Collaborative Timeline Project

[Colin Crow]

Mr. BELIN. Do you feel that you heard in your car some reference to the Texas School Book Depository building?
Mr. SAWYER. I do.
Mr. BELIN. Would it be fair for me to assume then that you had not at least completely left your car by 12:34 p.m?
Mr. SAWYER. Correct.
Mr. BELIN. Then when you got to the Texas School Book Depository, well, you got out of the car and talked to some people or to some officers?
Mr. SAWYER. Officers.

Looks like Sawyer arrived about 12.34.

[Tom Scully]

Not sure if this is specific enough to be helpful.

http://jfk.hood.edu/?.   Page 3, last paragraph

Cites for Decker arriving before Fritz, after Mooney found the hulls, before the rifle was found at 1:22.

[Colin Crow]

Thanks Tom. Will crosscheck from the material I can get hold of. I found in a SS report of 12/18/63 that Decker recalled Sorrels leaving Parkland before him. Decker got a ride to the TSBD shortly after.

We have this from Mooney....

"So, at that time, I didn't lay my hands on anything, because I wanted to save every evidence we could for fingerprints. So I leaned out the window, the same window from which the shots were fired, looked down, and I saw Sheriff Bill Decker and Captain Will Fritz standing right on the ground.
Well, so I hollered, or signaled I hollered, I more or less hollered. I whistled a time or two before I got anybody to see me. And yet they was all looking that way, too except the sheriff, they wasn't looking up."

So it seems Fritz and Decker we?re outside the TSBD entrance when Mooney found the shells.

In reading Gerald Hill's account he claimed to call down to get the crime lab up. Was not sure if anyone heard him and decided to go down. On his way down he met Fritz coming up in the elevator and told him of the discovery. He continued downstairs and say Day and told him. Then went to Sawyer. At this time the fire truck rolled up and Owens reported to Sawyer.

[Colin Crow]

Mr. BELIN - You then got on the elevator to go on back down?
Mr. BAKER - That is correct.
Mr. BELIN - And I believe you said it was the east elevator, is that correct?
Mr. BAKER - That is correct.
Mr. BELIN - How far did you take the east elevator down?
Mr. BAKER - As we descended, somewhere around--we were still talking and I was still looking over the building.
Mr. BELIN - As the elevator was moving?
Mr. BAKER - Yes, sir; downward.
Mr. BELIN - All right.
Mr. BAKER - The next thing that I noticed was Inspector Sawyer, he was on one of those floors there, he is a police inspector.
Mr. DULLES - City of Dallas Police?
Mr. BAKER - Yes, sir. And he was on, I really didn't notice which floor he was on, but that is the first thing I saw as we descended how this freight elevator, you know, it has got these picket boards in front of it and it has got it open so far, and it seemed to me like we stopped for a moment and I spoke to him and I told him that I had been to the roof, and there wasn't anything on the roof that would indicate anybody being up there, and then we started on down.
Mr. BELIN - Did you stay on the elevator while you spoke to him?
Mr. BAKER - Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN - Do you remember what floor it was that you spoke to him on or how many floors down that you went from the top before you saw him?
Mr. BAKER - No, sir; not at that time. It seemed to me like it was on either the third or the fourth floor.
Mr. BELIN - Do you remember about how long you stayed on the roof?
Mr. BAKER - It was a little over 5 minutes.

So Sawyer was still on the 4th floor as Baker and Truly were descending from the roof.

[Colin Crow]

Note that Sims and Boyd were accompanying Fritz.

Mr. BALL. Did you go directly to a building?
Mr. FRITZ. Directly to the Texas School Book Depository Building.
Mr. BALL. What time did you arrive there?
Mr. FRITZ. Well, sir; we arrived there---we arrived at the hospital at 12:45, if you want that time, and at the scene of the offense at 12:58.
Mr. BALL. 12:58; the Texas School Book Depository Building.

Mr. FRITZ. After I arrived one of the officers asked me if I would like to have the building sealed and I told him I would.
Mr. BALL. What officer was that?
Mr. FRITZ. That is a uniformed officer, but I don't know what his name was, he was outside, of course, I went upstairs and I don't know whether he did because I couldn't watch him.
Mr. BALL. Then what did you do?
Mr. FRITZ. We began searching the floors, looking for anyone with a gun or looked suspicious, and we searched through hurriedly through most all the floors.
Mr. McCLOY. Which floor did you start with?
Mr. FRITZ. We started at the bottom; yes, sir. And, of course, and I think we went up probably to the top.
Different people would call me when they would find something that looked like something I should know about and I ran back and forth from floor to floor as we were searching, and it wasn't very long until someone called me (likely Gerald Hill) and told me they wanted me to come to the front window, the corner window, they had found some empty cartridges.
Mr. BALL. That was on the sixth floor?
Mr. FRITZ. That is right; the sixth floor, corner window.
Mr. BALL. What did you do?
Mr. FRITZ. I told them not to move the cartridges, not to touch anything until we could get the crime lab to take pictures of them just as they were lying there and I left an officer assigned there to see that that was done, and the crime lab came almost immediately, and took pictures, and dusted the shelfs for prints.

So it seems that Fritz did not hear Mooney's call. Fritz and his men went inside and began searching thebuilding for a gunman. Only later was he informed of the discovery of the shells. This would explain the six minute or so time gap between the SN discovery and the arrival of Fritz in that location. Hill testified he talked to Fritz about the SN discovery and so I have added that in bold to Fritz's testimony.

[Colin Crow]

Not sure if this is specific enough to be helpful.

http://jfk.hood.edu/?.   Page 3, last paragraph

Cites for Decker arriving before Fritz, after Mooney found the hulls, before the rifle was found at 1:22.

Mr. BALL. Did you go back there back to Elm and Houston?
Mr. SIMS. Yes, sir; we went directly to the Book Store and Sheriff Bill Decker rode back with us.

Mr. BALL. Did you go over there?
Mr. BOYD. When we got out of the car, we checked, I believe, with--Mr. Sims called in on the radio and they told us he had been shot and we went to Parkland Hospital and pulled up to the emergency and saw there were a lot of people out there, but we saw Chief Curry out in front of the emergency there and he advised us to go back down to the scene of where we thought the shooting had occurred, down at the Texas Book Depository, and Mr. Sims and Captain Fritz and Sheriff Decker was also out there, and he rode back down with us.

Found this Tom, seems like Decker jumped in Fritz's car at Parkland. If they arrived together at the front of the TSBD about 12.58 and went inside shortly after and Mooney saw them below when he found the shells it might make the SN discovery closer to 1pm.

[Colin Crow]

http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/15/1548-002.gif

Senkel is ordered by Fritz to take those on working 6th floor that day to HQ for statements.

Arrive at city hall at about 1.50, just before Oswald arrives in custody.

http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/15/1548-003.gif

[Colin Crow]

Oswald arraigned for murder of JFK by Judge Johnston in 4th floor ID bureau at 1:35 a.m 23rd November 1963.

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/baker_tl.htm