JFK Assassination: A LOOK AT THE DEATHS OF THOSE INVOLVED* Jim Marrs and Ralph Schuster from Assasination Files
A LOOK AT THE DEATHS OF THOSE INVOLVED*
Jim Marrs and Ralph Schuster
[Editor's Note: The claim that many persons who had
personal knowledge of the assassination of JFK have met
untimely deaths is reviewed by the authors, who provide
a overview of the evidence. It appears that many who
had personal knowledge of the assassination of JFK
have indeed met untimely deaths.]
In the three-year period which followed the murder of President
Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald, 18 material witnesses died - six by
gunfire, three in motor accidents, two by suicide, one from a cut
throat, one from a karate chop to the neck, three from heart attacks and
two from natural causes.
An actuary, engaged by the "London Sunday
Times," concluded that on November 22, 1963, the odds against these
witnesses being dead by February 1967, were one hundred thousand
trillion to one. The above comment on the deaths of assassination
witnesses was published in a tabloid companion piece to the movie
"Executive Action," released in 1973. By that time, part of the
mythology of the Kennedy assassination included the mysterious deaths of
people who were connected with it. By the mid-1960s, people in Dallas
already were whispering about the number of persons who died under
strange or questionable circumstances.
Well into the 1980s, witnesses and others were hesitant to come
forward with information because of the stories of strange and sudden
death which seemed visit anyone with information about the
assassination.
Finally, in the late 1970s, the House Select Committee
on Assassinations felt compelled to look into the matter. But aside from
discrediting the "London Sunday Times" actuarial study, the Committee
was unable to come to any conclusion regarding the growing number of
deaths. The Committee said it could not make a valid actuarial study due
to the broad number and types of persons which had to be included in
such a study.
In response to a letter from the Committee, "London Sunday Times"
Legal Manager Anthony Whitaker stated: Our piece about the odds against the deaths of the Kennedy
witnesses was, I regret to say, based on a careless journalistic mistake
and should not have been published. This was realized by The Sunday
Times editorial staff after the first edition - the one which goes to
the United States...- had gone out, and later editions were amended.
There was no question of our actuary having got his answer wrong: it was
simply that we asked him the wrong question. He was asked what were the
odds against 15 named people out of the population of the United States
dying within a short period of time, to which he replied -correctly -
that they were very high. However, if one asks what are the odds against
15 of those included in the Warren Commission Index dying within a given
period, the answer is, of course, that they are much lower. Our mistake
was to treat the reply to the former question as if it dealt with the
latter - hence the fundamental error in our first edition report, for
which we apologize.
This settled the matter for the House Committee, which apparently
made little or no attempt to seriously study the number of deaths which
followed the JFK assassination.
Jacqueline Hess, the Committee's
chief of research for the JFK investigation, reported: Our final conclusion on the issue is that the available evidence
does not establish anything about the nature of these deaths which would
indicate that the deaths were in some manner, either direct or
peripheral, caused by the assassination of President Kennedy or by any
aspect of the subsequent investigation.
However, an objective look at both the number and the causes of death
balanced against the importance of the person's connection to the case,
still causes raised eyebrows among those who study such a list.
In
this section, people who were connected - no matter how tenuously - with
the assassination and who are now dead are listed according to date of
death. This is dealing only with deaths, not with the numerous persons -
such as Warren Reynolds, Roger Craig, Richard Carr or Richard Case
Nagell - who claim to have been shot at or attacked.
This section has been entitled "Convenient Deaths" because these
deaths certainly would have been convenient for anyone not wishing the
truth of the JFK assassination to become public. Of course, it is
impossible to state with any certainty which of these deaths resulted
from natural causes and which did not.
Because so many of the these
deaths involve persons either working with or connected with the CIA or
other domestic intelligence services, the Agency has gone to some
lengths to discredit the idea of mysterious deaths plaguing
assassination witnesses.
