Chapter XX: Part 20

Mr. BELIN. Is there any other thing that you did with regard to the rifle that you haven't discussed this far that you can remember right now?

Mr. DAY. No, sir; I released it to the FBI then, and they took possession of it.

Mr. BELIN. Did you ever hear this rifle referred to as a 7.65 Mauser or as any type of a Mauser?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; it wasn't referred to as that. Some of the newsmen, when I first carried the rifle out, asked me if it was a .30-06, and at another time they asked me if it was a Mauser. I did not give them an answer.

Mr. BELIN. Were there newsmen on the sixth floor at the time the rifle was found, if you know?

Mr. DAY. I think there was.

Mr. BELIN. Did you ever describe the rifle as anything but a 6.5-caliber with regard to the rifle itself?

Mr. DAY. I didn't describe the rifle to anyone other than police officers.

Mr. BELIN. Is the description that you used with the police officers the same that you dictated here into the record from your notes?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Anything else with regard to the rifle?

Mr. DAY. I can't think of anything else that I did with it at the time.

I don't know whether you are interested in this or not, but about, it must have been about 8:30 I was processing the gun on the fourth floor----

Mr. BELIN. Of the police department there?

Mr. DAY. Of the police department where my office is. The identification bureau. And Captain Fritz came up and said he had Mrs. Oswald in his office on the third floor, but the place was so jammed with news cameramen and newsmen he did not want to bring her out into it.

Mr. BELIN. Was this the wife or the mother of Lee Harvey Oswald?

Mr. DAY. That was Marina, Oswald's wife. She had her baby with her, or babies, and there was an interpreter down there. He wanted her to look at the gun to see if she could identify it, didn't want to bring her in through the crowd, and wanted to know if we could carry it down. He said, "There is an awful mob down there."

I explained to him that I was still working with the prints, but I thought I could carry it down without disturbing the prints, which I did.

We waded through the mob with me holding the gun up high. No one touched it. Several of the newsmen asked me various questions about what the gun was at that time. I did not give them an answer.

When I went back to the office after Marina Oswald viewed the gun, they still were hounding me for it. I told them to check with the chief's office, he would have to give them the information, and as soon as I got back to my office I gave a complete description, and so forth, to Captain King on the gun.

Mr. BELIN. Were you there when Marina Oswald was asked whether or not she could identify it?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. But I didn't understand what she said. I was standing across the room from her where I couldn't understand. The interpreter said something to her and said something to Captain Fritz. I didn't catch what was said. I mentioned that because there was some talk about a Mauser and .30-06 at the time and various other things, that is the reason I mentioned it.

Mr. BELIN. You just refused to answer all questions on that, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. It wasn't my place to give them that information. I didn't know whether they wanted it out yet or not.

Mr. McCLOY. There was never any doubt in your mind what the rifle was from the minute you saw it?

Mr. DAY. No, sir; It was stamped right on there, 6.5, and when en route to the office with Mr. Odum, the FBI agent who drove me in, he radioed it in, he radioed in what it was to the FBI over the air.

Mr. BELIN. What else did you do, or what was the next thing you did after you completed photographing and inspecting the rifle on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building for whatever prints you could find, what did you do next?

Mr. DAY. I took the gun at the time to the office and locked it up in a box in my office at Captain Fritz' direction.

Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do?

Mr. DAY. I went back to the School Book Depository and stayed there. It was around three that I got back, and I was in that building until about 6, directing the other officers as to what we needed in the way of photographs and some drawing, and so forth.

Mr. BELIN. What did you do when you got back, what photographs did you take?

Mr. DAY. We went, made the outside photographs of the street, we made more photographs inside, and did further checking for prints by using dust on the boxes around the window.

Mr. BELIN. I hand you what has been marked as "Commission Exhibit 722" and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. This is a view of Houston Street looking south from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building.

Mr. BELIN. Do you know when that was taken?

Mr. DAY. About 3 or 3:15, somewhere along there, on November 22, 1963.

Mr. McCLOY. You say from the sixth floor; was it from the farthest east window?

Mr. DAY. The south window on the east end of the building.

Mr. BELIN. You don't mean that. State that again. What side of the building was the window on?

Mr. DAY. It was on the south side of the building, the easternmost window.

Mr. BELIN. At the time you took Exhibit 722 had any boxes been moved at all?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Here is Exhibit 724, and I will ask you to state if you know what that is.

Mr. DAY. This is a view from the same window looking southwest down Elm Street. Actually this is the direction the shots were fired. When this picture was made----

Mr. BELIN. When you say this picture you are referring to--I think I have skipped a number here.

Mr. McCLOY. This is 722.

Mr. BELIN. All right. When 722 was made, you----

Mr. DAY. I did not know the direction the shots had been fired.

Mr. BELIN. All right. I'm going to hand you what I have already marked as 724. What about that one?

Mr. DAY. This was made, 724 was made, some 15 to 20 minutes after 722 when I received information that the shooting actually occurred on Elm rather than Houston Street. The boxes had been moved at that time.

