewed Adams. Ernest claimed that Adams told him that she never saw Bill Shelley or Billy Lovelady on the first floor. After hearing this claim Ernest, or any JFK researcher, should have known this was not what Adams told the Warren Commission in 1964. In fact Victoria Adams said repeatedly, on numerous occasions, that she saw both Shelley and Lovelady when she arrived on the 1st floor moments after the assassination. DPD Officer Marion Baker told the WC that when he and Roy Truly arrived at the rear elevators, about 90 seconds after the shooting, Officer Baker saw two "white men" standing near the freight elevators. Building manager Roy Truly knew both Shelley and Lovelady, but was never asked about these two men by the Warren Commission.
In late 2023 Len Osanic, the Canada-based host of Black Op Radio, located a long lost recording of the 1963 interview of Vicki Adams by Mort Sahl and Mark Lane. Toward the end of the interview, she clearly says she saw Shelley and Lovelady when she arrived at the bottom of the staircase, just a minute or so after the last shot rang out. The whole interview is very much worth listening to, but to hear Ms. Adams speak about Shelley and Lovelady, start at about the 37-minute mark.
Click play button to hear audio.
Ernest, or any JFK researcher, should have been
very suspicious as to
why Adams allegedly told Ernest in 2002 that she did not see Shelley
and Lovelady near the freight elevators. In 1964 Adams told the Warren
Commission that she had seen Shelley and Lovelady near the elevators,
signed her WC testimony (marked TOP SECRET), and repeated seeing
Shelley and Lovelady in a tape recorded interview on November 25,1966.
Ernest should have given Adams copies of her WC testimony, a signed
copy of her WC testimony, the DPD report by Jim Lavelle, and the 1966
recorded interview with Mort Sahl and asked for an explanation. Ernest,
or any JFK researcher, should have asked Adams which portion/part of
her WC testimony, her signed transcript, the DPD report, and her 1966
interview with Mort Sahl was inaccurate. If Adams still claimed that
her WC testimony was inaccurate, then Adams should have been reminded
that she was deposed by David Belin in front of WC members, WC
attorneys, WC staff, and a WC stenographer. Adams was given a
typewritten copy of her deposition, and asked to review and make any
necessary changes. Adams made a few minor grammatical changes, and then
signed this document (which was marked TOP SECRET).
On a diagram of the first floor of the TSBD, given to Adams by WC attorney David Belin during her testimony, she pinpointed the exact location where she saw Shelley and Lovelady. Vickie Adams died in 2007. Four years later Ernest claimed in his book, Girl on the Stairs, that Adams said she never saw Shelley or Lovelady on the 1st floor of the building. However, Ernest has no hard evidence to support this claim--no tape recording, no video interview, no signed letter from Adams. Ernest also claimed in his book that Adams said "someone must have changed her WC testimony....someone added the information about Shelley and Lovelady." Ernest was the first and only person to claim that Adams said her WC testimony had been changed. Serious researchers should read Adams' WC testimony, read her typewritten testimony marked "TOP SECRET," listen to Adams' 1966 interview with Mort Sahl on GOOGLE, and judge for themselves whether Victoria Adams saw Shelley and Lovelady on the 1st floor within 30-60 seconds after the shooting.
Shelley and Lovelady, standing near the freight elevators at the back of the TSBD only moments after the shooting, were there for a reason. Oswald, in the 2nd floor lunchroom only moments after the shooting, was there for a reason. Oswald was placed in the 2nd floor lunchroom, and nobody could vouch for his whereabouts at 12:30 PM. Shelley and Lovelady's presence near the stairway at the NW corner of the building at the time of the shooting clearly implicated them as possible conspirators. But if Vicki Adams did not see them moments after the shooting (Girl on the Sairs), which was supported by Shelley and Lovelady's testimony that they did not return to the building for 10 minutes (final WC testimony), then there was plenty of time for Oswald to have hurried from the 6th floor to the 2nd floor lunchroom.