A 1967 memo from CIA headquarters to station chiefs advised: Such vague accusations as that "more than 10 people have died
mysteriously" can always be explained in some rational way: e.g., the
individuals concerned have for the most part died of natural causes; the
(Warren) Commission staff questioned 418 witnesses - the FBI interviewed
far more people, conducting 25,000 interviews and reinterviews - and in
such a large group, a certain number of deaths are to be
expected.
Yet it is now well established that the CIA was developing a
wide-range of lethal techniques for disposing of people dating back to
the early 1950s.
Testifying before the Church Committee in 1975, CIA
technicians told of a variety of TWEP technology - Termination With
Extreme Prejudice - including liquid botulinum toxins and a
pulmonary-embolism-causing pill which cannot be detected in a
post-mortem examination.
One recently-declassified CIA document, a
letter from an Agency consultant to a CIA officer, states: You will recall that I mentioned that the local circumstances
under which a given means might be used might suggest the technique to
be used in that case. I think the gross divisions in presenting this
subject might be:
bodies left with no hope of the cause of death being
determined by the most complete autopsy and chemical examinations
bodies left in such circumstances as to simulate accidental
death
bodies left in such circumstances as to simulate suicidal
death
bodies left with residue that simulate those caused by natural
diseases.
The letter goes on to show that undetected murders do not have to be
the result of sophisticated chemicals. It states: There are two techniques which I believe should be mentioned
since they require no special equipment besides a strong arm and the
will to do such a job. These would be either to smother the victim with
a pillow or to strangle him with a wide piece of cloth such as a bath
towel. In such cases, there is no specific anatomic changes to indicate
the cause of death...
While is obvious that the CIA - and hence the mob through operatives
who work for both - has the capability of killing, it is less well-known
that the Agency has developed drugs to induce cancer. Recall that Jack
Ruby died of sudden lung cancer just as he had been granted a new
trial.
A 1952 CIA memo reported on the cancer-causing effects of
beryllium: This is certainly the most toxic inorganic element and it
produces a peculiar fibrotic tumor at the site of local application. The
amount necessary to produce these tumors is a few micrograms.
Local law enforcement officers and coroners are simply not equipped,
either by training or by inclination, to detect deaths induced by such
sophisticated means. They look for signs of a struggle, evidence of a
break-in, bruises or marks on the victim. With no evidence to the
contrary, many deaths simply are ruled suicide or accident. Others are
ruled due to natural causes, such as heart attack.
It is interesting
to note how the deaths are grouped. Many of the earliest deaths came
during the time of the Warren Commission investigation or just
afterwards. Some significant deaths also took place in the late 1960s as
New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison was launching his own
investigation. Other suspicious deaths occurred during the mid-1970s, as
the Senate Intelligence Committee was looking into assassinations by
U.S. intelligence agencies. And finally, another spate of deaths came
around 1977, just as the House Select Committee on Assassinations was
gearing up its investigations.
These deaths are listed in chronological order. An asterisk (*) means
the death is a particularly suspicious one. They also are grouped
according to which investigation was being conducted at the time.
The
area of convenient deaths leads one into a well of paranoia, yet the
long list of deaths cannot be summarily dismissed.
Obviously, many of
these deaths - particularly in recent years - can be ascribed to the
passage of time. But others cannot - especially when viewed in context
of the assassination inquiries taking place at the time. Read for yourself and consider...When does coincidence end
and conspiracy begin?
List of Deaths
Date
Name
Connection with case
Cause of death
11/63
Karyn Kupicinet
Tv host's daughter who was overheard telling of JFK's death
prior to 11/22/63
Murdered
12/63
Jack Zangretti
Expressed foreknowledge of Ruby shooting Oswald
Gunshot Victim
2/64
Eddy Benavides
Lookalike brother to Tippit shooting witness, Domingo
Benavides
Gunshot to head
2/64
Betty MacDonald*
Former Ruby employee who alibied Warren Reynolds shooting
suspect.
