The original interview with Jean Hill

[Allan Fritzke]

I believe the very first interview was done with James Darnell and it was passed onto Tom Whelan of WBAP-TV.
The interview starts at about 27:48.

In this initial interview, Jean Hill says the shots came from the hill.  Her televised interview (an hour or 2 later) does not make this claim.
Here is a transcript from the video starting at about 27:48.

Tom Whelan:  This is Tom Whelan in Fort Worth.  WBAP Newsman, James Darnell in Dallas on the scene of the Presidential shooting.  The shooting at which President Kennedy and Governor Connally were shot....Has an eyewitness interview with a Mrs. Jean Hill.  Here is the interview.
James Darnell:   What is your name Maam?
Jean Hill:   Jean Hill
James Darnell:   From Dallas?
Jean Hill:   That's right.
James Darnell:   And did you see the shooting Miss?
Jean Hill:   Yes, sir.
James Darnell:   Can you describe what happened?
Jean Hill:   Yes, sir.
James Darnell:   Can you do that now?
Jean Hill:   They were driving along and we were the only people in this area on our side, and the shots came directly across the street from us.  And just as the President's car became directly even with us, we we took one look at him and he was sitting there him and Jackie were looking at a dog in the middle of the seat, and at that time two shots rang out just as he looked up.   Just as the President looked up and these  two shots rang out and he grabbed his chest and looked like he was in pain and he fell over in his seat and Jackie fell over on him and said My God he has been shot!  Then after that more shots rang out and the car sped away.
James Darnell:   What kind of a car was that? 
Jean Hill:   What kind of a car was that?   The President's car!
James Darnell:   No, I mean where did the shots come from?
Jean Hill:   The shots came from the hill.
James Darnell:   From the hill?
Jean Hill:   Yes.  It was just east of the underpass.
James Darnell:   Uhuh! And a a...
Jean Hill:   We were on the south side of the street.
James Darnell:   Did you look up there where the shots came from Maam?
Jean Hill:   Yes, sir. 
James Darnell:   Did you see anyone?
Jean Hill:   I thought I saw this man running but I looked at the President and you know... for a while, I looked up there and I thought I saw a man running. So right after that, I guess I didn't have any better sense,  I started running up there too!
James Darnell:   And what is your name?
Jean Hill:    Jean Hill.
James Darnell:  What is your address?
Jean Hill:   9402 Bluff Creek
James Darnell:   9402 Bluff..

Tom Whelan:   That was an interview I had with Mrs. Jean Hill of Dallas a few minutes ago.   A short time later,  Dallas sheriff officers took a young man into custody.   It is believed they also took a rifle at the same time, described as a 3030 rifle which was supposedly found in the scene, although this has not been confirmed!  And as we reported earlier, both Governor Connally and President Kennedy are in the emergency room.  That is, the President is now, Governor Connally was moved to another room in the hospital.  A Catholic priest was called to the emergency room a short time ago and the President's condition is described as very critical.  Representative Albert Thomas of Houston said both men were alive however.  This is Tom Whalen reporting from Fort Worth Texas concerning the shooting of President Kennedy and Governor Connally of Texas....Stay tuned to NBC for further details...

Additional information coming from 34:55 of this same video.

Announcer:  "There is this additional detail from the hospital.    An assistant to Governor Connally said he talked to the Governor in the hospital operating room.  He said the Governor was shot just below the shoulder blade in the back.  The assistant Bill Stenson said he asked the Governor how it happened.    And he said I don't know,   I guess from the back.   They got the President too!   These are 2 quotes from Governor Connally who was also wounded.   There are additional reports that the Governor's aide asked the Governor if there was anything he could do.   And all the Governor said was take care of Nellie for me.   That is Governor Connally's wife.   She was also not injured.  Mrs. Kennedy was not injured......"

It didn't appear that Governor Connally had any trouble speaking after the shooting as he talked to his aide.  He certainly wasn't unconscious and could still issue statements from that room in the hospital.

Now, compare Jean Hill's radio information to her initial "on camera interview", likely an hour or 2 later.  It is interesting to see the similarities and how some things changed in a short period of time as she gathered her thoughts for the second interview.

[Steve Howsley]

Ah yes, the 'dog in the middle of the seat' woman. She claimed she stepped onto the street before the fatal shot which is also incorrect. She claims she didn't see Mrs. Kennedy climb onto the trunk because she herself was running across the street trying to catch the shooter. Jean Hill is/was full if spombleprofglidnoctobunse.

[Steve Barber]

 

Ah yes, the 'dog in the middle of the seat' woman. She claimed she stepped onto the street before the fatal shot which is also incorrect. She claims she didn't see Mrs. Kennedy climb onto the trunk because she herself was running across the street trying to catch the shooter. Jean Hill is/was full if spombleprofglidnoctobunse.

    So much so that Mary Ann Moorman Krhamer broke off their friendship when Jaan started telling things publicly that Mary Ann knows were not true.  She has spoken about this publicly.  However, she rekindled their friendship not long before Jean passed away. 

[Allan Fritzke]

The dog was actually a puppet I believe that Jacqueline received at Love Field.  It can be seen laying in the bloodied seat of the Presidential limousine after the assassination.   I think people  throw Jean Hill's original testimony out because they think she is nuts having said she saw a dog in the vehicle.  The reality is you can see something white on the seat of the limousine in the aftermath.   
This testimony/script that I have reproduced comes within minutes of the assassination occurring.  This news was being broadcast live.   I have to agree that the story grew and grew as time progressed and was stretched.  However, I believe the initial testimony  contains much more truth than it does as it gets regurgitated with the passage of time.   Once she talks to more and more people, it changed immensely.   I do believe her initial statement (minutes after the assassination), that she thought the shots came from the hill and that she actually did run up there like all the rest of the people.     



At the same time, Governor Connally issues statements from a room in the hospital indicating his ability to communicate, whether he had a collapsed lung or not.  Nellie Connally eventually said he had a wound in his chest the size of a baseball.  So yeah all these eye witnesses tended to use their imaginations more elaborately as time passed.

[Sean Kneringer]

Hill has changed her story considerably over the years. You get more attention if you're pro-conspiracy.

[Steve Howsley]

Hill has changed her story considerably over the years.

Unashamedly so

You get more attention if you're pro-conspiracy.

I'm betting the bigger and more colorful  the story the larger the appearance fee too.

[Jerry Freeman]

I guess a toy sheep can be mistaken for a stuffed dog or some flowers be mistaken for a padded animal. However, who ever came forward and reported that they gave a stuffed animal to Jackie at Love Field? Until then, it is relegated to the depository of urban legends. 

[Ray Mitcham]

I guess a toy sheep can be mistaken for a stuffed dog or some flowers be mistaken for a padded animal. However, who ever came forward and reported that they gave a stuffed animal to Jackie at Love Field? Until then, it is relegated to the depository of urban legends.

I would be intrigued to know why the President was holding a bouquet of white flowers up to his face in the photo above.