Mr. BELIN. In 724 there are boxes in the window. Were those boxes in the window the way you saw them, or had they been replaced in the window to reconstruct it?

Mr. DAY. They had simply been moved in the processing for prints. They weren't put back in any particular order.

Mr. BELIN. So 724 does not represent, so far as the boxes are concerned, the crime scene when you first came to the sixth floor; is that correct?

Mr. DAY. That is correct.

Mr. BELIN. Let me ask you this: Had all of the boxes of the stack in 724 been replaced there or had any of the boxes been in a position they were at the time you first arrived at the building, if you know?

Mr. DAY. No, sir; they had not been placed in the proper position or approximate position at the time we arrived.

Mr. BELIN. Now, I am going to hand you what I will mark as "723" and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. 726----

Mr. BELIN. No; 723.

Mr. DAY. 723 is the southeast corner of the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building.

Mr. BELIN. Who took that picture, if you know?

Mr. DAY. Detective Studebaker.

Mr. BELIN. Was it taken under your direction and supervision, Mr. Day?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; I was present. The two metal boxes you will note to the left, are our fingerprint equipment that inadvertently got into the picture with a wide-angle lens camera.

Mr. BELIN. When you say to the left----

Mr. DAY. To the right.

Mr. BELIN. You mean as you face the picture to the right.

Mr. DAY. Yes.

Mr. BELIN. Do you want to circle on Exhibit 723 your fingerprint equipment?

Mr. DAY. Yes.

Mr. BELIN. Now, I will ask you to state if you know if this picture was taken before any of the boxes shown on 723 were moved.

Mr. DAY. To the best of my knowledge they had not been moved.

Mr. BELIN. And straight ahead the camera is pointed toward it?

Mr. DAY. To the south.

Mr. BELIN. At which window?

Mr. DAY. Toward the window where the hulls were found.

Mr. BELIN. I'm going to hand you what has been marked as "725," and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. That is a view of the same window as 723 except it shows the full length of the aisle.

Mr. BELIN. Was 725 taken before the boxes were moved, if you know?

Mr. DAY. I beg your pardon?

Mr. BELIN. Was Commission Exhibit 725 taken before any boxes were moved, if you know?

Mr. DAY. To the best of my knowledge, nothing had been moved.

Mr. BELIN. I'm going to hand you what has been marked as 726 and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. This is the next aisle over, or the next aisle west of the aisle shown in 723. Actually, this was taken on November 25. Some movement had been made of the boxes as shown in 723.

Mr. BELIN. All right. So you now are saying Commission Exhibit 726 was taken on November 25----

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. And there had been some movement of the boxes?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Generally did it depict the area as you saw it on November 22?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. I am handing you Commission Exhibit 727 and ask you to state if you know what that is.

Mr. DAY. 727 is the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, taken looking east along the inside of the south wall.

Mr. BELIN. When was that taken?

Mr. DAY. November 25, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. Just by general means of identification, perhaps it might help to see when some pictures were taken and some pictures were not taken. I think you can see on Exhibit 727 that the shadows show that the sun would not as yet have reached a due south position. Is that correct?

Mr. DAY. That is correct. It was taken in the morning. This is the morning shadow.

Mr. BELIN. Handing you what has been marked 728, would you state if you know what this is?

Mr. DAY. This is the third aisle from the east side of the building, sixth floor, Texas School Book Depository.

Mr. BELIN. Was that taken on November 22 or November 25?

Mr. DAY. It was taken on November 22, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. Again you can note the shadows at this time, and it would appear as a southwesterly sun.

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. I notice a pop bottle there. Do you know whether or not that pop bottle was there at the time you got to the scene?

Mr. DAY. It was, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Was it in the same relation as that two-wheeler cart, if you know?

Mr. DAY. To the best of my knowledge nothing had been moved there.

Mr. BELIN. Did you see anything else with the pop bottle when you were in that area?

Mr. DAY. There was a brown-paper sack, like a lunch sack.

Mr. BELIN. About how large?

Mr. DAY. It does not show in the picture.

Mr. BELIN. Where would the sack have been located?

Mr. DAY. Sir?

Mr. BELIN. Where would that sack have been located, if you know?

Mr. DAY. I don't remember.

Mr. BELIN. Would this have been at the third pair of windows counting from the east; when you meant the third aisle, did you mean the third set of windows also?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. You mentioned a sack that would have been at that third aisle. Was any kind of a sack found on the sixth floor, if you know?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. What other kind of a sack was found?

Mr. DAY. A homemade sack, brown paper with 3-inch tape found right in the corner, the southeast corner of the building near where the slugs were found.

Mr. McCLOY. Near where the hulls were found?

Mr. DAY. Near where the hulls. What did I say?

Mr. McCLOY. Slugs.

Mr. DAY. Hulls.

Mr. BELIN. I'm going to hand you what has been marked as Commission Exhibit 729 and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. 729 is a photograph of the inside wall, south and east walls, right at the corner of the building at the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository.

