Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin (76 page)

³⁵⁶
bathroom was disgustingly dirty:
My detailed description of the flophouse bathroom, including the condition of the toilet and bathtub, is primarily drawn from crime scene photographs taken by homicide detectives of the Memphis Police Department, on April 4 and 5, 1968, Hughes Collection. I also consulted photographs of the bathroom taken by the Memphis photographer Ernest Withers, Withers Collection.

³⁵⁷
watching the Lorraine:
Memphis Police Department statement "Ptm. W. B. Richmond, Inspectional Bureau," April 9, 1968, box 5, Posner Papers, Gotlieb Center.

³⁵⁸
"He's been shot!":
Ibid.

³⁵⁹
"I know a shot when I hear one":
FBI interview with Stephens, April 4, 1968.

³⁶⁰
Charlie Stephens opened the door:
Ibid.

³⁶¹
"Hey, that sounded like a
shot!":
FBI interview with Anschutz, April 4, 1968.

CHAPTER 24
LIKE A MAN ON A CROSS

³⁶²
"His arms went out":
Frady,
Martin Luther King Jr.
, p. 205.

³⁶³
"Oh my God, Martin's been shot!":
My account of the shot and its immediate aftermath is drawn from dozens of sources, including photographs, newspaper accounts, oral histories, and official records. I especially relied on Abernathy's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA),
Appendix Reports
, vol. 1, p. 20; Abernathy's memoir,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, pp. 440-42; Young's memoir
Easy Burden
, pp. 464-65; and Memphis Police Department statements and FBI interviews gathered from witnesses at the Lorraine Motel, Hughes Collection. I also consulted "The Last Moments: Memphis, Tenn., April 4, 1968," in HSCA,
Final Assassinations Report
, pp. 282-85.

³⁶⁴
"It's all right":
Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 441.

³⁶⁵
made a solid thunk:
FBI interview with Canipe, April 5, 1968, Hughes Collection.

³⁶⁶
"The understanding":
Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 441.

³⁶⁷
"crimson molasses":
Frank,
American Death
, p. 82.

³⁶⁸
Kyles discreetly slipped it out of his grip:
Interview with Kyles on CNN, Special Investigations Unit, that aired on April 4, 2009. Kyles says, "I took a crushed cigarette out of his hand. He didn't want kids to see him smoke." See also Frady,
Martin Luther King Jr.
, p. 205.

³⁶⁹
Louw trembled with a manic rage:
The story of how Louw photographed his world-famous image on the balcony is best captured in Frank,
American Death
, pp. 77-80.

³⁷⁰
"shaking like a leaf":
Honey,
Going Down Jericho Road
, p. 442.

³⁷¹
"We have information":
Memphis Police Department radio dispatcher recordings from April 4, 1968, Hughes Collection.

³⁷²
"Where's he been hit?":
Frank,
American Death
, pp. 85-86.

³⁷³
"Murder! Murder!":
Ibid., p. 83.

CHAPTER 25
THE WEAPON IS NOT TO BE TOUCHED

³⁷⁴
sitting at his desk:
My account of what transpired at Canipe's Amusement Company is primarily drawn from the initial FBI interview with the shop owner, Guy Canipe, and from FBI interviews with the customers Julius Graham and Bernell Finley, April 5, 1968. I also relied on Memphis Police Department statements taken from Canipe, Graham, and Finley. Additional details came from my own interviews with the retired Memphis police officers James Papia and Jewell Ray, who were among the first on the scene at Canipe's.

³⁷⁵
"You are not to touch the weapon!":
Memphis Police Department radio dispatcher recordings from April 4, 1968, Hughes Collection.

³⁷⁶
"Suspect described as young white male":
Ibid.

³⁷⁷
Stephens dashed back to his room:
FBI interview with Stephens, conducted on April 4, 1968, by Special Agents John Bauer and Stephen Darlington, Hughes Collection.

