Jean Hill
|
|
Jean Lollis Hill (1931 - November 7, 2000) was a witness to the John F. Kennedy assassination. She was known as the 'Lady in Red' because of the long red rain coat she wore that day, and was captured in the Zapruder Film. She was portrayed in the film JFK by Ellen McElduff.
She was present along with her friend Mary Moorman across from the grassy knoll, and was one the very closest witnesses to President John F. Kennedy when the shots were fired at him.
In Jean Hill's Warren Commission documented testimony she stated that an "agent" told her 11-22-63 right after the attack that another "agent," watching from the court house, saw a bullet strike, "at my feet" and kick up debris. (There were not, officially, any "agents" ever documented to have been stationed within the Dealey Plaza grounds or surrounding buildings during the assassination.)
At Z-313, when President Kennedy's head exploded, Jean Hill was only 21' away, leftward, and slightly behind President Kennedy.
Hill was also one of several witnesses who have stated that at the end of the assassination she saw smoke lingering near the grassy knoll picket fence corner.
She also testified to the Warren Commission that after the assassination she was attracted to watch a man running from near the depository towards the picket fence area. After watching this man, Hill crossed the street and ran with many other witnesses and authorities who first ran towards the grassy knoll after the shots ended.
During her commission testimony she stated that as the limousine came abreast of her she saw what she thought was a small white dog in between President Kennedy and his wife. As is documented in films and photos captured at Love Field, Mrs. Kennedy was also given a small bouquet of white flowers that she held together with a bouquet of red roses, and had laid upon the limousine seat during the motorcade.
Many of her claims have not held up to scrutiny. She claimed Jack Ruby was in Dealey Plaza when witnesses placed him in the offices of the Dallas Morning News. She claims she immediately crossed the street and ran up the grassy knoll when pictures taken of the scene show her sitting and standing in her original position. To the Warren Commission and in a television interview an hour after the assassination, she said she did not see the shots, but after 1978 claimed to have seen a shooter on the grassy knoll.
Hill always thought of herself as a survivor after some of the other witnesses to the assassination died shortly thereafter under supposedly mysterious circumstances. She has even claimed that there have been attempts on her life, though that claim has not been substantiated. She co-wrote a 1992 book entitled The Last Dissenting Witness.
External links
- Hill's testimony to the Warren Commission (http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/hill_j.htm)
- The Lady in Red (http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/jhill.htm)
- The JFK 100: One Hundred Errors of Fact and Judgment in Oliver Stone’s JFK: Eyewitness Jean Hill (http://www.jfk-online.com/jfk100jeanhill.html)
- Jean Hill - The Lady in Red (http://www.jfk-info.com/whitmey1.htm)
- Jean Hill obituary page (http://www.jfklancer.com/programs/guests/jhillobit.html)
- Spartacus.schoolnet biography (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKhillJ.htm)