Convenient Deaths 1963 - 1976

Convenient Deaths

1963 - 1976

Many witnesses died in the thirteen year period following the assassination - mostly of unnatural causes. Many rumours crawl around about the high death rate during these years. They are supported by the mostly suspicious circumstances the victims died under. For a unknown shooter or even shooters, all these deaths have one thing in common: they are very convenient to those assassins since these witnesses took their knowledge with them into the grave. But see yourself and decide whether these deaths are purely coincidently: Asterisks mark death that seemed to happen under suspicious circumstances.

Date	Name	Connection with case	Cause of death
11/63	Karyn Kupicinet	Tv host's daughter who was overheard telling of JFK's death prior to 11/22/63	Murdered
12/63	Jack Zangretti	Expressed foreknowledge of Ruby shooting Oswald	Gunshot Victim
2/64	Eddy Benavides	Lookalike brother to Tippit shooting witness, Domingo Benavides	Gunshot to head
2/64	Betty MacDonald*	Former Ruby employee who alibied Warren Reynolds shooting suspect.	Suicide by hanging in Dallas Jail
3/64	Bill Chesher	Thought to have information linking Oswald and Ruby	Heart attack
3/64	Hank Killam*	Husband of Ruby employee, knew Oswald acquaintance	Throat cut
4/64	Bill Hunter*	Reporter who was in Ruby's apartment on 11/24/63	Accidental shooting by policeman
5/64	Gary Underhill*	CIA agent who claimed Agency was involved	Gunshot in head ruled suicide
5/64	Hugh Ward*	Private investigator working with Guy Banister and David Ferrie	Plane crash in Mexico
5/64	DeLesseps Morrison*	New Orleans Mayor	Passenger in Ward's plane
8/64	Teresa Norton*	Ruby employee	Fatally shot
6/64	Guy Banister*	x-FBI agent in New Orleans connected to Ferrie, CIA, Carlos Marcello & Oswald	Heart attack
9/64	Jim Koethe*	Reporter who was in Ruby's apartment on 11/24/63	Blow to neck
9/64	C.D. Jackson	"Life" magazine senior Vicepresident who bought Zapruderfilm and locked it away	Unknown
10/64	Mary Pinchot	JFK "special" friend whose diary was taken by CIA chief James Angleton after her death	Murdered
1/65	Paul Mandal	"Life" writer who told of JFK turning to rear when shot in throat	Cancer
3/65	Tom Howard*	Ruby's first lawyer, was in Ruby's apartment on 11/24/63	Heart attack
5/65	Maurice Gatlin*	Pilot for Guy Banister	Fatal fall
8/65	Mona B. Saenz*	Texas Employment clerk who interviewed Oswald	Hit by Dallas bus
?/65	David Goldstein	Dallasite who helped FBI trace Oswald's pistol	Natural causes
9/65	Rose Cheramie*	Knew of assassination in advance, told of riding to Dallas with Cubans	Hit/run victim
11/65	Dorothy Kilgallen*	Columnist who had private interview with Ruby, pledged to "break" JFK case	Drug overdose
11/65	Mrs. Earl Smith*	Close friend to Dorothy Kilgallen, died two daysafter columnist, may have kept Kilgallen's notes	Cause unknown
12/65	William Whaley*	Cab driver who reportedly drove Oswald to Oak Cliff (The only Dallas taxi driver to die on duty)	Motor collision
1966	Judge Joe Brown	Presided over Ruby's trial	Heart attack
1966	Karen "Little Lynn" Carlin*	Ruby employee who last talked with Ruby before Oswald shooting	Gunshot victim
1/66	Earlene Roberts	Oswald's landlady	Heart attack
2/66	Albert Bogard*	Car salesman who said Oswald test drove new car	Suicide
6/66	Capt. Frank Martin	Dallas policeman who witnessed Oswald slaying, told Warren Commission "there's a lot to be said but probably be better if I don't say it"	Sudden cancer
8/66	Lee Bowers Jr.*	Witnessed men behind picket fence on Grassy Knoll	Motor accident
9/66	Marilyn "Delila Walle*	Ruby dancer	Shot by husband after 1 month of marriage
10/66	Lt. William Pitzer*	JFK autopsy photographer who described his duty as "horrifying experience"	Gunshot rule suicided
11/66	Jimmy Levens	Fort Worth nightclub owner who hired Ruby employees	Natural causes
11/66	James Worrell Jr.*	Saw man flee rear of Texas School Book Depository	Motor accident
1966	Clarence Oliver	Dist. Atty. Investigator who worked Ruby case	Unknown