Mr. BELIN. I notice some pipes on the right portion of this picture as you face it, and I also notice a box.

I will first ask you to state if this picture was taken before or after anything was removed from the area.

Mr. DAY. The sack had been removed.

Mr. BELIN. Had any change been made of the position of that box that is set off by itself in the center of the picture?

Mr. DAY. I don't think the box--well, it is possible the box had been moved. This is an approximate position of it. The box had been dusted for powder and--dusted for prints. The black powder is visible on it. It is possible the box may have been moved a tiny bit.

Mr. BELIN. Where was the sack found with relation to the pipes and that box?

Mr. DAY. Between the sack and the south wall, which would be the wall at the top of the picture as shown here.

Mr. BELIN. You mean between--you said the sack.

Mr. DAY. I mean the pipe. The sack was between the pipe and the wall at the top of the picture.

Mr. BELIN. That wall at the top of the picture would be the east wall, would it not?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; laying parallel to the south wall.

Mr. BELIN. Did the sack--was it folded over in any way or just lying flat, if you remember?

Mr. DAY. It was folded over with the fold next to the pipe, to the best of my knowledge.

Mr. BELIN. I will now hand you what has been marked as Commission Exhibit 626 and ask you to state if you know what this is, and also appears to be marked as Commission Exhibit 142.

Mr. DAY. This is the sack found on the sixth floor in the southeast corner of the building on November 22, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. Do you have any identification on that to so indicate?

Mr. DAY. It has my name on it, and it also has other writing that I put on there for the information of the FBI.

Mr. BELIN. Could you read what you wrote on there?

Mr. DAY. "Found next to the sixth floor window gun fired from. May have been used to carry gun. Lieutenant J. C. Day."

Mr. BELIN. When did you write that?

Mr. DAY. I wrote that at the time the sack was found before it left our possession.

Mr. BELIN. All right, anything else that you wrote on there?

Mr. DAY. When the sack was released on November 22 to the FBI about 11:45 p.m., I put further information to the FBI reading as follows: "FBI: Has been dusted with metallic magnetic powder on outside only. Inside has not been processed. Lieut. J. C. Day."

Mr. BELIN. Did you find anything, any print of any kind, in connection with the processing of this?

Mr. DAY. No legible prints were found with the powder, no.

Mr. BELIN. Do you know whether any legible prints were found by any other means or any other place?

Mr. DAY. There is a legible print on it now. They were on there when it was returned to me from the FBI on November 24.

Mr. BELIN. Do you know by what means they found these?

Mr. DAY. It is apparently silver nitrate. It could be another compound they have used. The sack had an orange color indicating it was silver nitrate.

Mr. BELIN. You mean the sack when it came back from the FBI had a----

Mr. DAY. Orange color. It is another method of processing paper for fingerprints.

Mr. BELIN. Was there anything inside the bag, if you know, when you found it?

Mr. DAY. I did not open the bag. I did not look inside of the bag at all.

Mr. BELIN. What did you do with the bag after you found it and you put this writing on after you dusted it?

Mr. DAY. I released it to the FBI agent.

Mr. BELIN. Did you take it down to the station with you?

Mr. DAY. I didn't take it with me. I left it with the men when I left. I left Detectives Hicks and Studebaker to bring this in with them when they brought other equipment in.

Mr. BELIN. By this you are referring to the bag itself?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Did you ever get the kind of sample used at the School Book Depository?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; on the afternoon of November 22, 1963. I had the bag listed as----

Mr. BELIN. Commission Exhibit 626 or 142.

Mr. DAY. On the first floor of the Texas School Book Depository, and I noticed from their wrapping bench there was paper and tape of a similar--the tape--as of the same width as this. I took the bag over and tried it, and I noticed that the tape was the same width as on the bag.

Mr. BELIN. Did it appear to have the same color?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. All right. Then what did you do?

Mr. DAY. Sir?

Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do?

Mr. DAY. I directed one of the officers standing by me, I don't know which, to get a piece of the tape and a piece of the paper from the wrapping bench.

Mr. BELIN. Handing you what has been marked as Commission Exhibit 677, I will ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. This is the tape and paper collected from the first floor in the shipping department of the Texas School Book Depository on November 22, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. Does this have any identification marks on it?

Mr. DAY. It has my name, "J. C. Day, Dallas Police Department," and also in my writing. "Shipping Department."

Mr. BELIN. Any other writing on there that you recognize?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; Detective Studebaker, who was with me, and in his writing it says. "Paper sample from first floor, Texas School Book Depository, Studebaker, 11-22-63."

The tape also has Studebaker's writing on it, "Tape sample from first floor."

Mr. BELIN. I will ask you to state if you know what are Exhibits 730, 731 and 732?

Mr. DAY. These are photographs of the wrapping bench on the first floor, Texas School Book Depository, taken by me on April 13, 1964, after I had talked to you when I was back in the building. I didn't have a previous picture of this wrapping bench.

