'The Woman in the Blue Raincoat' speaks out: Bystander who took Polaroid of JFK being shot recalls fateful day and says she thinks there's 'more to the story'

  • Mary Ann Moorman took her Polaroid to the parade route and was facing the Texas Book Depository where the shooter was hidden
  • She happened to take a picture at the exact moment where he was shot with the first bullet
  • She was so close to the convertible that she heard Jackie scream: 'My God, he's been shot!'

By Meghan Keneally

PUBLISHED: 17:07 EST, 19 November 2013 | UPDATED: 00:25 EST, 20 November 2013


The man who inadvertently filmed President Kennedy's assassination was not the only person to capture the horrific moment on film.

Mary Ann Moorman and her friend had gone to the parade route with her new Polaroid camera, eager to take a snapshot when the President and First Lady passed them in the motorcade.

Little did she know that at the exact second that she took the picture, Lee Harvey Oswald also took his first shot at the President.

The moment: Mary Ann Moorman took this Polaroid photograph and happened to capture the exact second that President Kennedy was shot with the first of three bullets

The moment: Mary Ann Moorman took this Polaroid photograph and happened to capture the exact second that President Kennedy was shot with the first of three bullets

Up close: Mary Ann Moorman is seen in the Zapruder film, as she is in the blue raincoat taking a picture of the President and First Lady in the foreground just as he was shot

Up close: Mary Ann Moorman is seen in the Zapruder film, as she is in the blue raincoat taking a picture of the President and First Lady in the foreground just as he was shot

At first she did not know what was going on, thinking that the snap she heard was that of a firecracker.

'That was my thought: "I saw his hair jump!" But it wasn't just his hair, it was part of his head,' she told Matt Lauer on The Today Show.

'I heard Jackie yell, "My God, he’s been shot."’

 

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Ms Moorman, who was a 31-year-old housewife at the time of the assassination.

The Zapruder film shows Ms Moorman standing in a blue raincoat next to her friend in a similar red raincoat on the grass on the far side of Elm Street as the President's convertible drives by.

What she didn't realize when she chose to wait for the motorcade was that her location was in line with the Texas Book Depository, where shooter Lee Harvey Oswald was waiting on the sixth floor.

Then: Mary Ann Moorman was rushed to a local newspaper office after a reporter saw she had taken a picture

Then: Mary Ann Moorman was rushed to a local newspaper office after a reporter saw she had taken a picture

Now: Mrs Moorman, 81, sat down for an interview with the Today Show and said that she believes there is 'more' to be discovered about the true nature of the Kennedy assassination

Now: Mrs Moorman, 81, sat down for an interview with the Today Show and said that she believes there is 'more' to be discovered about the true nature of the Kennedy assassination

On their way: Mrs Moorman (left) and her friend (right) went to the parade together in matching raincoats

On their way: Mrs Moorman (left) and her friend (right) went to the parade together in matching raincoats

'I heard the shot, took the camera down, and I heard two more shots,' she told the Today Show.

'Just pow, pow, pow.'

In the hectic aftermath immediately following the shots, a local reporter approached Ms Moorman and accompanied her to his newspaper office so that they could take a look at the photo together as it developed.

It shows Jacqueline leaning in towards her husband as he appears to be falling back into the seat.

'The though always comes back to me: I saw a man murdered right in front of my eyes. That thought is still present in my mind right now,' she said.

 
Different angle: From where she was standing, Ms Moorman was closest to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and said that she could here her scream 'My God, he's been shot!'

Different angle: From where she was standing, Ms Moorman was closest to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and said that she could here her scream 'My God, he's been shot!'

Orientation: Ms Moorman and her friend were standing in the grass between the 'point of impact' and the 'cameraman nix' facing the Texas Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald was positioned

Orientation: Ms Moorman and her friend were standing in the grass between the 'point of impact' and the 'cameraman nix' facing the Texas Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald was positioned

She agreed to sell the original Polaroid through an auction house but it failed to meet its expected price of $50,000 to $75,000.

Ms Mooman, who is now 81-years-old, said she does not subscribe to any of the major conspiracy theories but many others actually used her photograph as part of their justification for their own versions of events- specifically the 'grassy knoll theory' that suggests there was a second shooter.

She said that she never 'delved' into any of the different theories but does remain wary of the final conclusion that was drawn by the Warren Commission.

'I don’t think that I heard any more shots than three but so many of the things that I have heard makes me think that there's a lot more to the story,' she said.

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Have they got the point of view from the guy that cleaned the shoes of the friend who used to work next-door to the store where the tires on the car where last changed? I'm sure they have an unique insight to offer as well.

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Says she, for cash & 15 seconds of fame, 50 years after the fact.....Apply Occam's Razor; Oswald did it, alone. Time to move on now, methinks.

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For those not aware, the doctor that tried to save Oswald has now spoken out, He states that when he had Oswald on the bed two CIA agents entered the room, they had a rifle and a bottle of ink, he said they poured ink all over Oswalds hands and then pressed them all over the rifle.

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Please watch your back dearest...there's many others mysteriously been bumped off speaking out against the warren Commission.

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It's a pity you saw fit to interfere with the film and put the tool bar right across the part where the shooting occurs. Does no-one at DM check these things?

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If you stop fiddling with your mouse you'll find the tool bar goes away after 5 seconds. Try a little patience for once.

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If anyone has the Reelz channel, there is a fascinating show called JFK: The Smoking Gun. It uses ballistics and witness testimony to piece together what happened. It's crazy...

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We may never know the truth. But I really don't believe the Warren commissions version of events.

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America better let this go before they actually uncover a truth that might tear the country apart.

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Yes, heaven forbid they should learn the truth.

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The Zapruder film shows the Secret Service Agents being waved off just prior to the shots hitting the president - SLOW IT DOWN AND SEE FOR YOURSELVES! Why would these men who were supposed to take a bullet for the president be waved away from the car? Look carefully and see one agent shrugging his shoulders in disbelief at being ordered to stand down.

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I've seen this too. Very peculiar. The Secret Service agent was quite disturbed.

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JFK shot himself ...... I prefer the Red Dwarf explanation for the man on the Grassy Knoll.

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A red Dwarf fan - says it all really.

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