Suicide byhanging in Dallas Jail
3/64
Bill Chesher
Thought to have information linking Oswald and Ruby
Heart attack
3/64
Hank Killam*
Husband of Ruby employee, knew Oswald acquaintance
Throat cut
4/64
Bill Hunter*
Reporter who was in Ruby's apartment on 11/24/63
Accidental shooting by policeman
5/64
Gary Underhill*
CIA agent who claimed Agency was involved
Gunshot in head ruled suicide
5/64
Hugh Ward*
Private investigator working with Guy Banister and David
Ferrie
Plane crash in Mexico
5/64
DeLesseps Morrison*
New Orleans Mayor
Passenger in Ward's plane
8/64
Teresa Norton*
Ruby employee
Fatally shot
6/64
Guy Banister*
x-FBI agent in New Orleans connected to Ferrie, CIA, Carlos
Marcello & Oswald
Heart attack
9/64
Jim Koethe*
Reporter who was in Ruby's apartment on 11/24/63
Blow to neck
9/64
C.D. Jackson
"Life" magazine senior Vicepresident who bought Zapruderfilm
and locked it away
Unknown
10/64
Mary Pinchot
JFK "special" friend whose diary was taken by CIA chief James
Angleton after her death
Murdered
1/65
Paul Mandal
"Life" writer who told of JFK turning to rear when shot in
throat
Cancer
3/65
Tom Howard*
Ruby's first lawyer, was in Ruby's apartment on 11/24/63
Heart attack
5/65
Maurice Gatlin*
Pilot for Guy Banister
Fatal fall
8/65
Mona B. Saenz*
Texas Employment clerk who interviewed Oswald
Hit by Dallas bus
?/65
David Goldstein
Dallasite who helped FBI trace Oswald's pistol
Natural causes
9/65
Rose Cheramie*
Knew of assassination in advance, told of riding to Dallas
with Cubans
Hit/run victim
11/65
Dorothy Kilgallen*
Columnist who had private interview with Ruby, pledged to
"break" JFK case
Drug overdose
11/65
Mrs. Earl Smith*
Close friend to Dorothy Kilgallen, died two daysafter
columnist, may have kept Kilgallen's notes
Cause unknown
12/65
William Whaley*
Cab driver who reportedly drove Oswald to Oak Cliff (The only
Dallas taxi driver to die on duty)
Motor collision
1966
Judge Joe Brown
Presided over Ruby's trial
Heart attack
1966
Karen "Little Lynn" Carlin*
Ruby employee who last talked with Ruby before Oswald
shooting
Gunshot victim
1/66
Earlene Roberts
Oswald's landlady
Heart attack
2/66
Albert Bogard*
Car salesman who said Oswald test drove new car
Suicide
6/66
Capt. Frank Martin
Dallas policeman who witnessed Oswald slaying, told Warren
Commission "there's a lot to be said but probably be better if I
don't say it"
Sudden cancer
8/66
Lee Bowers Jr.*
Witnessed men behind picket fence on Grassy Knoll
Motor accident
9/66
Marilyn "Delila Walle*
Ruby dancer
Shot by husband after 1 month of marriage
10/66
Lt. William Pitzer*
JFK autopsy photographer who described his duty as "horrifying
experience"
Gunshot rule suicided
11/66
Jimmy Levens
Fort Worth nightclub owner who hired Ruby employees
Natural causes
11/66
James Worrell Jr.*
Saw man flee rear of Texas School Book Depository
Motor accident
1966
Clarence Oliver
Dist. Atty. Investigator who worked Ruby case
Unknown
12/66
Hank Suydam
Life magazine official in charge of JFK stories
Heart attack
1967
Leonard Pullin
Civilian Navy employee who helped film "Last Two Days" about
assassination
One-car crash
1/67
Jack Ruby*
Oswald's slayer
Lung cancer (he told family he was injected with cancer
cells)
2/67
Harold Russell*
Saw escape of Tippit killer
killed by cop in bar brawl
2/67
David Ferrie*
Acquaintance of Oswald, Garrison suspect and employee of Guy
Banister
Blow to neck (ruled accidental)
2/67
Eladio Del Valle*
Anti-Castro Cuban associate of David Ferrie being sought by
Garrison
Gunshot wound, ax wound tohead
3/67
Dr. Mary Sherman*
Ferrie associate working on cancer research
Died in fire (possibly shot)
1/68
A. D. Bowie