The truth about Adams' new claim can be found in her own testimony to the WC. If closely examined, there is no doubt that Adams saw Shelley and Lovelady one minute after the shooting on the first floor. Adams, Shelley, and Lovelady all testified before the WC on the same day--April 7, 1964. At 2:15 PM Adams told WC attorney David Belin that she saw Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor one minute after the shooting.
Barry Ernest also claims that Adams alleged during an interview that her WC testimony was changed, and that Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady's names were added to her WC testimony. On February 17, 1964, two months before her WC testimony, Adams told Dallas Police detective Jim Leavelle that when she arrived on the first floor, one minute after the shooting, she saw Bill Shelley and a man named "Billy." This police report, two months before her WC testimony, contradicts Adams' newly alleged claim that the names of Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady were added to her WC testimony. Adams told the same story about seeing Shelley and Lovelady to the WC when she testified on April 7, 1964. In addition, Adams described in detail to the WC where these men were standing when she arrived on the first floor. She then pinpointed their location on a diagram of the 1st floor given to her by WC attorney David Belin. If the names of Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady were not in her WC testimony at 2:15 PM, then WC attorney Joseph Ball would have no reason to question Shelley and Lovelady about Adams one hour later. If Adams' testimony was changed, as Ernest claims, think about the number of people who would be involved in such a coverup--David Belin, Joseph Ball, WC staff, stenographers, Dallas Police, Garner, Styles, Adams, Lovelady. Adams' alleged claim that Shelley and Lovelady's names were added to her testimony is without merit, without proof, and difficult to believe.
When Adams, or anyone, attempts to change their testimony, claims to have new information, or claims to be an important witness to JFK matters after 40 years, they are often viewed with skepticism and doubt. If they have verifiable, supporting documentation, then they deserve to be heard and their information and documents subject to scrutiny. But if they have nothing more than unverifiable and unproveable claims, then their story must be viewed with suspicion and doubt. Neither Victoria Adams nor Barry Ernest have provided any verifiable documentation to support Adams' alleged new claims of not seeing Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor, one minute after the shooting, nor have they provided any verifiable documentation that Shelley and Lovelady's names were added to her testimony. As can be seen from Adams' testimony before the WC, her newly alleged claims are without merit, without proof, and very difficult to believe.
EpilogueOn a diagram of the first floor of the TSBD, given to Adams by WC attorney David Belin during her testimony, she pinpointed the exact location where she saw Shelley and Lovelady. Vickie Adams died in 2007. Four years later Ernest claimed in his book, Girl on the Stairs, that Adams said she never saw Shelley or Lovelady on the 1st floor of the building. However, Ernest has no hard evidence to support this claim--no tape recording, no video interview, no signed letter from Adams. Ernest also claimed in his book that Adams said "someone must have changed her WC testimony....someone added the information about Shelley and Lovelady." Ernest was the first and only person to claim that Adams said her WC testimony had been changed. Serious researchers should read Adams' WC testimony, read her typewritten testimony marked "TOP SECRET," listen to Adams' 1966 interview with Mort Sahl on GOOGLE, and judge for themselves whether Victoria Adams saw Shelley and Lovelady on the 1st floor within 30-60 seconds after the shooting.
Shelley and Lovelady, standing near the freight elevators at the back of the TSBD only moments after the shooting, were there for a reason. Oswald, in the 2nd floor lunchroom only moments after the shooting, was there for a reason. Oswald was placed in the 2nd floor lunchroom, and nobody could vouch for his whereabouts at 12:30 PM. Shelley and Lovelady's presence near the stairway at the NW corner of the building at the time of the shooting clearly implicated them as possible conspirators. But if Vicki Adams did not see them moments after the shooting (Girl on the Sairs), which was supported by Shelley and Lovelady's testimony that they did not return to the building for 10 minutes (final WC testimony), then there was plenty of time for Oswald to have hurried from the 6th floor to the 2nd floor lunchroom.
