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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. I - Page 149« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of Mrs. Marguerite Oswald)

Mrs. Oswald.
I said, "It is no good to tell my daughter-in-law, because my daughter-in-law is not leaving here with you, Mr. Odum, without counsel."
And I had been telling Marina, "No, no."
She said, "I do, Mamma," she kept saying.
Just then my son, Robert, entered the room, and Mr. Odum said., "Robert, we would like to take Marina and question her."
He said, "No, I am sorry, we are going to try to get lawyers for both she and Lee."
So he left.
We went to the courthouse and we sat and sat, and while at the courthouse my son, Robert, was being interviewed by--I don't know whether it was Secret Service or FBI agents--in a glass enclosure. We were sitting--an office, a glass enclosed office. We were sitting on the bench right there.
Mr. Rankin.
Where was this?
Mrs. Oswald.
In the Dallas courthouse, on Saturday.
So we waited quite a while. One of the men came by and said "I am sorry that we are going to be delayed in letting you see Lee, but we have picked up another suspect."
I said, to Marina, "Oh, Marina, good, another man they think maybe shoot Kennedy."
Mr. Rankin.
Did you ask anything about who this suspect was?
Mrs. Oswald.
No, sir; I did not. He just give the information why we would be delayed. We sat out there quite a while. The police were very nice. They helped us about the baby. We went into another room for privacy, for Marina to nurse Rachel. It was 2 or 3 hours before we got to see Lee. We went upstairs and were allowed to see Lee. This was in the jail--the same place I had been from the very beginning, and we were taken upstairs. And by the way, they only issued a pass for Marina and myself, and not for Robert. And Robert was very put out, because he thought he was also going to see his brother. Whether Robert saw his brother or not, I do not know, Mr. Rankin.
Mr. Rankin.
About what time of day was this?
Mrs. Oswald.
Just a minute now. We arrived there at 12 o'clock. This would be about 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon, before we got to see Lee.
Mr. Rankin.
Was anyone else present when he saw you?
Mrs. Oswald.
No. Marina and I were escorted back of the door where they had an enclosure and telephones. So Marina got on the telephone and talked to Lee in Russian. That is my handicap. I don't know what was said. And Lee seemed very severely composed and assured. He was well--beaten up. He had black eyes, and his face was all bruised and everything. But he was very calm. He smiled with his wife, and talked with her, and then I got on the phone and I said, "Honey, you are so bruised up, your face. What are they doing?"
He said, "Mother, don't worry. I got that in a scuffle."
Now, my son would not tell me they had abused him. That was a boy's way to his mother--if he was abused, and it was shown in the paper his black eyes--he wouldn't tell how he got that. He said that was done in the scuffle. I talked and said, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
He said, "No, Mother, everything is fine. I know my rights, and I will have an attorney. I have already requested to get in touch with Attorney Abt, I think is the name. Don't worry about a thing."
Mr. Rankin.
Did you say anything to him about another suspect?
Mrs. Oswald.
No, sir, I did not. That was my entire conversation to him.
Gentlemen, you must realize this. I had heard over the television my son say, "I did not do it. I did not do it."
And a million of the other people had heard him. I say this. As a mother--I heard my son say this. But also as a citizen, if I had heard another man say, I didn't do it, I will have to believe that man, because he hasn't been-hasn't had the opportunity to present his side of the case. So here is my son. When I saw him people had said, "Did you ask him if he did it?"
No, sir. I think by now you know my temperament, gentlemen. I would not insult my son and ask him if he shot at President Kennedy. Why? Because I myself heard him say, "I didn't do it, I didn't do it."
So, that was enough for me, I would not ask that question.
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