Assassination of John F. Kennedy

NOTE:  SOME OF THE LINKS IN THIS CHAPTER DEPICT VERY GRUESOME SCENES.

At 2:15 a.m. on November 24, the day Oswald was scheduled to be transferred to a different jail, the FBI received an anonymous phone call about Lee Oswald. The caller warned that Oswald would be shot during the transfer.

Despite that warning, security precautions seemed to have been less than desirable when the accused assassin was brought from his cell to the basement garage of the Dallas police headquarters.

Jack Ruby, a Dallas night club owner known to the police, was waiting for Oswald. Shoving a gun into the alleged killer's stomach, Ruby fired a single shot. Stunned broadcasters, watching Oswald's transfer, reported the shocking event.

Oswald's shirt and slipover sweater clearly show the bullet holes. So does the T-shirt he was also wearing at the time of his transfer. Police wrestled the gun away from Ruby before he could fire again.

A stricken Oswald was rushed to Parkland Hospital, where a team of doctors tried to save his life. One of the police officers, traveling with Oswald, believed he died en route to the hospital.

The accused assassin was pronounced dead at about 1:07 p.m. CST - almost exactly forty-eight hours after a similar announcement had been made for the President.

Before his body had cooled, Oswald's autopsy was performed. He was dressed and placed in a coffin. Before his body was released to Miller's Funeral Home, it was temporarily stored in the hospital near a container of soiled linens.

The cost for Oswald's funeral was $710, including a pine box. He was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery.

Concerns about a conspiracy to kill Kennedy, already on people's minds, were fueled by Ruby's actions. Meanwhile, officials in Washington were preparing for a state funeral.