³⁷⁸
"Georgia, I don't think":
Author interview with Georgia Davis Powers, May 7, 2008, Louisville, Ky.

³⁷⁹
"Give me the loop lights!":
Frank,
An American Death
, p. 85.

³⁸⁰
"Is he alive?":
This passage from inside the ambulance is largely adapted from Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 442.

³⁸¹
Captain Jewell Ray:
My account of Jewell Ray's initial investigation of the crime scene at Canipe's and inside Bessie Brewer's rooming house is primarily drawn from my interview with Ray, on Feb. 13, 2009. I also interviewed the retired police officer James Papia, who investigated the scene with Ray. Additionally, I relied on Memphis Police Department statements taken from Ray, Papia, Canipe, Willie Anschutz, Charlie Stephens, and Bessie Brewer. See also Frank,
An American Death
, pp. 98-103.

CHAPTER 26
A PAUSE THAT WOULD NEVER END

³⁸²
"Coretta, Doc just got shot":
Coretta Scott King's recollection of Jackson's phone call from Memphis is in her memoir,
My Life with Martin Luther King Jr.
, p. 318.

³⁸³
"Mama? You hear that?":
Dexter Scott King,
Growing Up King
, p. 48.

³⁸⁴
"I understand":
Ibid.

³⁸⁵
team of nurses and ER orderlies:
My passages concerning the efforts to save King's life inside the St. Joseph's ER are drawn from multiple sources. I especially relied on Memphis Police Department summaries (Hughes Collection) gathered immediately after King's death by homicide detectives who interviewed a number of ER doctors and nurses. Other important sources include the oral history of Dr. Frederick Gioia and other attending physicians in Beifuss,
At the River I Stand
, pp. 297-99; Abernathy's memoirs,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, pp. 443-44; Frank's vivid account in
American Death
, pp. 90, 93, 95-96, 119; and my own interview with Dr. Ted Galyon, December 30, 2009.

³⁸⁶
"I'm staying":
Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 443.

³⁸⁷
Gioia stepped into the fray:
For my passage on Dr. Gioia and his efforts to treat King, I'm grateful for the insights of his daughter, Dominique Gioia Skaggs, with whom I spoke and corresponded.

³⁸⁸
"It would be a blessing":
Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 443. See also Raines,
My Soul Is Rested
, p. 471.

³⁸⁹
Rufus Bradshaw:
My account of the CB radio "chase" heard by Bradshaw is primarily drawn from the radio dispatcher recording, Hughes Collection. I also relied on Memphis Police Department and the FBI's Memphis field office investigations of the CB radio transmission, Hughes Collection.

³⁹⁰
In the waiting room, Andy Young sat:
Young,
Easy Burden
, p. 466.

³⁹¹
"The
neck":
Ibid.

³⁹²
Hanging up the beige receiver:
Dexter King,
Growing Up King
, p. 48.

³⁹³
"Your father--there's been an accident":
Ibid.

³⁹⁴
"I need to see Dr. King!":
Frady,
Jesse
, p. 229.

³⁹⁵
"And I caught his head":
Ibid.

³⁹⁶
"You dirty, stinking, lying ...!":
Williams, quoted in Kenneth R. Timmerman,
Shakedown: Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson
(Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 2002), p. 8.

³⁹⁷
"It's a helluva thing":
Ibid., p. 7.

³⁹⁸
"This whole thing's":
Frady,
Jesse
, p. 229.

³⁹⁹
David Burrington:
Timmerman,
Shakedown
, p. 8.

⁴⁰⁰
"He won't make it":
Abernathy,
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
, p. 443.

⁴⁰¹
"nothing more than prolonged shudders":
Ibid., p. 443.

⁴⁰²
Father Bergard closed King's eyes:
Beifuss,
At the River I Stand
, p. 300.

⁴⁰³
King's parents listened to the radio:
Martin Luther King Sr.,
Daddy King
, p. 189.

