Really Mr. O'Reilly?
It has been 11 months and two emails later and to date the king of fair and balanced has not responded or commented on this report. I think it speaks to Mr. O'Reilly's credibility.
What follows is an email I sent to Mr. O'Reilly's FOX Network address in February of 2013. Since Mr. O'Reilly is the self professed king of "fair and balanced" reporting I thought he would be happy to clear up what appears to be puffery in his book Killing Kennedy. It hasn't happened so here is the email for your review. I asked Mr. O'Reilly to show me where I am wrong.
Dave Perry March 4, 2013
The following excerpt is from Bill O’Reilly’s book Killing Kennedy:
"In March of 1977 a young television reporter at WFAA in Dallas began looking into the Kennedy assassination. As part of his reporting, he sought an interview with the shadowy Russian college professor who had befriended the Oswald’s upon their arrival in Dallas in 1962. The reporter traced George de Mohrenschildt to Palm Beach, Florida, and traveled there to confront him."
"As the reporter knocked on the door of de Mohrenschildt’s daughter's home, he heard the shotgun blast that marked the suicide of the Russian, assuring that his relationship with Lee Harvey Oswald would never be fully understood."
"By the way, that reporter’s name is Bill O'Reilly."
O’Reilly, Bill and Martin Dugard. Killing Kennedy – The End of Camelot (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2012) p. 300
I have been investigating various aspects of the Kennedy assassination for over 35 years and have seen many problematic “first hand” claims. Mr. O’Reilly’s assertion that he “heard the shotgun blast” seems questionable and is possibly an embellishment. Therefore, I decided to look further into his claim.
To fact check, I will use the following documents: 1] the Palm Beach County sheriff’s investigative report case # 77-11753. 2] Quotations from the book The Last Investigation written by Mr. O’Reilly’s friend Gaeton Fonzi. 3] Source information found in Edward Epstein’s book The Assassination Chronicles.
Briefly, George de Mohrenschildt is a shadowy figure in Kennedy assassination lore. He befriended Lee Harvey Oswald in 1962 when both resided in the Dallas, Texas area. Because of de Mohrenschildt’s social status and Oswald’s lack thereof, it was curious this purported CIA asset would befriend Oswald without ulterior motives. Further adding to the mystery was de Mohrenschildt’s claim that Dallas CIA operative J. Walton Moore had given him the go-ahead to meet Oswald. "I would never have contacted Oswald in a million years if Moore had not sanctioned it, too much was at stake.”
Epstein, Edward Jay. The Assassination Chronicles (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1992), p. 559.
Wednesday, March 16, 1977
“George de Mohrenschildt arrived in West Palm Beach, Florida, in the evening, from New York City, after having returned from a business trip to Belgium.
He arrived at the Greyhound bus station in that city and was met there by Mrs. Nancy Tilton. His only baggage was a green attaché case and a few articles of
clothing. He was taken to Mrs. Tilton's ocean-side home, where he was reunited with his daughter, Alexandra.”
Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office case # 77-11753
He began preparing for an upcoming interview with author Edward Epstein. Epstein was staying at the Breakers, One South County Road, Palm Beach, Florida.
Condensed from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office case # 77-11753
Monday, March 28, 1977
George de Mohrenschildt met with Epstein briefly in Palm Beach. Mr. Epstein was writing an article about the Kennedy assassination for Reader’s Digest. de Mohrenschildt was to receive $4,000.00 for his input. Epstein also provided de Mohrenschildt with a rental vehicle.
Condensed from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office case # 77-11753
Tuesday, March 29, 1977
7:20 a.m. EST
“George de Mohrenschildt got up and dressed. He went to the kitchen at 07:30, and had a light breakfast of toast and coffee. He then was seen taking a short walk on the beach [by Coley Wimbley], then went for a short ride in his rented car. He returned to the house, but he stayed only for a short period of time. He then departed for his appointment with Mr. Epstein at the Breakers Hotel, in Palm Beach.”
Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office case # 77-11753
10:00 a.m. EST
“At around 1000 hours, on the day of her father's death, Miss de Mohrenschildt answered a knock at the door and encountered Mr. Gaeton Fonzi, who identified himself as a Staff Investigator for the House Committee on Assassinations. He wished to speak with the victim, but learned that he was away at a meeting. Mr. Fonzi stated that he would call later in the day, left his business card and departed.”
Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office case # 77-11753
12:30 p.m. EST
George de Mohrenschildt leaves the Breakers for lunch at the home of Nancy Tilton. He promised Epstein to return later that day around 3 p.m. to continue the interview.