Asst. Dallas District Attorney prosecuting Ruby
Cancer
4/68
Hiram Ingram
Dallas Deputy Sheriff, close friend to Roger Craig
Sudden cancer
5/68
Dr. Nicholas Chetta
New Orleans coroner who on death of Ferrie
Heart attack
8/68
Philip Geraci*
Friend of Perry Russo, told of Oswald/Shaw conversation
Electrocution
1/69
Henry Delaune*
Brother-in-law to coroner Chetta
Murdered
1/69
E.R. Walthers*
Dallas Deputy Sheriff who was involved in Depository search,
claimed to have found .45-cal. slug
Shot by felon
1969
Charles Mentesana
Filmed rifle other than Mannlicher-Carcano being taken from
Depository
Heart attack
4/69
Mary Bledsoe
Neighbor to Oswald, also knew David Ferrie
Natural causes
4/69
John Crawford*
Close friend to both Ruby and Wesley Frazier, who gave ride to
Oswald on 11/22/63
Crash of private plane
7/69
Rev. Clyde Johnson*
Scheduled to testify about Clay Shaw/Oswald connection
Fatally shot
1970
George McGann*
Underworld figure connected to Ruby friends, wife, Beverly,
took film in Dealey Plaza
Murdered
1/70
Darrell W. Garner
Arrested for shooting Warren Reynolds, released after alibi
from Betty MacDonald
Drug overdose
8/70
Bill Decker
Dallas Sheriff who saw bullet hit street in front of JFK
Natural causes
8/70
Abraham Zapruder
Took famous film of JFK assassination
Natural causes
12/70
Salvatore Granello*
Mobster linked to both Hoffa,Trafficante, and Castro
assassination plots
Murdered
1971
James Plumeri*
Mobster tied to mob-CIA assassination plots
Murdered
3/71
Clayton Fowler
Ruby's chief defense attorney
Uknown
4/71
Gen. Charles Cabell*
CIA deputy director connected to anti-Castro Cubans
Collapsed and died afterphysical at Fort Myers
1972
Hale Boggs*
House Majority Leader, member of Warren Commission who began
to publicly express doubts about findings
Disappeared on Alaskan plane flight
5/72
J. Edgar Hoover*
FBI director who pushed "lone assassin" theory in JFK
assassination
Heart attack (no autopsy)
9/73
Thomas E. Davis*
Gunrunner connected to both Ruby and CIA
Electrocuted trying to steal wire
2/74
J.A. Milteer*
Miami right-winger who predicted JFK's death and capture of
scapegoat
Heater explosion
1974
Dave Yaras*
Close friend to both Hoffa and Jack Ruby
Murdered
7/74
Earl Warren
Chief Justice who reluctantly chaired Warren Commission
Heart failure
8/74
Clay Shaw*
Prime suspect in Garrison case, reportedly a CIA contact with
Ferrie and E. Howard Hunt
Possible cancer
1974
Earle Cabell
Mayor of Dallas on 11/22/63, whose brother, Gen. Charles
Cabell was fired from CIA by JFK
Natural causes
6/75
Sam Giancana*
Chicago Mafia boss slated to tell about CIA-mob death plots to
Senate Committee
Murdered
7/75
Clyde Tolson
J. Edgar Hoover's assistant and roommate
Natural causes
1975
Allen Sweatt
Dallas Deputy Sheriff involved in investigation
Natural causes
12/75
Gen. Earle Wheeler
Contact between JFK and CIA
Unknown
1976
Ralph Paul
Ruby's business partner connected with crime figures
Heart attack
4/76
James Chaney
Dallas motorcycle officer riding to JFK's right rear who said
JFK "struck in the face" with bullet
Heart attack
4/76
Dr. Charles Gregory
Governor John Connally's physician
Heart attack
6/76
William Harvey*
CIA coordinator for CIA-mob assassination plans against
Castro
Complications from heart surgery
7/76
John Roselli*
Mobster who testified to Senate Committee and was to appear
again
Stabbed and stuffed in metal drum
1977 - A Terrible Year For Many
The year 1977 produced a bumper crop of candidates for listing under
convenient deaths connected to the JFK assassination - including the
deaths of six top FBI officials all of whom were scheduled to testify
before the House Select Committee on Assassinations.
