Lovelady in front of TSBD

[Bob Prudhomme]

Dave

You have made a very good post, and asked a couple of good questions.

We are finally getting down to the nitty gritty. Yes, it is possible that Victoria Adams and Sandra Styles made it down the stairs and outside, prior to Baker and Truly beginning their climb up the stairs, but I do not think it very likely.

Let's look again at her testimony that you quoted, plus the next two lines:

"Miss ADAMS - A tree. and we heard a shot, and it was a pause, and then a second shot, and then a third shot.
It sounded like a firecracker or a cannon at a football game, it seemed as if it came from the right below rather than from the left above. Possibly because of the report. And after the third shot, following that, the third shot, I went to the back of the building down the back stairs, and encountered Bill Shelley and Bill Lovelady on the first floor on the way out to the Houston Street dock.
Mr. BELIN - When you say on the way out to the Houston Street dock, you mean now you were on the way out?
Miss ADAMS - While I was on the way out."

So, we have two impetuous and curious young ladies making a mad dash downstairs to see what has just occurred with the President outside the front of the building they work in. Oddly, they choose to go out the back door, and not the front door, where all the action was. No matter, their ultimate destination was the rail yard.

Would these two ladies have loitered very long on the main floor, or would they have made straight for the Houston St. dock?

Let's look again at the route taken by Shelley and Lovelady. Walking at what appears to be a casual saunter, they began at the steps of the TSBD and circumnavigated 3/4 of the TSBD, re-entering the building at the Houston St. dock. I will not add in the time they were speaking to Gloria Calvary, as I do not believe it happened, but we have to add a minute to their time to account for their brief stay at the rail yard.

On the other hand, how long did it take Adams and Styles to descend four floors to the main floor, and make it out to the Houston St. dock? According to Adams, she met Shelley and Lovelady inside the building "While I was on the way out." Let's see, according to the WC, it took Oswald 90 seconds to make it down four floors. However, he was observed lingering at the window for a brief time, and also had to pause to wipe his fingerprints off of the rifle. Shall we say a minute to descend four floors? Or less? The point I am making is that we have a paradox here. If Adams and Styles were going so fast, that they were off the stairs before Truly and Baker got to the back of the TSBD, how could they still be in the building when Shelley and Lovelady came in? Now, it is just possible they hung around the first floor long enough to allow both Shelley/Lovelady and Baker/Truly to all arrive at the back of the building but, her testimony says otherwise:

"Mr. BELIN - Between the time you got off the stairs and the time you got to this point when you say you encountered them, which was somewhat to the south and a little bit east of the front of the east elevator, did you see any other employees there?
Miss ADAMS - No, sir.
Mr. BELIN - Any other people prior to the time you saw them?
Miss ADAMS - No, sir.
Mr. BELIN - Now when you were running down the stairs on your trip down the stairs, did you hear anyone using the Stairs?
Miss ADAMS - No, sir.
Mr. BELIN - Did you hear anyone calling for an elevator?
Miss ADAMS - No, sir.
Mr. BELIN - Did you see the foreman, Roy Truly? Did you see the superintendent of the warehouse, Roy S. Truly?
Miss ADAMS - No, sir; I did not.
Mr. BELIN - What about any motorcycle police officers?
Miss ADAMS - No, sir.
Mr. BELIN - Now what did you do after you encountered Mr. Shelley and Mr. Lovelady?
Miss ADAMS - I said I believed the President was shot.
Mr. BELIN - Do you remember what they said?
Miss ADAMS - Nothing.
Mr. BELIN - Then what did you do?
Miss ADAMS - I proceeded out to the Houston Street dock."

According to Ms. Adams, Shelley and Lovelady have circumnavigated the TSBD at a nice leisurely pace, stopping at the rail yard for a minute, and managed to beat Baker AND Victoria Adams to the back of the TSBD main floor. This is a little hard to swallow, considering Baker was on a dead run, and only needed 15 seconds from the time of the last shot to make it to the TSBD front door. Ms. Adams also testified to running down the stairs, although, with only 15 seconds to the front door, Baker only had to cross the main floor to the elevators, and should have been there long before Adams and Styles.

How did Shelley and Lovelady arrive at the main floor before Adams/Styles and LONG before the high speed Baker? And how can they be seen in a film walking down the Elm St. extension, when they are supposed to be on the main floor of the TSBD, to be met by Styles and Adams as they come down the stairs?

Now, it is easy to speculate that, although Baker makes his way with great haste into the TSBD, he did not begin this run until much later than we assume. However, the Malcolm Couch film, showing Baker running into the TSBD (and supposedly Lovelady and Shelley walking down the Elm St. extension) was taken from the back of a press car in the motorcade, while the motorcade was temporarily stopped after the last shot. Just as the camera pans away from Baker, the motorcade takes off. I don't think we can make any adjustments to Baker's time, although no one can verify what became of him and Truly, once they went through the front entrance.

Suffice it to say, everything is backwards. Truly and Baker should have been the first ones at the back of the main floor, but they seem to be last. Shelley and Lovelady should have been the last ones there, but they appear to have beaten everyone.