Condensed from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office case # 77-11753
12:45 p.m. EST
“He returned to the Tilton residence and ate a light lunch in the kitchen. After lunch, his daughter, Alexandra informed him, in Spanish, apparently so that the house maid and cook who were also present would not understand that investigator Fonzi found him and wished to speak to him. The news apparently upset the victim, and he went upstairs to his room after bidding good-bye to his daughter and her friend, Katherine Loomis, who went shopping, at roughly 1:30 p.m.”
Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office case # 77-11753
2:15 p.m. EST
“de Mohrenschildt left his room, walked the short distance down the hallway to Mrs. Tilton's room, and removed a double-barrel, .20-gauge shotgun from its resting place beside her bed, along with two live .20-gauge shotgun shells from a night stand which also was beside the bed. He then walked out of the bedroom, turned to his left and entered a small hallway off the main hallway in which there was a chair and a chest of drawers. The victim loaded the weapon, sat in the chair, placed the barrel in his mouth.”
Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office case # 77-11753
2:20 p.m. EST
"As the reporter knocked on the door of de Mohrenschildt's daughter's home, he heard the shotgun blast that marked the suicide of the Russian, assuring that his relationship with Lee Harvey Oswald would never be fully understood." "By the way, that reporter’s name is Bill O'Reilly."
2:21 p.m. EST
“de Mohrenschildt “pulled the trigger, at 1421 hours, thus, discharging the weapon at an upward angle through the roof of his mouth and into his brain.”
Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office case # 77-11753
2:35 p.m. EST
“At approximately 1435 hours, she [Miss de Mohrenschildt] entered the house by the rear kitchen door and inquired of Anna Viisola where her father was. The response that she received was that he was last seen in his room upstairs. Miss de Mohrenschildt walked to the second floor, entered her father's room, and placed the bag on a dresser against the north wall. She then looked to her left and saw her father bent over in the hallway chair with a pool of blood and shotgun at his feet.”
Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office case # 77-11753
6:30 p.m. EST
“About 6:30 that evening [March 29, 1977] I received a call from Bill O’Reilly, a friend who was then a television reporter in Dallas. ‘Funny thing happened,” he said. “We just aired a story that came over the wire about a Dutch journalist saying the Assassinations Committee has finally located de Mohrenschildt in South Florida. Now George de Mohrenschildt’s attorney, a guy named Pat Russell, called and says de Mohrenschildt committed suicide this afternoon. Is that true?”
Fonzi, Gaeton. The Last Investigation (New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1993), p. 192.
The scenario described by Mr. O’Reilly should raise a few eyebrows.
Based upon his book and police report we can deduce the following. He claims to have arrived on the front porch of Nancy Tilton’s home** just before 2:21 p.m. He knocks on the door and hears a gunshot.
Besides Mr. O’Reilly, there were four people in and around the house at that time - George de Mohrenschildt, later found in a chair on the second floor in a “small hallway off the main hallway”, Anna Viisola, the housekeeper, who was “sunning herself in the back yard”, Lillian Romanic, the cook, who was in the kitchen downstairs and Coley Wimbley ,the live in gardener, who was “working outside tending to gardening chores.”
Strangely, based on police interviews, no one inside or outside the house heard the gun shot. Thirty five years later, Mr. O’Reilly claims to have been on the front porch and heard the shot. There is no evidence in witness statements or the police report that Mr. O’Reilly or anyone else checked around the house to seek assistance. No one contacted the police about hearing a gunshot coming from inside a private residence. It wasn’t until 14 minutes later that the body was discovered by de Mohrenschildt’s daughter.
For the above reasons, I question Mr. O’Reilly being there. There are two other problems with Mr. O’Reilly’s scenario. 1] I couldn’t understand why three of Tilton’s staff both inside and outside the house, some closer to the scene than Mr. O’Reilly, didn’t hear the shot. The answer lies in how Mr. de Mohrenschildt committed suicide. He was on the second floor. He “placed the barrel (of a 20 gauge shotgun) in his mouth and discharged the weapon at an upward angle through the roof of his mouth and into his brain.” Brain matter and the brain case have a tendency to muffle the sound. Apparently, the shot was muffled to everyone but Mr. O’Reilly.
2] One would think a reporter sent by a television station over 1,200 miles for the express purpose of interviewing Mr. de Mohrenschildt would stay to see what unfolded. Instead, he simply just walked away?
I know it is impossible to prove a negative, but in my opinion, solely based on the research I have done, I seriously have questions as to whether Mr. O’Reilly was there to begin with.
Mr. O’Reilly - show me where I am wrong.
Dave Perry ~ February 2013
**He incorrectly states that Alexandria de Mohrenschildt owned the property.
Originally the “mansion” was located at 1780 South Ocean Boulevard, Manalapan, Florida. Manalapan is located between Palm Beach and Ocean Ridge. The house was left to Tilton by her grandparents Leila and A. Romeyn Pierson. Developers purchased theproperty in 2000 for 4.4 million dollars and razed the building.