The truth about Adams' new claim can be found in her own testimony to the WC. If closely examined, there is no doubt that Adams saw Shelley and Lovelady one minute after the shooting on the first floor. Adams, Shelley, and Lovelady all testified before the WC on the same day--April 7, 1964. At 2:15 PM Adams told WC attorney David Belin that she saw Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor one minute after the shooting.
Mr. BELIN - When you got to the first floor did you immediately proceed to this point where you say you encountered Mr. Shelley and Mr. Lovelady? Well, you showed me on a diagram of the first floor that there was a place which was south and somewhat east of the front part of the east elevator that you encountered Truly and Lovelady?An hour later, at 3:50 PM, WC attorney Joseph Ball questioned Billy Lovelady. With no prompting, and no previous mention of "Victoria Adams," Lovelady volunteered that he saw "Vickie" when he returned to the building. There is no indication that Lovelady even knew the name of this 23 year old officer worker from the 4th floor. Why would Lovelady volunteer that he saw "Vickie" when he returned to the building? What reason would Lovelady have to say anything about Adams? It is obvious that Lovelady was "coached" prior to giving his testimony, and knew that he would be questioned about meeting up with Adams moments after the shooting. At 4:10 PM Mr. Ball questioned Bill Shelley, who said that he did see Vickie, but later in the afternoon on the 4th floor. The simple fact is that if Adams had not told the WC, at 2:15 PM on April 7, 1964, that she saw Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor, then the WC would have no reason to question these men an hour later about Victoria (Vickie) Adams. Her newly alleged claim, after 40 years, that she never saw Shelley or Lovelady on the first floor appears to be a hoax.
Miss ADAMS - I saw them there.
Mr. BELIN - I mean; you saw them?
Miss ADAMS - Yes.
Mr. BELIN - Would that have been a matter of seconds after you got to the bottom of the first floor?
Miss ADAMS - Definitely.
Mr. BELIN - Less than 30 seconds?
Miss ADAMS - Yes.
Barry Ernest also claims that Adams alleged during an interview that her WC testimony was changed, and that Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady's names were added to her WC testimony. On February 17, 1964, two months before her WC testimony, Adams told Dallas Police detective Jim Leavelle that when she arrived on the first floor, one minute after the shooting, she saw Bill Shelley and a man named "Billy." This police report, two months before her WC testimony, contradicts Adams' newly alleged claim that the names of Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady were added to her WC testimony. Adams told the same story about seeing Shelley and Lovelady to the WC when she testified on April 7, 1964. In addition, Adams described in detail to the WC where these men were standing when she arrived on the first floor. She then pinpointed their location on a diagram of the 1st floor given to her by WC attorney David Belin. If the names of Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady were not in her WC testimony at 2:15 PM, then WC attorney Joseph Ball would have no reason to question Shelley and Lovelady about Adams one hour later. If Adams' testimony was changed, as Ernest claims, think about the number of people who would be involved in such a coverup--David Belin, Joseph Ball, WC staff, stenographers, Dallas Police, Garner, Styles, Adams, Lovelady. Adams' alleged claim that Shelley and Lovelady's names were added to her testimony is without merit, without proof, and difficult to believe.
When Adams, or anyone, attempts to change their testimony, claims to have new information, or claims to be an important witness to JFK matters after 40 years, they are often viewed with skepticism and doubt. If they have verifiable, supporting documentation, then they deserve to be heard and their information and documents subject to scrutiny. But if they have nothing more than unverifiable and unproveable claims, then their story must be viewed with suspicion and doubt. Neither Victoria Adams nor Barry Ernest have provided any verifiable documentation to support Adams' alleged new claims of not seeing Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor, one minute after the shooting, nor have they provided any verifiable documentation that Shelley and Lovelady's names were added to her testimony. As can be seen from Adams' testimony before the WC, her newly alleged claims are without merit, without proof, and very difficult to believe.
