I finally found Judyth Vary Baker on Twitter, and she tweeted a Rumble link to this lovely new documentary that partially re-tells the story of her alleged love affair with Lee Harvey Oswald, and how he tried to save President Kennedy.
I first heard about Judyth in 2012 when my friend Anthony Castillo of Slow Motorcade fame told me he went to hear her speak in Venice, and that she had claimed Oswald actually tried to save the president. I knew at that moment that I wanted to incorporate the story into a concept album about JFK that I was just beginning to think about while reading Family of Secrets by Russ Baker.
I attended a life-changing 50th Anniversary conference held in Santa Barbara, at the DoubleTree Hotel (where, due to technical difficulties, her remote presentation was canceled). The conference featured talks by Ralph Cinque and Larry Rivera about Altgens6, the famous photo by Ike Altgens, allegedly depecting Oswald in the doorway of the School Book Depository, and LBJ missing from his car. (LBJ allegedly ducked down and pretended to listen to a radio report as the motorcade made its fateful hairpin turn to the left onto Elm Street.)
I later read the former Baker's book Me and Lee, and was completely blown away. She seemed credible to me. I've avoided reading the smears of her, but I learned later that the research community is bitterly split on her claims. I heard on the Midnight Writer News Show podcast that Oliver Stone told her at a Dallas JFK conference that he believed her. I also recently watched RFK Jr. cite Dr. Mary's Monkey, which includes portions of her story. So my take could be partly fiction, or not. We'll probably never know. All I do know is that her book tells one of the most beautiful and tragic love stories I've ever read, and being the closet romantic that I am, I couldn't ignore it.
Both the Altgens6 and Judyth Baker stories were incorporated into the one I tell on the album: Oswald knew what was happening and decided that instead of being a shooter that he would stand on the top stair, in plain site of the entire world, because surely photographs would vindicate him.
The photo was clearly doctored, however, and it's not possible to positively identify him. But it is said that Oswald's own mother believed it was him. Cinque claimed it was statistically impossible for it not to be him, given the many points of similarity that are still visible.
Not every song on the album includes references to the story of Judyth/Lee or Altgens6: The three that do are "Lambs to the Slaughter," "Shutterbug," and "Gratitude." (The latter expressing the voice of Oswald from the grave.) It was written using harmonic elements of the Everly Brothers song that they fell in love to, "Let It Be Me."
Watching this film reminded me of Judyth's seeming credibility, and provides additional evidence. I highly recommend you have a box of tissues nearby when watching. The film makes ties to Covid19 that I never considered, so the story is more relevant than ever.
Link to film: https://rumble.com/v3mroia-kill-shot-the-cias-sv40-cancer-weapon-full-story-w-shannon-joy.html