Lovelady in front of TSBD

[Bob Prudhomme]

Hi Dave

Everything about Lovelady would have worked like clock work, if only he and Shelley had not testified to remaining on the steps for 3-4 minutes following the last shot. In fact, if we read this excerpt from Officer Marion Baker's affidavit of August 11, 1964, we begin to have even worse problems with Lovelady (and Shelley):

"3. On March 20, 1964, counsel from the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy timed a re-enactment of my actions after hearing the shots on November 22, 1963. During this re-enactment, I reached the recessed door of the Texas School Book Depository Building fifteen seconds after the time of the simulated shot."

Fifteen seconds for Baker to reach the door at the top of the steps to the TSBD. Hmmmm, so, for Lovelady and Shelley to be seen strolling casually down Elm St., following the last shot, they had, at the most, 5 seconds to get from the steps to their position where they could look back and see Baker and Truly entering the TSBD.

Anyone else see a problem here? Or two?

Hi Bob....

I'm not a real fan of using people's timing extimates for reality. 3 minutes is an eternity at this point.

Mr. BALL - By the time you left the steps had Mr. Truly entered the building?
Mr. LOVELADY - As we left the steps I would say we were at least 15. maybe 25. steps away from the building. I looked back and I saw him and the policeman running into the building.

This matches the two frames with the cirlce posted above... we see these two men walking east as Baker and some other woman are running west.

I'd have to believe that Lovelady and Shelley did not wait at all and the "3 minutes" is a woefully bad estimation of a few seconds.

Everything else about the story works... right?

Nope, I don't buy it at all, Dave, and you know exactly what I'm talking about, so let's not play the fool for each other.

Both Lovelady and Shelley testified to remaining on the TSBD steps for 3-4 minutes following the last shot. It is extremely difficult for a witness to confuse 3-4 minutes with a couple of seconds but, you just keep right on flogging that dead horse. It looks good on you.

BUT, the real fly in the ointment is that both Shelley and Lovelady also testified to NOT leaving the steps until Gloria Calvary returned to the steps and told them JFK had been shot. Let's take a look at Gloria Calvary.



The inset photo shows her standing within a few feet of the Stemmons Freeway sign, from which vantage point she witnessed the assassination. The larger picture shows her post-assassination, not far from the pergola Zapruder filmed from.

She's not exactly doing the 100 yard dash back up to the TSBD steps, and yet, she has less than 5 seconds, from the time of the last shot, to run up to the steps and tell Lovelady and Shelley the news, in order that they can be 25 steps down Elm St. and look back to see Baker and Truly entering the TSBD. Remember, Baker swore an affadavit that he was at the TSBD front door 15 seconds after the last shot was fired, and backed this up with a re-enactment conducted for the WC.

Can you honestly tell me, with a straight face, that you see nothing wrong here??