There is little doubt the man arrested and charged with killing President Kennedy did not run down the stairs moments after the shooting. There are also valid reasons to question and wonder why Victoria Adams or anyone would, after 40 years, change their testimony. Unfortunately, the one and only source of information concerning Adams' recanting her brief contact with Shelley and Lovelady on the 1st floor of the TSBD moments after the shooting is "The Girl on the Stairs" by Ernest.
In my view, however, the story of Victoria Adams' arrival on the 1st floor of the TSBD, one minute after the shooting, is secondary. The more important story is the distinct possibility that Adams did see Shelley and Lovelady at the rear of the building one minute after the shooting. The WC and FBI were determined to avoid this issue because two TSBD employees, waiting by the only access to the 6th floor moments after the shooting, were potential co-conspirators. WC member Allen Dulles, who was present at both Baker and Truly's depositions, may have had different reasons for wanting to avoid any reference to the two men on the first floor.
Two people told the WC they saw these men: Officer Baker told Allen Dulles they were two "white men." Victoria Adams told the WC she saw Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady standing near the elevators when she arrived on the first floor (circa 12:31-32 PM). She pinpointed their location on a diagram of the first floor, a position about 20-25 feet from the west wall of the building. Officer Baker, who arrived moments later (circa 12:32 PM), said one of the two "white men" was "sitting down" and "on this side" [of the elevators]. Baker said the second man "was 20-30 feet away, looking at us." Two to three minutes later (circa 12:34-35 PM) NBC reporter Robert MacNeil ran into the front entrance of the building, thru the double doors, into the warehouse, and waited to use a telephone to call his office in New York City (call was confirmed at 12:36 PM). While waiting for the phone, next to Truly and Shelley's offices, MacNeil's attention was focused on three men who he described as very calm and in "shirtsleeves" (without suit jacket). I think it very likely that two of these very calm men were the same two men seen by Baker and Adams only 1-2 minutes earlier. The third man may have been Oswald, who had just returned to the 1st floor from the 2nd floor lunchroom. If these 3 men were not Shelley, Lovelady, and Oswald at the back of the building, then who were they?
The FBI quickly concluded that Oswald was the one and only assassin, which was reported day after day by the media. The WC was determined to reach the same conclusion. Former CIA Director Allen Dulles had his own reasons for wanting to eliminate Bill Shelley from the first floor one minute after the shooting. Any indications of a conspiracy or co-conspirators, such as Shelley and Lovelady, had to be avoided. WC attorney David Belin and WC member Allen Dulles refused to question either Truly or Baker as to the identity of these two men, even though Victoria Adams told the WC and DPD they were Bill Shelley and Billy Lovelady. The WC never questioned Roy Truly about these two men, nor did Truly ever volunteer any information about these men. The WC also failed to ask Roy Truly if he directed Shelley to guard the elevators.
The anatomy of a WC cover up: In the months following 11/22/63 Shelley and Lovelady repeatedly changed their testimony to make it appear as thou they returned to the building much later. Adams' typewritten WC deposition, upon which she made corrections and signed, was marked "SECRET" and withheld from the public. The diagram of the 1st floor, upon which Adams placed the location of Shelley and Lovelady, also disappeared. Adams' original stenographic WC testimony disappeared from the National Archives; now there is no way to confirm her original testimony. Years after the assassination Bill Shelley told a fellow TSBD employee and Dallas news reporter Elzie Glaze that he had worked for intelligence during WW2 and later joined the CIA. Shelley's connection to the CIA would explain why neither Allen Dulles nor WC attorney David Belin ever questioned Officer Baker or Roy Truly as to the identity of the two men (Bill Shelley, connected to the CIA, at the back of the building, one minute after the shooting, had to be avoided at all costs). Thirty eight years after the assassination, Victoria Adams allegedly told author Ernest that she did not see Shelley and Lovelady on the first floor.