Topping this
list was former number three man in the FBI William C. Sullivan, who had
already had a preliminary meeting the investigators for the House
Committee. Sullivan was shot with a high-powered rifle near his New
Hampshire home by a man who claimed to have mistaken him for a deer. The
man was charged with a misdemeanor - "shooting a human being by
accident" - and released into the custody of his father, a state
policeman. There was no further investigation of Sullivan's death.
Louis Nichols was a special assistant to J. Edgar Hoover as well as
Hoover's liaison with the Warren Commission. Alan H. Belmont also was a
special assistant to Hoover. James Cadigan was a document expert with
access to many classified assassination documents, while J.M. English
headed the FBI laboratory where Oswald rifle and pistol were tested.
Donald Kaylor was the FBI fingerprint expert who examined prints found
at the assassination scene. None of these six Bureau officials lived to
tell what they knew to the House Committee.
Other key assassination witnesses, such as George DeMohrenschildt and
former Cuban President Carlos Prio Soccaras, died within weeks of each
other in 1977, just as they too were being sought by the House
Committee.
The ranks of both organized crime and U.S. intelligence agencies were
thinned by deaths beginning in 1975, the time of the Senate Intelligence
Hearings, and 1978, the closing months of the House Committee. Charles
Nicoletti, a mobster connected with the CIA-Mafia assassination plots,
was murdered in Chicago, while William Pawley, a former diplomat
connected with both organized crime and CIA figures, reportedly
committed suicide.
Adding official confirmation to rumors that "hit teams" may have been
at work was a "Time" magazine report that federal agents had initiated a
nationwide investigation into more than 20 gangland assassinations
constituting what agents believed was an "open underworld challenge to
governmental infiltration of Mafia activities."
One FBI source was
quoted as saying: Our main concern is that we may be facing a revival of the old
"Murder, Inc." days.
A "New York News" story concerning this official fear of roving
assassination squads even mentions the death of Sam Giancana, who was
killed one day before he was to testify about MOB-CIA connections and
while under government protection.