Mr. BELIN. Does that represent the location on the first floor of the School Book Depository Building where you got the tape sample, Commission Exhibit 677?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; it is approximately the same. I do not think the benches had been changed since the November shooting.

Mr. BELIN. Do you recognize at any point on any of the exhibits the actual tape machine that was used?

Mr. DAY. The one that we removed this from was the north roll and tape on the east side of the bench.

Mr. BELIN. You are now pointing at Exhibit 730. I notice a roll of paper underneath the bench in the center of the picture. Is that where you got the big paper, the main paper on Commission Exhibit 677?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. To the best of my knowledge that is the roll we tore the paper off of.

Mr. BELIN. What about tape itself?

Mr. DAY. The tape was from the machine immediately above that roll of paper on top of the bench.

Mr. BELIN. Were there other tape machines there also?

Mr. DAY. Yes; but I didn't notice them at the time.

Mr. BELIN. How did you get the tape from out of the machine, if you remember?

Mr. DAY. Just pulled the tape off and tear it out and tear it off.

Mr. BELIN. Was there a lever at all that you used, if you remember if there is such a lever?

Mr. DAY. I don't remember. I don't think we used the lever.

Mr. BELIN. What did you do with Commission Exhibit 677?

Mr. DAY. I released this, I released 677 to Vince Drain of the FBI, 11:45 p.m., November 22, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. I am going to hand you what has been marked as Commission Exhibit 733 and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. This is the southeast corner of the sixth floor at the window where the shooting apparently occurred. The boxes in front of the window, to the best of our knowledge, in the position they were in when we arrived there on November 22, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. So 733 represents a reconstruction in that sense, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. What about Exhibit----

Mr. DAY. This, by the way, was taken on November 25, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. All right. What about 734?

Mr. DAY. That is another view of the same boxes shown in 733.

Mr. BELIN. In 734 you can also see this juncture of the south and east walls of the sixth floor where you say the bag was found; is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. I want to turn for the moment to 729. I notice that the box on 729 appears to have a portion of it torn off and then replaced again. Is this correct or not?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. I am going to hand you what has been marked as Commission Exhibit 649 and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. This is a portion torn from the box shown in 729.

Mr. BELIN. While you are holding that I'm going to hand you Commission Exhibit 648 and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. That is the box shown in 729 at the center of the picture.

Mr. BELIN. Is that the box, 648, from which 649 was torn?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; it is.

Mr. BELIN. Could you relate what transpired to cause 649 to be torn from 648?

Mr. DAY. After I returned to the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository after delivering the gun to my office, we processed the boxes in that area, in the area of the window where the shooting apparently occurred, with powder. This particular box was processed and a palmprint, a legible palmprint, developed on the northwest corner of the box, on the top of the box as it was sitting on the floor.

Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do when you developed this print?

Mr. DAY. I placed a piece of transparent tape, ordinary Scotch tape, which we use for fingerprint work, over the developed palmprint.

Mr. BELIN. And then what did you do?

Mr. DAY. I tore the cardboard from the box that contained the palmprint.

Mr. BELIN. Then what did you do?

Mr. DAY. The box was left in its position, but the palmprint was taken by me to the identification bureau.

Mr. BELIN. Did you make any identification of it?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. Later that night when I had a chance to get palmprints from Lee Harvey Oswald. I made a comparison with the palmprint off of the box, your 729, and determined that the palmprint on the box was made by the right palm of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Mr. BELIN. Did you make any identification on Exhibit 649 which would indicate that this is the palmprint you took?

Mr. DAY. It has in my writing, "From top of box Oswald apparently sat on to fire gun. Lieut. J. C. Day," and it is marked "right palm of Oswald. Lieut. J. C. Day."

There is also an arrow indicating north and where the palmprint was found. It further has Detective Studebaker's name on it, and he also wrote on there, "From top of box subject sat on."

Mr. BELIN. Now, when was that placed on that exhibit, that writing of yours, when was it placed on there?

Mr. DAY. It was placed on there November 22, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. Can you identify by any way Commission Exhibit 648?

Mr. DAY. This has my name "J. C. Day" written on it. It also has "R. L. Studebaker" written on it. It has written in the corner in my writing, "Southwest corner box 18 inches from wall."

Mr. BELIN. I also see the name "W. H. Shelley" written on there. Do you know when this was put on?

Mr. DAY. W. H. Shelley is the assistant manager apparently of the Texas School Book Depository.

Mr. BELIN. Did he put it on at the time you found the box?

Mr. DAY. No, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Do you know when that was placed on there?

Mr. DAY. That was placed there November 26. The box was not removed, just the cardboard was removed on November 22--excuse me, November 25 I should say that he put his name on there. I returned to the School Book Depository on November 25 and collected this box.

Mr. McCLOY. Did he say southwest on that or southeast?

Mr. BELIN. I believe he said that he has here that the southwest corner of the box is 18 inches from the wall.

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; that being the south wall.

Mr. McCLOY. This is the southwest corner of the box he is talking about?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. That is what is written on Commission Exhibit 648.