⁴⁰⁴
"No matter how much protection":
Ibid., p. 187.

⁴⁰⁵
"My first son":
Ibid., p. 189.

⁴⁰⁶
Two agents:
This passage is drawn from Arthur L. Murtagh's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassinations,
Appendix Reports
, vol. 6, p. 107; and from James J. Rose's testimony, ibid., vol. 6, pp. 125-27.

CHAPTER 27
A FEW MINUTES AND A FEW MILES

⁴⁰⁷
"entirely a hoax":
My passages concerning the Memphis Police Department's postmortem analysis of the CB car chase hoax are primarily drawn from the sixteen-page report "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Homicide #3367, Supplement #85, Re: C.B. Incident," Hughes Collection. The Memphis Police Department investigated the probable culprit behind the hoax, a teenage CB enthusiast named in the report. Also see House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA),
Final Assassinations Report
, pp. 383-85.

⁴⁰⁸
he headed southeast:
Ray's exact route out of Memphis is not absolutely known, but he consistently stated that he drove southeast toward Birmingham; Highway 78 would have been the fastest, most direct, and (having stayed in a motel on that same road the previous night) most familiar route for his exit. See Ray,
Tennessee Waltz
, p. 80, as well as Ray's testimony in HSCA,
Appendix Reports
, vol. 3, p. 240.

⁴⁰⁹
broadcasters now broke in:
In all his accounts, Ray consistently stated that he heard the news about King's death over his car radio. However, the FBI investigation of the abandoned Mustang later determined that the radio was not in good working order at the time of inspection.

⁴¹⁰
Coretta King hurried down:
My depiction of the scene at the Atlanta airport is adapted from the
Atlanta Constitution
, April 5, 1968, p. 1, and from Coretta Scott King,
My Life with Martin Luther King Jr.
, pp. 319-20.

⁴¹¹
"a tragic setback":
Author interview with Clark, Oct. 9, 2008, New York City.

⁴¹²
"I think the bureau":
This conversation between Clark and DeLoach is recalled in DeLoach's,
Hoover's FBI
, p. 224.

⁴¹³
"a crime of immense importance":
DeLoach's testimony, HSCA,
Appendix Reports
, vol. 7, p. 22.

⁴¹⁴
"Hoover remained at war":
DeLoach,
Hoover's FBI
, p. 222.

⁴¹⁵
"He was as anxious":
Ibid., p. 226.

⁴¹⁶
"The FBI's reputation":
Author interview with Clark.

⁴¹⁷
"the guy with a thousand opportunities":
DeLoach,
Hoover's FBI
, p. 225.

⁴¹⁸
Born in Denmark:
These biographical details concerning Jensen derive primarily from his obituary in the
Memphis Commercial Appeal
, March 22, 1992, as well as from Jensen's testimony in HSCA,
Appendix Reports
, vol. 6, pp. 586-87.

⁴¹⁹
"As you well know":
DeLoach,
Hoover's FBI
, p. 225.

⁴²⁰
Now Jensen removed:
This passage concerning Jensen's analysis of the evidence is primarily drawn from the FBI FD-302 report filed on April 4 and 5, 1968, by Special Agent in Charge Jensen and Special Agent Robert Fitzpatrick, enumerating and describing all items in the abandoned bundle, Hughes Collection.

CHAPTER 28
THEY'VE TORN IT NOW

⁴²¹
Johnson sat at his mahogany desk:
My account of Johnson's reaction to the King assassination is drawn from a number of sources, including Kotz,
Judgment Days
, p. 415; Dallek,
Flawed Giant
, p. 533; Risen,
Nation on Fire
, pp. 40-42, 53-54; and Califano,
Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson
, pp. 273-75. Especially helpful to me was "The President's Appointment File, 4/3/68 to 4/11/68," box 95, Lyndon Baines Johnson Papers, Johnson Presidential Library.