Babushka Lady

1. Babushka lady, 2. Umbrella man (Louie Witt), 3. Three tramps, 4. Badge man. Photo of Dealey Plaza (annotated), from Warren Commission report. North to the almost direct left. President John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Nellie Connally, and Texas governor John Connally minutes before the assassination The Babushka Lady is an unidentified woman present during the 1963 assassination of US President John F. Kennedy who is speculated to have photographed or filmed the events that occurred in Dallas' Dealey Plaza at the time President Kennedy was shot. Her nickname arose from the US Army headscarf she wore, which was similar to scarves worn by elderly Russian women. Babushka literally means "grandmother" or "old woman" in Russian.

The Babushka Lady was seen to be holding a camera by eyewitnesses and was also seen in film accounts of the assassination. Dressed in a tan or light-brown knee-length overcoat, a headscarf tied under her chin, and possibly sunglasses, she stood on the grass between Elm and Main streets, holding a camera to her face. Her calm demeanor stood in stark contrast to the panic of the surrounding crowd. Marie Muchmore, and Mark Bell, 44 minutes and 47 seconds into the Bell film; even though the shooting had already taken place and most of her surrounding witnesses took cover, she can be seen still standing with the camera at her face. After the shooting, she crossed Elm Street and joined the crowd that went up the grassy knoll. told conspiracy researcher Gary Shaw at a church revival meeting in Joshua, Texas, that she was the Babushka Lady. Oliver stated that she filmed the assassination with a Super 8 film Yashica and that she turned the undeveloped film over to two men who identified themselves to her as FBI agents.

Critics have pointed out that Oliver's physical description—a 17-year-old slender blonde in 1963—contrasts sharply with the Babushka Lady's apparent age of 30 to 40, stockier build, and darker hair visible beneath the headscarf in Dealey Plaza films. Oliver's claims were the basis for a scene in Oliver Stone's 1991 film JFK, in which a character named "Beverly" meets Jim Garrison in a Dallas nightclub. Portrayed by Lolita Davidovich, she is depicted in the director's cut as wearing a headscarf at Dealey Plaza and speaking of having given the film she shot to two men claiming to be FBI agents. Haverstick's theory draws on Jerrie Cobb's aviation activities, including her self-reported piloting of a small aircraft at Redbird Airport south of Dallas that day, and June Cobb's espionage background in anti-Castro plots. This identification remains speculative and has not been widely accepted by assassination researchers. According to Mack, the executive said the woman explained to federal investigators already at the film processing office that she ran from Main Street across the grass to Elm Street where she stopped and snapped a photo. Mack said that he was told by the Kodak executive that the photo was extremely blurry and "virtually useless" and indicated that the woman likely went home without anyone recording her identity. According to their report: "Initially, Robert Groden, a photographic consultant to the committee advised the panel as to pertinent photographic issues and related materials. Committee investigators located many of the suggested films and photographs, however, some items were never located, i.e. the Babushka Lady film, a color photograph by Norman Similas, and the original negative of the Betzner photograph."

Public hearings of the Assassination Records Review Board On November 18, 1994, assassination researcher Gary Mack testified before the ARRB regarding the Kodak lab claim detailed above. Also appearing that same day before the ARRB as "Beverly Oliver Massegee", Oliver stated that she was 17 years old at the time of the assassination. She told the Board that she was filming with an "experimental" 8 mm movie camera approximately from Kennedy when he was shot and that the film was confiscated by a man who identified himself as an FBI agent. According to Oliver, she handed over the camera because the man was an authority figure and because she feared being caught in possession of marijuana. Oliver's claims were addressed point by point and debunked by conspiracy theory researcher John McAdams.