12/66	Hank Suydam	Life magazine official in charge of JFK stories	Heart attack
1967	Leonard Pullin	Civilian Navy employee who helped film "Last Two Days" about assassination	One-car crash
1/67	Jack Ruby*	Oswald's slayer	Lung cancer (he told family he was injected with cancer cells)
2/67	Harold Russell*	Saw escape of Tippit killer	killed by cop in bar brawl
2/67	David Ferrie*	Acquaintance of Oswald, Garrison suspect and employee of Guy Banister	Blow to neck (ruled accidental)
2/67	Eladio Del Valle*	Anti-Castro Cuban associate of David Ferrie being sought by Garrison	Gunshot wound, a wound to head
3/67	Dr. Mary Sherman*	Ferrie associate working on cancer research	Died in fire (possibly shot)
1/68	A. D. Bowie	Asst. Dallas District Attorney prosecuting Ruby	Cancer
4/68	Hiram Ingram	Dallas Deputy Sheriff, close friend to Roger Craig	Sudden cancer
5/68	Dr. Nicholas Chetta	New Orleans coroner who on death of Ferrie	Heart attack
8/68	Philip Geraci*	Friend of Perry Russo, told of Oswald/Shaw conversation	Electrocution
1/69	Henry Delaune*	Brother-in-law to coroner Chetta	Murdered
1/69	E.R. Walthers*	Dallas Deputy Sheriff who was involved in Depository search, claimed to have found .45-cal. slug	Shot by felon
1969	Charles Mentesana	Filmed rifle other than Mannlicher-Carcano being taken from Depository	Heart attack
4/69	Mary Bledsoe	Neighbor to Oswald, also knew David Ferrie	Natural causes
4/69	John Crawford*	Close friend to both Ruby and Wesley Frazier, who gave ride to Oswald on 11/22/63	Crash of private plane
7/69	Rev. Clyde Johnson*	Scheduled to testify about Clay Shaw/Oswald connection	Fatally shot
1970	George McGann*	Underworld figure connected to Ruby friends, wife, Beverly, took film in Dealey Plaza	Murdered
1/70	Darrell W. Garner	Arrested for shooting Warren Reynolds, released after alibi from Betty MacDonald	Drug overdose
8/70	Bill Decker	Dallas Sheriff who saw bullet hit street in front of JFK	Natural causes
8/70	Abraham Zapruder	Took famous film of JFK assassination	Natural causes
12/70	Salvatore Granello*	Mobster linked to both Hoffa,Trafficante, and Castro assassination plots	Murdered
1971	James Plumeri*	Mobster tied to mob-CIA assassination plots	Murdered
3/71	Clayton Fowler	Ruby's chief defense attorney	Uknown
4/71	Gen. Charles Cabell*	CIA deputy director connected to anti-Castro Cubans	Collapsed and died afterphysical at Fort Myers
1972	Hale Boggs*	House Majority Leader, member of Warren Commission who began to publicly express doubts about findings	Disappeared on Alaskan plane flight
5/72	J. Edgar Hoover*	FBI director who pushed "lone assassin" theory in JFK assassination	Heart attack (no autopsy)
9/73	Thomas E. Davis*	Gunrunner connected to both Ruby and CIA	Electrocuted trying to steal wire
2/74	J.A. Milteer*	Miami right-winger who predicted JFK's death and capture of scapegoat	Heater explosion
1974	Dave Yaras*	Close friend to both Hoffa and Jack Ruby	Murdered
7/74	Earl Warren	Chief Justice who reluctantly chaired Warren Commission	Heart failure
8/74	Clay Shaw*	Prime suspect in Garrison case, reportedly a CIA contact with Ferrie and E. Howard Hunt	Possible cancer
1974	Earle Cabell	Mayor of Dallas on 11/22/63, whose brother, Gen. Charles Cabell was fired from CIA by JFK	Natural causes
6/75	Sam Giancana*	Chicago Mafia boss slated to tell about CIA-mob death plots to Senate Committee	Murdered
7/75	Clyde Tolson	J. Edgar Hoover's assistant and roommate	Natural causes
1975	Allen Sweatt	Dallas Deputy Sheriff involved in investigation	Natural causes
12/75	Gen. Earle Wheeler	Contact between JFK and CIA	Unknown
1976	Ralph Paul	Ruby's business partner connected with crime figures	Heart attack
4/76	James Chaney	Dallas motorcycle officer riding to JFK's right rear who said JFK "struck in the face" with bullet	Heart attack
4/76	Dr. Charles Gregory	Governor John Connally's physician	Heart attack
6/76	William Harvey*	CIA coordinator for CIA-mob assassination plans against Castro	Complications from heart surgery
7/76	John Roselli*	Mobster who testified to Senate Committee and was to appear again	Stabbed and stuffed in metal drum

