Jack Ruby

Jack Ruby booking photo,
24 Nov 1963.

Jack Ruby shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy, while Oswald was being transferred to a police vehicle in the basement of the Dallas police station. The murder, which occurred on the Sunday morning following the Friday assassination of JFK, was seen on live national television. Ruby was wrestled to the ground and taken immediately into custody.

Ruby subsequently gave as his motive the desire to save Jackie Kennedy the trauma of returning to Texas for Oswald's trial. Many people, however, believe that Ruby acted to silence Oswald. Also, there are questions about whether Ruby received help getting into the police basement, and about his "mob" connections.

The Warren Commission described Ruby as a "police buff," but the later House Select Committee on Assassinations described Ruby's connections to organized crime figures in detail.

Key questions relating to Ruby:

What was Ruby’s motive? Was Oswald’s murder a "hit" to silence him?

How did Ruby get into the basement? Did he have help?

Was Ruby tied to organized crime, and if so do these connections tie into the murder of President Kennedy?

Why did the Warren Commission wait until July of 1964 to talk to Ruby, months after his Texas murder trial was over?