Mr. McCLOY. It depends on where that box was. It is kind of a removable direction, isn't it?

Mr. BELIN. I am going to hand you what has been marked Commission Exhibit 641, Exhibit. 653, and Exhibit 654, and ask you to state if you know what these are. I will start with 641 first.

Mr. DAY. 641 is a box found in front of the window, Texas School Book Depository. Apparently the gun had rested across this. This is the top box now of two that were sitting in the window.

Mr. McCLOY. At the sixth floor window from which the shots are alleged to have been fired?

Mr. DAY. Where the gun was fired from.

Mr. BELIN. Does this box appear on Commission Exhibit 715?

Mr. DAY. No, sir; this does not show.

Mr. BELIN. In other words, what you are saying is that the box, 641, is not the box which is shown in the window on 715?

Mr. DAY. That is correct.

Mr. BELIN. Taking a look now at the box No. 653, I want to ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. This is the box that is shown on 715, that is in the window.

Mr. BELIN. Does it have any means of identification?

Mr. DAY. It has my name "J. C. Day," also "R. L. Studebaker" marked "Box B."

Mr. BELIN. I see you have a notation about the top, which appears to be reading on the side of the box. What does that mean?

Mr. DAY. That is the top of the box as it was sitting in the window sill, on the window sill.

Mr. BELIN. I see you have an arrow with the arrow pointing to the north.

Placing the box on the table here with the arrow pointing in a north direction, it would appear the box is lying on its side, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Is that the way you found it in the window before you moved it?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Is that the way it is shown on 715?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Is there any kind of a mark to show what the contents of this box were?

Mr. DAY. It says "Ten Rolling Readers."

Mr. BELIN. Is there anything, any other identification, that you found on it? Did you dust this for prints?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Did you find any?

Mr. DAY. Not with the powder.

Mr. BELIN. Did you find any in any way?

Mr. DAY. No; I didn't find any.

Mr. BELIN. Do you know if anyone else found any?

Mr. DAY. No, sir; I don't.

Mr. BELIN. When did you put your initials on the boxes, 653 and 641, if you know?

Mr. DAY. I am not certain whether it was the 22d or 25th when we collected the boxes.

Mr. BELIN. I notice your initials are also on 641, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Again you have marked the side of the box as being the top, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Putting your initials on there?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; and my name is on it "J. C. Day."

Mr. BELIN. If you put your initials on or your name on on November 25, how do you know this was the same box that was there when you first came?

Mr. DAY. There was a scar on the top of or the top side of this box that was sitting there. I noticed that at the time. I thought the recoil of the gun had caused that. I later decided that was in the wrong direction. It was not the recoil of the gun but I did notice this scar on the box.

Mr. BELIN. When you came back on the 25th where did you find this box, 641?

Mr. DAY. They were still in the area of the window but had been moved from their original position.

Mr. BELIN. Does that scar appear on the box in 733?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. I see there was one box in the window which you have reconstructed as being box 653, am I correct on that?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. And then there is a box which is stacked on top of another box, the upper box of that two-box stack is 641, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. And there is a scar on top of that. Is this the same one that you referred to at the top of 641?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Do you know when you initialed box No. 653?

Mr. DAY. No, sir; I don't know exactly which day it was.

Mr. BELIN. Do you have any independent recollection of this being the same box you saw in the window?

Mr. DAY. I beg pardon?

Mr. BELIN. Do you have any independent recollection of this being the same box that you saw in the window, if you don't remember when you initialed it?

Mr. DAY. No, sir; except that it was still there in that area and had been dusted on the 25th. We did dust it on the 22d.

Mr. BELIN. Let me ask you this: When you were dusting it were there remains of the dust on there?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. When you put your initials on on the 25th were the dust remains still there?

Mr. DAY. The dust was still there; yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. On all of these boxes, 641 and 653, and now handing you 654, was there dust on 654 also?

Mr. DAY. All boxes had dust on them when I collected them.

Mr. BELIN. Were boxes Nos. 641, 653, and 654 open or closed?

Mr. DAY. They were closed and had books in them.

Mr. BELIN. Did they have tape around them?

Mr. DAY. They were sealed with tape.

Mr. BELIN. Turning to 664, do you see your name as a means of identification on this box?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; "J. C. Day." It also has the name "R. L. Studebaker" on it.

Mr. BELIN. I see there is an arrow pointing north here, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. And the box appears with--it appears to have "top" written on the box as it stands on one end, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; that is the top side as it was standing on the floor.

Mr. BELIN. Now, again turning to Exhibit 733, do you see where box 654 was then?

Mr. DAY. It would be the bottom box of the center stack. There are two boxes.

Mr. BELIN. There are two boxes, and the upper box is marked "Ten Rolling Readers," and 654 would be below that one?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. That is a reconstructed photo, to the best of your knowledge, as to where the boxes were?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. McCLOY. Is there any indication on any of these boxes which you could identify as indicating on which box the rifle rested?