Just as the House Committee was
gearing up its investigation into the JFK assassination, the news media
reported the following deaths:
Date
Name
Connection with case
Cause of Death
1/77
William Pawley*
Former Brazilian Ambassador connected to Anti-Castro Cubans,
crime figures
Gunshot ruled suicide
3/77
George DeMohrenschildt*
Close friend to both Oswald and Bouvier family (Jackie Kennedy's
parents), CIA contract agent
Gunshot wound ruled suicide
3/77
Carlos Prio Soccaras*
Former Cuban President, money man for anti-Castro Cubans
Gunshot wound ruled suicide
3/77
Paul Raigorodsky
Business friend of George DeMohrenschildt and wealthy oilmen
Natural causes
5/77
Lou Staples*
Dallas radio Talk Show host who told friends he would break
assassination case
Gunshot to head,ruled suicide
6/77
Louis Nichols
Former No. 3 man in FBI, worked on JFK investigation
Heart attack
8/77
Alan Belmont
FBI official who testified to Warren Commission
"Long illness"
8/77
James Cadigan
FBI document expert who testified to Warren Commission
Fall in home
8/77
Joseph C. Ayres*
Chief steward on JFK's Air Force One
Shooting accident
8/77
Francis G. Powers*
U-2 pilot downed over Russia in 1960
Helicopter crash (He reportedly ran out of fuel)
9/77
Kenneth O'Donnell
JFK's closest aide
Natural causes
10/77
Donald Kaylor
FBI fingerprint chemist
Heart attack
10/77
J.M. English
Former head of FBI Forensic Sciences Laboratory
Heart attack
11/77
William Sullivan*
Former No. 3 man in FBI, headed Division 5, counter- espionage
and domestic intelligence
Hunting accident
1978
C.L. "Lummie" Lewis
Dallas Deputy Sheriff who arrested Mafia man Braden in Dealey
Plaza
Natural causes
9/78
Garland Slack
Man who said Oswald fired at his target at rifle range
Unknown
1/79
Billy Lovelady
Depository employee said to be the man in the doorway in AP
photograph
Complications from heart attack
6/80
Jesse Curry
Dallas Police Chief at time of assassination
Heart attack
6/80
Dr. John Holbrook
Psychiatrist who testified Ruby was not insane
Heart attack but pills, notes found,
1/81
Marguerite Oswald
Mother of accused assassin
Cancer
10/81
Frank Watts
Chief felony prosecutor for Dallas D.A.
Natural causes
1/82
Peter Gregory
Original translator for Marina Oswald and Secret Service
Natural causes
5/82
Dr. James Weston
Pathologist allowed to see JFK autopsy material for HSCA
Died while jogging, ruled natural causes
8/82
Will H. Griffin
FBI agent who reportedly said Oswald was "definitely" an FBI
informant
Cancer
10/82
W. Marvin Gheesling
FBI official who helped supervise JFK investigation
"Long illness"
3/84
Roy Kellerman
Secret Service agent in charge of JFK limousine
Unknown
Following names are the recently known deaths,
almost all died of natural causes:
Date
Name
Connection with case
Cause of Death
10/92
Jim Garrison
Former District Attorney of New Orleans, only one who sued in
the JFK assassination case
Natural causes
?/94
Perry Russo
witness who told he had seen Shaw, Oswald and Ferrie talking
about the killing of JFK
Unknown
01/95
Rose Kennedy
Mother of John F. Kennedy
natural causes
01/95
L.C. Graves
wrested Ruby's revolver away from him after shooting Oswald
natural causes
2/95
Irving L. Goldberg
Judge who advised L. B. Johnson on transition of power
natural causes
3/95
Philip L. Willis
Dealey Plaza Witness, photographer
Leukemia
5/95
Evelyn Norton Lincoln
JFK's personal secretary
natural causes
5/95
Phil L. Barleson
Defender of Ruby
Heart attack
11/95
Richard Case Nagell
CIA agent who claimed he uncovered a "large operation" aimed at
killing JFK
heart disease
12/95
James W. Altgens
Dealey Plaza Witness, press photographer
natural causes
1/96
Ralph W. Yarborough
Dealey Plaza witness, rode in motorcade
natural causes
7/96
Melvin Belli
Lawyer of Jack Ruby
Suffering stroke and pneumonia
8/96
Charles Brehm
Dealey Plaza Witness
Unknown
9/96
McGeorge Bundy
Top aide to JFK and LBJ
Heart attack
10/96
Rufus Youngblood
Agent who shielded LBJ during the JFK murder
Cancer
10/96
Larry Ray Harris
Researcher
Car accident
10/96
Lawrence Brantley
Sold Jack Ruby the gun used to kill Oswald
Complications from surgery
Text by Jim Marrs
Dates by Jim Marrs and Ralph
Schuster
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