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The HSCA Investigation

Just when the House Select Committee on Assassinations was investigating the JFK assassination, more suspicious deaths were coming up:

Date	Name	Connection with case	Cause of Death
1/77	William Pawley*	Former Brazilian Ambassador connected to Anti-Castro Cubans, crime figures	Gunshot ruled suicide
3/77	George DeMohrenschildt*	Close friend to both Oswald and Bouvier family (Jackie Kennedy's parents), CIA contract agent	Gunshot wound ruled suicide
3/77	Carlos Prio Soccaras*	Former Cuban President, money man for anti-Castro Cubans	Gunshot wound ruled suicide
3/77	Paul Raigorodsky	Business friend of George DeMohrenschildt and wealthy oilmen	Natural causes
5/77	Lou Staples*	Dallas radio Talk Show host who told friends he would break assassination case	Gunshot to head,ruled suicide
6/77	Louis Nichols	Former No. 3 man in FBI, worked on JFK investigation	Heart attack
8/77	Alan Belmont	FBI official who testified to Warren Commission	"Long illness"
8/77	James Cadigan	FBI document expert who testified to Warren Commission	Fall in home
8/77	Joseph C. Ayres*	Chief steward on JFK's Air Force One	Shooting accident
8/77	Francis G. Powers*	U-2 pilot downed over Russia in 1960	Helicopter crash (He reportedly ran out of fuel)
9/77	Kenneth O'Donnell	JFK's closest aide	Natural causes
10/77	Donald Kaylor	FBI fingerprint chemist	Heart attack
10/77	J.M. English	Former head of FBI Forensic Sciences Laboratory	Heart attack
11/77	William Sullivan*	Former No. 3 man in FBI, headed Division 5, counter- espionage and domestic intelligence	Hunting accident
1978	C.L. "Lummie" Lewis	Dallas Deputy Sheriff who arrested Mafia man Braden in Dealey Plaza	Natural causes
9/78	Garland Slack	Man who said Oswald fired at his target at rifle range	Unknown
1/79	Billy Lovelady	Depository employee said to be the man in the doorway in AP photograph	Complications from heart attack
6/80	Jesse Curry	Dallas Police Chief at time of assassination	Heart attack
6/80	Dr. John Holbrook	Psychiatrist who testified Ruby was not insane	Heart attack but pills, notes found
1/81	Marguerite Oswald	Mother of accused assassin	Cancer
10/81	Frank Watts	Chief felony prosecutor for Dallas D.A.	Natural causes
1/82	Peter Gregory	Original translator for Marina Oswald and Secret Service	Natural causes
5/82	Dr. James Weston	Pathologist allowed to see JFK autopsy material for HSCA	Died while jogging, ruled natural causes
8/82	Will H. Griffin	FBI agent who reportedly said Oswald was "definitely" an FBI informant	Cancer
10/82	W. Marvin Gheesling	FBI official who helped supervise JFK investigation	"Long illness"
3/84	Roy Kellerman	Secret Service agent in charge of JFK limousine	Unknown

Following names are the recently known deaths, almost all died of natural causes:

Date	Name	Connection with case	Cause of Death
10/92	Jim Garrison	Former District Attorney of New Orleans, only one who sued in the JFK assassination case	Natural causes
?/94	Perry Russo	witness who told he had seen Shaw, Oswald and Ferrie talking about the killing of JFK	Unknown
01/95	Rose Kennedy	Mother of John F. Kennedy	natural causes
01/95	L.C. Graves	wrested Ruby's revolver away from him after shooting Oswald	natural causes
2/95	Irving L. Goldberg	Judge who advised L. B. Johnson on transition of power	natural causes
3/95	Philip L. Willis	Dealey Plaza Witness, photographer	Leukemia
5/95	Evelyn Norton Lincoln	JFK's personal secretary	natural causes
5/95	Phil L. Barleson	Defender of Ruby	Heart attack
11/95	Richard Case Nagell	CIA agent who claimed he uncovered a "large operation" aimed at killing JFK	heart disease
12/95	James W. Altgens	Dealey Plaza Witness, press photographer	natural causes
1/96	Ralph W. Yarborough	Dealey Plaza witness, rode in motorcade	natural causes
7/96	Melvin Belli	Lawyer of Jack Ruby	Suffering stroke and pneumonia
8/96	Charles Brehm	Dealey Plaza Witness	Unknown
9/96	McGeorge Bundy	Top aide to JFK and LBJ	Heart attack
10/96	Rufus Youngblood	Agent who shielded LBJ during the JFK murder	Cancer
10/96	Larry Ray Harris	Researcher	Car accident
10/96	Lawrence Brantley	Sold Jack Ruby the gun used to kill Oswald	Complications from surgery