Mr. DAY. I beg your pardon?

Mr. McCLOY. Is there any indication on any of these boxes that could tell you where the rifle rested?

Mr. DAY. No, sir.

Mr. McCLOY. When it was fired?

Mr. DAY. No, sir; I couldn't find a thing there.

Mr. BELIN. I am going to hand you what has been marked Commission Exhibit 735 and 736 and ask you to state if you know what these are.

Mr. DAY. 735 is the right palm of Lee Harvey Oswald's palmprint. 736 is the left palmprint of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Mr. BELIN. Do you know when these prints were made?

Mr. DAY. They were made November 22, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. Does your name appear on these?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. With the permission of Commissioner McCloy, would it be possible to have Xerox copies substituted for these so that the original can go back with Lieutenant Day?

Mr. McCLOY. Yes.

Mr. BELIN. As I understand it, these are the last original copies you have of palmprints of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Mr. DAY. Yes.

Mr. BELIN. Were you there when these prints were made?

Mr. DAY. No, sir. The prints that were made in my presence, which I compared with these, I can state are his, were sent to the FBI.

Mr. BELIN. Would these be the same prints as shown on Commission Exhibit 628 and 629?

Mr. DAY. No, sir. They are still not the originals. They had my name on it when I saw them sign it. But I did compare these with ones I saw made personally of Oswald, and I can say this is his left hand, his left palm, and his right palm.

Mr. BELIN. So you are saying 735 and 736 are his right and left palms. What about 628 and 629?

Mr. DAY. 629 is the right palm, and 628 is the left palm of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Mr. BELIN. What about 627, can you state what that is, if you know?

Mr. DAY. That is a set of fingerprints, standard set of fingerprints, of Lee Harvey Oswald taken by Detective J. B. Hicks on November 22, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. You have just examined these with your magnifying glass, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. And you so identify these?

Mr. DAY. They are the fingerprints of Lee Harvey Oswald, whose palmprints appear in 735 and 736.

Mr. BELIN. Lieutenant Day, did you ever try to make any ballistic identification of the bullet slug that was removed from the residence of General Walker?

Mr. DAY. No, sir. I don't do that work. We have a laboratory in Dallas that we ask to do that. Wait a minute now, you said identification? My answer should be no, sir.

Mr. BELIN. I will ask you this. Have you ever seen Commission Exhibit 573 before, if you know?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; I have.

Mr. BELIN. Could you tell us what 573 is?

Mr. DAY. This slug was gotten from the home of former General Edwin Walker, 4011 Turtle Creek, April 10, 1963, by Detective B. G. Brown, one of the officers under my supervision. He brought this in and released it to me.

Mr. BELIN. You are reading now from a report that is in your possession, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. Those are the official records of my office.

Mr. BELIN. Was that prepared under your supervision?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. In the regular course of your duties at the Dallas Police Department?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. The slug has my name "Day" scratched in it.

Mr. BELIN. Do you know whether or not any ballistic identification was made of this slug with regard to any rifle it may have been fired from?

Mr. DAY. No, sir. I released that to the FBI agent B. D. Odum on December 2, 1963, at 4:10 p.m.

Mr. BELIN. Has that ever been back in your possession since that time?

Mr. DAY. Not since that time.

Mr. BELIN. Prior to that time do you know whether or not any positive ballistic identifications were made of Exhibit 573 with regard to the rifle from which it might have been fired?

Mr. DAY. It had not been compared with any rifle, to the best of my knowledge.

Mr. BELIN. At this point we would like to offer and introduce in evidence Commission Exhibits Nos. 715 through 734, inclusive.

Mr. McCLOY. They have all heretofore been identified?

Mr. BELIN. Yes, they have; and I think 715 is the first one, and if there have been any prior to 715 I would offer to introduce that also.

Mr. McCLOY. They may be admitted.

(Commission Exhibits Nos. 715 through 734 inclusive, were received in evidence.)

Mr. BELIN. I am also going to introduce 735 and 736. These are the Xerox copies of those cards, of those palmprint cards, that I believe you had, sir. Am I correct in that, and according to my records, the next number for introduction of exhibits is 737.

Mr. McCLOY. They may be admitted.

(Commission Exhibits Nos. 735 and 736 were received in evidence.)

Mr. BELIN. I am now going to hand you No. 737 and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. This is the rifle found on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository November 22, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. Who took that picture?

Mr. DAY. I took it myself.

Mr. BELIN. When?

Mr. DAY. About 9 or 9:30 p.m., November 22, on the fourth floor of the City Hall in my office.

Mr. BELIN. I am going to now hand you what has been marked as 738 and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir. This is a photograph of most of the evidence that was returned to the FBI the second time on November 26, 1963. It was released to Agent Vince Drain at 2 p.m., November 26.

Mr. BELIN. Who took that picture, if you know?

Mr. DAY. I beg pardon?

Mr. BELIN. Who took that picture?

Mr. DAY. I took this picture.

