Wichita Falls Almost Was a Part of the History of the JFK Assassination
Wow, fell into a deep rabbit hole today and stumbled upon to some Wichita Falls history.
So every day I try to find something to talk to you about in Wichita Falls. Some days are easier than others. Today I dug deep to find something interesting and if you can believe it. I came across the JFK assassination. Which we all know happened in Dallas back in 1963.
I learned today that JFK actually campaigned in Wichita Falls back in 1960. You can read his whole speech from the JFK Library from November 3rd, 1960. So this got me doing research on Wichita Falls and JFK trying to find more from this trip. Sadly, not really much other than this speech. Then I found out Wichita Falls was almost home to a very important trial.
Lee Harvey Oswald was the man accused of killing JFK. We all have heard the conspiracy theories surrounding that and I don't think we will ever 100% know what happened on that day in Dallas. Two days after the assassination of the president, Lee Harvey Oswald was marched out of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
This is when local Dallas business owner, Jack Ruby shot and killed Oswald. Jack Ruby claims that he did this so Jackie Kennedy would not have to testify at the trial of Oswald and have to relive that horrific day. This is a key factor in the conspiracies surrounding the assassination because Lee Harvey Oswald never got to stand trial and speak about that day.
So Jack Ruby was put on trail for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald and was found guilty of murder back in 1964. As with any case, you have the option to appeal the verdict. Jack Ruby's lawyers did appeal he was going to get a new case right here in Wichita Falls, Texas.
I had no idea this was going to happen and is a very interesting piece of American history. How come I didn't hear about this until today? Well, the trial never happened. Jack Ruby passed away in jail from cancer waiting for his court date in Wichita Falls. Jack died on January 3rd, 1967 and the trial never took place.
Can you imagine the madhouse our city would have been if this would have taken place? The guy that killed JFK's assassin standing trial in our city. Crazy stuff. If anyone has any more on this, please let me know.