Mr. BELIN. I am going to now hand you what has been marked as Commission Exhibit 739 and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; this is a view of the Texas School Book Depository made from about a half block south looking north on Houston Street on November 22, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. Now, returning for the moment to Exhibit 738, do you recognize any items in there as items that you turned over to the FBI?

Mr. DAY. All of these items were released to the FBI.

Mr. BELIN. Which ones are there now?

Mr. DAY. There is a shirt.

Mr. BELIN. This is the same shirt that has been marked Commission Exhibit 150?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. All right. What else?

Mr. DAY. A revolver.

Mr. BELIN. Did you put any initials on the revolver or not?

Mr. DAY. No, sir; I don't think I did.

Mr. BELIN. All right. What else?

Mr. DAY. A blanket.

Mr. BELIN. Is that the blanket that has been marked "Commission Exhibit 140" here?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. All right. What else?

Mr. DAY. A live round.

Mr. BELIN. Is that the live round that you earlier identified as what Captain Fritz ejected from the rifle?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. What else?

Mr. DAY. Two spent hulls, and an envelope in which they were in.

Mr. BELIN. Those are the ones you have earlier identified, is that Correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. What else?

Mr. DAY. One piece of cardboard with a palmprint on it that has been identified as that of Oswald.

Mr. BELIN. That is the piece of cardboard that you tore off this cardboard box, the cardboard box being Commission Exhibit No. 648, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. What else?

Mr. DAY. Two--correction, one .38-caliber slug, and a button off a policeman's uniform.

Mr. BELIN. Is that slug, do you know where that came from?

Mr. DAY. I didn't personally collect that. It was in the stuff that was given to Vince Drain.

Mr. BELIN. All right. Anything else, if you know?

Mr. DAY. There is a plastic box, I don't remember what was in it, a slip of paper reading "Dallas County Hospital District," laying with the box, and there is an envelope laying with the live round with information stating that it is a live round from the gun found on the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository.

Mr. McCLOY. Did you refer to the paper sack?

Mr. DAY. Yes; I didn't mention that. Also one homemade paper bag previously identified as the bag found in the southeast corner of the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.

Mr. McCLOY. What is the revolver that you previously mentioned, where did it come from?

Mr. DAY. I understand that was the one that was in Oswald's possession, reportedly the one used to shoot the officer.

Mr. BELIN. You don't have any independent knowledge of that, do you?

Mr. DAY. No, sir; I did not collect that.

Mr. BELIN. I am going to hand you what has been marked "Commission Exhibit 740" and ask you to state if you know what that is. Do you have any further comments, by the way, of 738?

Mr. DAY. I can tell from this what it is.

Mr. BELIN. You are looking toward your own inventory and you are pointing to a picture of Exhibit 738?

Mr. DAY. Yes; it was a bullet fragment taken from the body of John Connally at Parkland General Hospital in Dallas. The slip was in connection with a fragment, the hospital slip previously mentioned.

Mr. BELIN. Anything else on 738?

Mr. DAY. That is all that is in the picture.

Mr. BELIN. All right. What about exhibit----

Mr. DAY. There was one other article released with this, an envelope containing the three negatives I made of the prints on the side of the magazine housing of that 6.5 rifle, which I did not definitely identify as belonging to Oswald.

Mr. BELIN. Anything else on 738?

Mr. DAY. That is all, sir.

Mr. BELIN. What about Exhibit 740?

Mr. DAY. 740 is a photograph looking northeast toward the Texas School Book Depository. This shows Elm Street at the point at which the President was shot.

Mr. BELIN. Do you know when that was taken?

Mr. DAY. November 22, 1963, in the afternoon sometime after 3 o'clock.

Mr. BELIN. All right. I am going to hand you Exhibit 741 and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. 741 is a photograph of the lunchroom area on the second floor of the Texas School Book Depository taken November 25, 1963.

Mr. BELIN. Do you know what direction the camera is facing?

Mr. DAY. The camera is facing west looking toward the west door of the lunchroom.

Mr. BELIN. All right. I'm going to hand you what has been marked "Exhibit 742" and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. That is the outside of the door shown in the picture on 741, which door----

Mr. BELIN. There appear to be two doors shown on 741. One door that is open and one door that is closed with the window in it.

Mr. DAY. This is outside of the door that is closed with the window in it. This picture looks east, made on the second floor of the Texas School Book Depository from a position near the stairway.

Mr. BELIN. That would be the stairway coming----

Mr. DAY. Stairway coming down from the third floor.

Mr. BELIN. I will hand you what has been marked "743" and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. 743 is a photograph of the stairway leading to the third floor from the second floor of the southwest corner of the Texas School Book Depository. Make a correction on that previous picture 742. I stated that was taken from a position of the stairway leading to the third floor. It should read taken from a position of the stairway leading to the first floor.

Mr. BELIN. Is there any other evidence pertaining to fingerprints or palmprints that you have not discussed?

Mr. DAY. I can't think of any at the present time. I believe that pretty well covers my participation in this investigation.

Mr. BELIN. Is there any other evidence that you can think of pertaining to the rifle that you have not discussed that you can think of at this time?

Mr. DAY. Not that I can think of.

Mr. BELIN. Is there any other thing that you did pertaining to the investigation of the assassination of the President that you can think of at this time?

Mr. DAY. Under my direction they made paraffin casts of the hand of Lee Harvey Oswald in Captain Fritz' office.

Mr. BELIN. This was done under your direction?

Mr. DAY. I directed them to make it, and also paraffin casts or just of a piece of paraffin on the left side of the face to see if there were any nitrates there.

Mr. BELIN. On the left side or right side of the face?

Mr. DAY. Right side.

Mr. BELIN. Do you know what the results of the paraffin tests were?

Mr. DAY. The test on the face was negative.

Mr. BELIN. Had you ever done a paraffin test on a face before?

Mr. DAY. No; actually--had it not been for the particular type of case and this particular situation here--we would not have at this time. It was just something that was done to actually keep from someone saying later on, "Why didn't you do it?"

Actually, in my experience there, shooting a rifle with a telescopic sight there would be no chance for nitrates to get way back or on the side of the face from a rifle.

Mr. BELIN. Well, the chamber, the nature of the chamber of the rifle, would that have anything to do with that?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. In what way?

Mr. DAY. A rifle such as that one we are talking about here from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, in my opinion, would not throw nitrates back to where a man's face was when he is looking through a telescopic sight.

Mr. BELIN. Well, when you ran these tests you had understood that the man, Oswald, had fired a pistol, too, hadn't he?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Would you expect to have any positive tests from a pistol on the cheek?

Mr. DAY. I would expect more with a revolver with an open cylinder than I would from a rifle. Actually, for most practical purposes, I would not be surprised if there would be no nitrates from a man firing a rifle.

Mr. BELIN. What about on the hands?

Mr. DAY. Even on the hands. It is possible, but it is more likely with a revolver where you have a revolving cylinder and an opening between the cylinder and the actual barrel where the nitrates can come out.

Mr. McCLOY. That was the type of pistol that was used to kill Tippit, wasn't it?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. McCLOY. Did the paraffin show up nitrate?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; nitrates were present on the cast made of Oswald's hands.

Mr. BELIN. Is there anything else, are there any other comments you have with regard to the paraffin test, sir?

Mr. DAY. No, sir.

Mr. BELIN. You are showing me your report of paraffin findings. Is this the same report that was sent into the FBI, if you know?

Mr. DAY. I think they were sent a report. This is the report submitted by the laboratory at Dallas who first processed this paraffin. Later on the FBI did come and want this paraffin, and it was turned over to them, also the can from which this was made. I don't know what purpose they wanted it for.

Mr. BELIN. I believe you mentioned that you took a measurement of the area in which the long paper bag was found to show how big an area that was with relation to the easternmost pair of windows on the east side of the building, and the--on the south side of the building rather--and on the southeast corner juncture of the south wall to the east wall.

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. All right. Handing you what has been marked as "Commission Exhibit 734"--you are using another exhibit there----

Mr. DAY. It is the same, it would be the same. I just had my measurements on there, was all.

Mr. BELIN. 729, is this the one that you have here?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. All right.

How far would the distance be between the east wall and the east side of that easternmost pipe?

Mr. DAY. Two feet, seven inches.

Mr. BELIN. Do you have what the measurements were between the south wall and that box that you tore the piece off of to make the palmprint takeoff?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir; it would be 19-1/2 inches. Actually the box was marked "18 inches." If you will note there are six boards. I thought they were 3 inches wide. On doublechecking I found they were 3-1/4 inches wide which would make a 1-1/2 inch difference in six boards.

Mr. BELIN. And I believe you have already said that the bag was folded over when it was found, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Now, on the picture, 734, this is the reconstruction of the boxes in the window, is that correct?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. Does that represent, to the best of your recollection, the way the boxes were at the time you first came upon the crime scene, if you know?

Mr. DAY. It is an approximate location. I may be a little too far from the west to what they actually were when we got there on November 22.

Mr. BELIN. Is there any other information you can think of, any facts that you can think of, whether I have asked you or not, that you feel are in any way relevant to the area of inquiry, the assassination of the President, the murder of Officer Tippit, or anything else?

Mr. DAY. I can't think of anything right now.

Mr. BELIN. All right.

Now, I'm going to hand you what has been marked as "Commission Exhibit 744," and ask you to state if you know what this is.

Mr. DAY. 744 is a picture of Officer M. N. McDonald, and shows the scratch on the side of his face made somewhere close to 2 p.m., November 22, 1963, by Detective J. M. Craft--correction, I believe he is a patrolman, Patrolman J. M. Craft, who is assigned to identification, to the identification bureau, and did the actual snapping of the shutter.

Mr. BELIN. Was this picture taken under your supervision?

Mr. DAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. BELIN. I am going to hand you what has been marked "Commission Exhibit 745" and ask you to state if you know what this is.